Original Publication Date: 1996
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
Dawn is back in Stoneybrook for the summer, and for once Jeff is visiting too. He and the Pike triplets are itching to earn money, and ask to be made BSC members. They come along to some of the jobs with different members, and often cause more problems than they solve. Making things worse, most of the BSC is trying to raise money to earn a reserved spot on the SMS summer trip to Hawaii, and they're having to split their pay with the boys. Dawn's able to make it because the school needs at least 50 people so they're willing to take non-students after students sign up. The boys end up not enjoying sitting enough to join the club, but do learn enough about it that they're helpful around kids. And the sitters are able to earn enough cash to pay for the trip plus some spending money.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Twinkies in her closet, mini Snickers under her bed, Nestle Crunch bars, Heath bars, Milky Way bars, Mallomars, Milk Duds, Ring Dings, and pretzels
Mary Anne has pierced ears? She's also apparently shrunk, since she had previously grown taller than Kristy and Mallory, at five-foot-one, is taller than Kristy, yet Mary Anne is described as just over five feet tall.
Oh, Shannon. No one cares that you can't come to the next Super Special because of summer camp. You barely count.
Their Families:
Dawn describes Richard Spier as "my stepdad" rather than "Mary Anne's dad," which implies that she feels part of the same family.
On the other hand, maybe she's trying to distance herself from her stepmother Carol, who offers cold cereal served over juice (I'm pretty sure she's serious). I once accidentally poured water on my cereal instead of milk and it was gross. It also wasn't my fault: I was around 8 and Dad would set out a bowl of cereal, a cup of milk on the left, and a cup of water on the right. I wasn't really awake one morning when they were switched.
The Club (and clients):
So honorary BSC members(who get sitting jobs) don't have to pay dues, but Claudia owed them for her time in the hospital, physically incapable of baby-sitting, recovering from the broken leg directly caused by baby-sitting. Nice.
At a meeting: "'Sit!' Kristy barked." My daughter, who will be two in late November, orders us to "SIT!" like that. Mostly when she wants us to sit next to her under a blanket, or across the room to play catch, or occasionally at the library so she can run away while we're sitting.
SMS:
School is out for the summer...for the ninth time.
PSA Time:
When changing a diaper, put the clean one under the dirty one. If there are any leaks, the new diaper will catch them.
Misc:
This is Dawn's last book of the regular series.
This is the first book that I didn't read as a kid. I remember seeing the preview blurb for it at the back of Claudia and the World's Cutest Baby and noticing that it had the F word. No, not that one. Fart. I was appalled and losing interest anyway, so I never bothered to read it or any others until I was finishing college, about a decade later.
I always, always, every time, without fail, read the word "matinee" (an afternoon showing of a movie) as "manatee" (an aquatic mammal).
On page 110 the first-person narration briefly switches from Dawn's perspective to Stacey's. And on page 130, Mathew Hobart's name is spelled wrong, becoming the more common Matthew.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 8
Halloweens in 8th grade: 5 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 2
Winter holidays in 8th grade (that BSC members celebrate, not just reference): Christmas-2, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-1
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 9
BSC Fights: 10
SMS Staff and Faculty: 56
Students (other than the BSC): 183: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 6 7th graders, 43 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 33 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 119
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
9/15/12
Kristy and the Middle School Vandal (M#25)
Original Publication Date: 1996
Ghostwriter? Yes, Nola Thacker
Synopsis:
Cary Retlin challenges the BSC to a mystery war: he will leave a trail of eight clues that the BSC has six days to solve. If he wins, he gets Kristy's watch. If the BSC wins, he'll stop bugging them. It's actually pretty fun to try to figure out the clues before the BSC does.
That's the not the real mystery, of course. The Michief Knights have moved beyond simple pranks; SMS is actually being vandalized. But the trademark MK is written in green, not red like it has been in the past. This all comes at an especially bad time: the teachers are trying to negotiate a new contract and the school board is using the vandalism as proof that the teachers don't deserve a new contract. There might even be a strike. Conveniently, the last bit of the BSC's challenge is to find out who the fake Mischief Knight is, and when they do, the members of the school board who were using the vandalism as an excuse to avoid negotiations back down. The strike is averted, and so is the threat of school extending into the summer.
Subplot (or third plot?): the BSC arranges a scavenger hunt for the kids.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: mint chocolate M&Ms, all-natural potato chips
Kristy outright tells us that her bossiness is a way to be sure people don't ignore her, something she thinks would happen since she's so short.
Their Families:
Kristy's the only short one in her immediate biological family.
The Brewer-Thomas household has hamsters? Since when? No mention of Emily Jr; maybe that was supposed to be a rat. Or it's something that happened in a Little Sister book.
The Club (and clients): nothing new.
SMS:
Kristy's still the shortest student in her grade.
Claudia seems to be having more trouble with school than usual.
Despite having finished about zero chapter books back in Mary Anne Misses Logan, Cokie knows the difference between principle and principal.
New-to-us student: Troy Parker (8th)
New-to-us SMS staff: Mr. Milhaus, a janitor
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
Page 86: "It's number is one sixty-nine." It's = it is; its = possesive. Bad editor, bad!
What sort of nonsense...? Kristy, describing things that go poorly together, uses the analogy of having both sugar and salt in a recipe. Hasn't she made cookies from scratch? Most baked goods have a few teaspoons of salt in them, and a few cups of sugar.
The book is only fourteen chapters long.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 8
Halloweens in 8th grade: 5 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 2
Winter holidays in 8th grade (that BSC members celebrate, not just reference): Christmas-2, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-1
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 8
BSC Fights: 10
SMS Staff and Faculty: 56
Students (other than the BSC): 183: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 6 7th graders, 43 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 33 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 119
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? Yes, Nola Thacker
Synopsis:
Cary Retlin challenges the BSC to a mystery war: he will leave a trail of eight clues that the BSC has six days to solve. If he wins, he gets Kristy's watch. If the BSC wins, he'll stop bugging them. It's actually pretty fun to try to figure out the clues before the BSC does.
That's the not the real mystery, of course. The Michief Knights have moved beyond simple pranks; SMS is actually being vandalized. But the trademark MK is written in green, not red like it has been in the past. This all comes at an especially bad time: the teachers are trying to negotiate a new contract and the school board is using the vandalism as proof that the teachers don't deserve a new contract. There might even be a strike. Conveniently, the last bit of the BSC's challenge is to find out who the fake Mischief Knight is, and when they do, the members of the school board who were using the vandalism as an excuse to avoid negotiations back down. The strike is averted, and so is the threat of school extending into the summer.
Subplot (or third plot?): the BSC arranges a scavenger hunt for the kids.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: mint chocolate M&Ms, all-natural potato chips
Kristy outright tells us that her bossiness is a way to be sure people don't ignore her, something she thinks would happen since she's so short.
Their Families:
Kristy's the only short one in her immediate biological family.
The Brewer-Thomas household has hamsters? Since when? No mention of Emily Jr; maybe that was supposed to be a rat. Or it's something that happened in a Little Sister book.
The Club (and clients): nothing new.
SMS:
Kristy's still the shortest student in her grade.
Claudia seems to be having more trouble with school than usual.
Despite having finished about zero chapter books back in Mary Anne Misses Logan, Cokie knows the difference between principle and principal.
New-to-us student: Troy Parker (8th)
New-to-us SMS staff: Mr. Milhaus, a janitor
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
Page 86: "It's number is one sixty-nine." It's = it is; its = possesive. Bad editor, bad!
What sort of nonsense...? Kristy, describing things that go poorly together, uses the analogy of having both sugar and salt in a recipe. Hasn't she made cookies from scratch? Most baked goods have a few teaspoons of salt in them, and a few cups of sugar.
The book is only fourteen chapters long.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 8
Halloweens in 8th grade: 5 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 2
Winter holidays in 8th grade (that BSC members celebrate, not just reference): Christmas-2, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-1
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 8
BSC Fights: 10
SMS Staff and Faculty: 56
Students (other than the BSC): 183: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 6 7th graders, 43 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 33 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 119
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
9/8/12
Claudia and the World's Cutest Baby (RS#97)
Original Publication Date: 1996
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
Claudia's cousin is finally born! Her aunt and uncle, Peaches and Russ, name her Lynn for Claudia Lynn Kishi, and ask Claudia to be her godmother. Claudia is ecstatic about Lynn, and wants to spend time with her and help out however she can. Pretty quickly, she goes overboard. Peaches and Russ don't really know how to tell her that they need space. Tensions rise and all parties overreact. Conveniently, Claudia finds herself dealing with an overbearing classmate on a school trip to Philadelphia. Like in a sitcom, it helps her understand the situation and everyone gets along by the end of the book.
Subplot: Marilyn and Carolyn Arnold are getting terrified by illicitly watching horror movies, but are cured after seeing a making-of documentary and realizing it's fake.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: pretzels behind some shoe boxes in her closet
Shannon's on the debate team.
Claudia points out that while Logan teases Mary Anne for getting so emotional at movies, he actually likes it because the more she cries, the more she snuggles.
Stacey has injected herself with insulin in front of Claudia and Claudia says it's not gross. Good friend! The rest of the BSC is all "EW! Your necessary for living routines are disgusting!" Although, where does Stacey inject the insulin? I had a teacher with diabetes and he told us that the injections had to be in his backside (it was relevant).
Their Families:
Hmm...it's not entirely clear whether Lynn is breastfed, bottlefed, or a combination. And Claudia gives Peaches advice on feeding techniques.
The Club (and clients):
Quick way to convince eight-year-old kids a movie is fake (if that is indeed the only reason it scares them): ask if Jurassic Park was filmed with real dinosaurs. The end. And yes, the movie was out before this book was published.
SMS:
Ms. Bernhardt's a jerk. She calls on Claudia, who makes an honest attempt to answer the question, and LAUGHS at her when she gives the wrong answer. No wonder it's hard to motivate Claudia to try in school. Oh, and I mean "jerk" as in mean person, not as in fool like the BSC uses it.
New-to-us students: Melissa Banks and Lily Karp (8th)
PSA Time:
Any time you go to visit someone in the hospital, have a nurse check to see that the patient isn't asleep or having a procedure done or something. It's rude to just barge in.
If you or your significant other goes into labor and you don't want visitors, don't tell anyone. It's easier to keep people away when they don't know. It sounds obvious, but I made that mistake, and some people just won't understand "I don't want you there" because they think you're trying to accomodating of their schedules. On a related note, if someone you know is in labor and she says not to come, don't! You can meet the baby later when it's cleaned up and its mother isn't all tired and sweaty and stuff.
Lactose intolerance is more common in people (or peoples? Janine?) of Asian descent, so it wasn't totally unreasonable for Claudia to think of it. Just unreasonable of her to butt in so much.
Misc:
Claudia describes an ultrasound image of her cousin. It sounds like she might be describing a 3D ultrasound. The technology was developed in 1987, so maybe possible...
With my daughter, I had labor induced due to preeclampsia. It took a while for things to get started. I remember telling my parents at one point that it was fine if they headed home (no more than 10 minutes away) and my dad said, "But what if she's born right after we leave?" At this point, I had been at the hospital with a Pitocin drip for more than twelve hours. I told him, "Then go! If that's all that's holding her up."
A common question I've heard about this one is how Claudia can be a godmother so young. In the Catholic church, a godparent must be at least 16, not the child's parents, and a practicing Catholic. Also, godparents aren't also guardians in the case of the parents' deaths unless specified in the parents' wills. But the Kishis aren't Catholic, so whatever kind of church they attend (although this is the first time we've seen Claudia's family do so) obviously has different rules. Now, the real question: Lynn is baptized at a Congregational church. Anyone know their rules on godparents? Or if they even practice infant baptism?
Ms. Bernhardt, you jerk, the police probably WERE thrilled when you called back to say Claudia and Melissa had been found and were safe. Police tend to like it when missing people are safe and sound. (Page 127, she yells "I had just called the police! Then I had to call them back to say 'Never mind.' Do you think they appreciated that?")
Near the end of the book, Abby asks "Are we in Hawaii yet?" Foreshadowing!
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 8
Halloweens in 8th grade: 5 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 2
Winter holidays in 8th grade (that BSC members celebrate, not just reference): Christmas-2, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-1
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 8
BSC Fights: 10
SMS Staff and Faculty: 55
Students (other than the BSC): 182 117 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 6 7th graders, 43 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 33 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 117
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
Claudia's cousin is finally born! Her aunt and uncle, Peaches and Russ, name her Lynn for Claudia Lynn Kishi, and ask Claudia to be her godmother. Claudia is ecstatic about Lynn, and wants to spend time with her and help out however she can. Pretty quickly, she goes overboard. Peaches and Russ don't really know how to tell her that they need space. Tensions rise and all parties overreact. Conveniently, Claudia finds herself dealing with an overbearing classmate on a school trip to Philadelphia. Like in a sitcom, it helps her understand the situation and everyone gets along by the end of the book.
Subplot: Marilyn and Carolyn Arnold are getting terrified by illicitly watching horror movies, but are cured after seeing a making-of documentary and realizing it's fake.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: pretzels behind some shoe boxes in her closet
Shannon's on the debate team.
Claudia points out that while Logan teases Mary Anne for getting so emotional at movies, he actually likes it because the more she cries, the more she snuggles.
Stacey has injected herself with insulin in front of Claudia and Claudia says it's not gross. Good friend! The rest of the BSC is all "EW! Your necessary for living routines are disgusting!" Although, where does Stacey inject the insulin? I had a teacher with diabetes and he told us that the injections had to be in his backside (it was relevant).
Their Families:
Hmm...it's not entirely clear whether Lynn is breastfed, bottlefed, or a combination. And Claudia gives Peaches advice on feeding techniques.
The Club (and clients):
Quick way to convince eight-year-old kids a movie is fake (if that is indeed the only reason it scares them): ask if Jurassic Park was filmed with real dinosaurs. The end. And yes, the movie was out before this book was published.
SMS:
Ms. Bernhardt's a jerk. She calls on Claudia, who makes an honest attempt to answer the question, and LAUGHS at her when she gives the wrong answer. No wonder it's hard to motivate Claudia to try in school. Oh, and I mean "jerk" as in mean person, not as in fool like the BSC uses it.
New-to-us students: Melissa Banks and Lily Karp (8th)
PSA Time:
Any time you go to visit someone in the hospital, have a nurse check to see that the patient isn't asleep or having a procedure done or something. It's rude to just barge in.
If you or your significant other goes into labor and you don't want visitors, don't tell anyone. It's easier to keep people away when they don't know. It sounds obvious, but I made that mistake, and some people just won't understand "I don't want you there" because they think you're trying to accomodating of their schedules. On a related note, if someone you know is in labor and she says not to come, don't! You can meet the baby later when it's cleaned up and its mother isn't all tired and sweaty and stuff.
Lactose intolerance is more common in people (or peoples? Janine?) of Asian descent, so it wasn't totally unreasonable for Claudia to think of it. Just unreasonable of her to butt in so much.
Misc:
Claudia describes an ultrasound image of her cousin. It sounds like she might be describing a 3D ultrasound. The technology was developed in 1987, so maybe possible...
With my daughter, I had labor induced due to preeclampsia. It took a while for things to get started. I remember telling my parents at one point that it was fine if they headed home (no more than 10 minutes away) and my dad said, "But what if she's born right after we leave?" At this point, I had been at the hospital with a Pitocin drip for more than twelve hours. I told him, "Then go! If that's all that's holding her up."
A common question I've heard about this one is how Claudia can be a godmother so young. In the Catholic church, a godparent must be at least 16, not the child's parents, and a practicing Catholic. Also, godparents aren't also guardians in the case of the parents' deaths unless specified in the parents' wills. But the Kishis aren't Catholic, so whatever kind of church they attend (although this is the first time we've seen Claudia's family do so) obviously has different rules. Now, the real question: Lynn is baptized at a Congregational church. Anyone know their rules on godparents? Or if they even practice infant baptism?
Ms. Bernhardt, you jerk, the police probably WERE thrilled when you called back to say Claudia and Melissa had been found and were safe. Police tend to like it when missing people are safe and sound. (Page 127, she yells "I had just called the police! Then I had to call them back to say 'Never mind.' Do you think they appreciated that?")
Near the end of the book, Abby asks "Are we in Hawaii yet?" Foreshadowing!
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 8
Halloweens in 8th grade: 5 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 2
Winter holidays in 8th grade (that BSC members celebrate, not just reference): Christmas-2, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-1
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 8
BSC Fights: 10
SMS Staff and Faculty: 55
Students (other than the BSC): 182 117 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 6 7th graders, 43 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 33 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 117
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
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