Original Publication Date: 1996
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
Mary Anne is hired as a "companion" for a young girl visiting from England, Victoria Elizabeth (get it? Victorian and Elizabethan England? If she had an older brother I bet he'd be named Edward). She's not a true princess, but if a few dozen people died then Victoria could end up on the throne. Her family is visiting on UN duties for six months, and it's Victoria's first time in the States. She has some trouble adjusting to her temporary home and rubs some people the wrong way due to cultural differences. Mary Anne helps her figure things out, and things go smoothly from then on.
While this is going on, Mary Anne's dad has to travel to Milwaukee, WI on business. Feeling lonely with her husband and biological children gone, Sharon focuses her attentions on her step-daughter. However, Mary Anne gets the impression that Sharon is treating her as a replacement Dawn rather than getting to know her better. They have a talk which dances around the subject, but serves to resolve the issue as well.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: pretzels,
How did Kristy make it to 13 without realizing that celebrating Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November is a US-only thing? She's surprised to learn that the English, of all people, don't celebrate it. Guess what, Kristy? They also don't celebrate the Fourth of July.
I couldn't figure out his exact position, but since Logan scored a touchdown in the SMS football game he almost certainly plays offense.
Dawn and Sharon have "health loaf" for Thanksgiving (Dawn flies in to surprise her mom for the holiday). The description of it sounds identical to what my vegetarian aunt had at Thanksgiving last week.
Their Families:
Mary Anne's mother played basketball for her college.
Just how organized is Mary Anne's dad? Very: he still uses the same watch from his childhood.
Because Sharon's kineiologist has recommended she go off dairy, Sharon has apple cider on her Cheerios. Gross. Just don't have cereal, then!
Sharon volunteers with Meals on Wheels.
Mary Anne describes a picture of an infant Dawn perched "precarisously" on Sharon's lap, which Sharon attributes to Dawn's eagerness to start walking. But Dawn's a newborn in the picture. Newborns aren't that mobile yet...nice try, Sharon.
Mary Anne explicitly says that in her mind, "Mom" is reserved for her biological mother, and she's mentioned in at least one other book as well. She also gets mixed feelings seeing two notes Sharon leaves her signed "Mom." Yet on page 140, she refers to Sharon as "Mom."
The Club (and clients):
New client: the Kents.
SMS: nothing new.
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
While I'm not vegetarian, if I were to think of one food item to get in Wisconsin, it wouldn't be bratwurst. It'd be cheese. Second would be beer.
I don't normally pay attention to outfit descriptions, but Mary Anne wears a plaid skirt with argyle socks. I don't think those two patterns should be together.
This book marks the third time Thanksgiving in celebrated in the same academic year.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 9
Halloweens in 8th grade: 6 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 3
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: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 60
Students (other than the BSC): 186: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 8 7th graders, 44 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 36 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 122
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
11/28/12
Claudia Kishi, Middle School Dropout (RS#101)
Original Publication Date: 1996
Ghostwriter? Yes, Ellen Miles
Synopsis:
Claudia is having more and more trouble with school, except art of course. In fact, she's taking an art class at a community college. But as her SMS grades continue to drop, the school comes to a decision: Claudia needs to repeat seventh grade. In spite of the humilation, Claudia finds herself pleased with how much easier the information is coming to her and starts to get used the idea of being a seventh-grader. Until she takes a closer look at the signs for the upcoming Halloween dance: it's only for eighth grade. Suddenly she's hit with separated she now is from her former life, which really gets her down. She just barely gets up the motivation to attend the end-of-class art show, and is stunned to see she's won first place, despite being the youngest in the class. With everything else that's going on, Claudia gets overwhelmed and breaks down. Turns out that her teacher, a famous artist, was held back in school herself--twice. She encourages Claudia that things will work out. Having had a chance to talk things over, Claudia is able to soldier on and make the best of things.
Subplot: Kristy organizes Hospital Buddies, a program to help out kids in the hospital by arranging visits and that sort of thing.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Yodels, Raisinettes, Smartfood cheese-flavored popcorn, Milky Ways, Snickers, Sour Patch Kids, Milk Duds, pretzels
Claudia is excited to see her art in a "real art show," but didn't that happen in Claudia and the New Girl?
Their Families:
Claudia's parents gave her a thesaurus for Christmas.
Vanessa Pike's idea for a Halloween costume (this book has the same Halloween as Super Mystery #3) is a "hippie girl in a hippie world." This book was released about six months before the song "Barbie Girl" was...perhaps the songwriter was inspired!
Claudia's parents give out raisins or bags of dried fruit for Halloween, and now their house rarely gets trick-or-treaters.
The Club (and clients):
Jackie Rodowsky is released from the hospital, having recovered from his concussion.
The book ends with Kristy declaring that the BSC is officially re-formed, its probationary period over.
SMS:
New-to-us students: Josh Peterson, Tim Ryan (seventh grade)
New-to-us faculty/staff: Ms. Anderson, 8th grade social studies; Mr. Matthews, resource room aide; Ms. Chiavetta, 7th grade English; Ms. Spacey, 7th grade science. Mr. Redmondt is back as a seventh-grade teacher, occasionally spelled "Redmond."
Starting in seventh grade at my school, students were placed in different math classes based on how well they understood math. Some of us were a grade ahead, some a grade below, and some taking "normal" seventh grade math. Claudia seems to have the most trouble with math, so that approach might have helped her. But she'd need something similar with English as well.
64% is a failing grade at SMS. I'm used to 60% and below being failing.
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc: nothing stood out.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 9
Halloweens in 8th grade: 6 (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: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 60
Students (other than the BSC): 186: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 8 7th graders, 44 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 35 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 122
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? Yes, Ellen Miles
Synopsis:
Claudia is having more and more trouble with school, except art of course. In fact, she's taking an art class at a community college. But as her SMS grades continue to drop, the school comes to a decision: Claudia needs to repeat seventh grade. In spite of the humilation, Claudia finds herself pleased with how much easier the information is coming to her and starts to get used the idea of being a seventh-grader. Until she takes a closer look at the signs for the upcoming Halloween dance: it's only for eighth grade. Suddenly she's hit with separated she now is from her former life, which really gets her down. She just barely gets up the motivation to attend the end-of-class art show, and is stunned to see she's won first place, despite being the youngest in the class. With everything else that's going on, Claudia gets overwhelmed and breaks down. Turns out that her teacher, a famous artist, was held back in school herself--twice. She encourages Claudia that things will work out. Having had a chance to talk things over, Claudia is able to soldier on and make the best of things.
Subplot: Kristy organizes Hospital Buddies, a program to help out kids in the hospital by arranging visits and that sort of thing.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Yodels, Raisinettes, Smartfood cheese-flavored popcorn, Milky Ways, Snickers, Sour Patch Kids, Milk Duds, pretzels
Claudia is excited to see her art in a "real art show," but didn't that happen in Claudia and the New Girl?
Their Families:
Claudia's parents gave her a thesaurus for Christmas.
Vanessa Pike's idea for a Halloween costume (this book has the same Halloween as Super Mystery #3) is a "hippie girl in a hippie world." This book was released about six months before the song "Barbie Girl" was...perhaps the songwriter was inspired!
Claudia's parents give out raisins or bags of dried fruit for Halloween, and now their house rarely gets trick-or-treaters.
The Club (and clients):
Jackie Rodowsky is released from the hospital, having recovered from his concussion.
The book ends with Kristy declaring that the BSC is officially re-formed, its probationary period over.
SMS:
New-to-us students: Josh Peterson, Tim Ryan (seventh grade)
New-to-us faculty/staff: Ms. Anderson, 8th grade social studies; Mr. Matthews, resource room aide; Ms. Chiavetta, 7th grade English; Ms. Spacey, 7th grade science. Mr. Redmondt is back as a seventh-grade teacher, occasionally spelled "Redmond."
Starting in seventh grade at my school, students were placed in different math classes based on how well they understood math. Some of us were a grade ahead, some a grade below, and some taking "normal" seventh grade math. Claudia seems to have the most trouble with math, so that approach might have helped her. But she'd need something similar with English as well.
64% is a failing grade at SMS. I'm used to 60% and below being failing.
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc: nothing stood out.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 9
Halloweens in 8th grade: 6 (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: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 60
Students (other than the BSC): 186: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 8 7th graders, 44 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 35 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 122
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
11/25/12
Baby-sitters' Fright Night (SM#3)
Original Publication Date: 1996
Ghostwriter? Yes, Nola Thacker
Synopsis:
Bleh, Super Mystery. Only one more of these to go!
This time, Kristy, Abby, Stacey, Mallory, and Mary Anne are on a four day school trip to Salem, MA while a famous diamond called the Witch's Eye is stolen. The girls investigate because they have to be involved in everything, and some creepy stuff starts happening to them, like coming back to the hotel to find their rooms ransacked. Back in Stoneybrook, Claudia, Jessi, Logan, and Shannon (staying behind due to grades, a ballet a recital, a football game, and not going to SMS, respectively) organize a Halloween parade for the kids. Mostly the plot stays on focus, but each sitter gets at least one chapter:
Abby picks up a souvenir pumpkin keychain, and after the creepy stuff starts, wonders if it's cursed and bringing bad luck on the BSC. It turns out that the pumpkin is hollow, and the stolen diamond is inside, which explains why people have been following her, going through her hotel room, and so on: the theif was trying to get the diamond back.
Kristy tries to hold pranks from Cary Retlin and Alan Gray at bay. She ends up in the now-closed museum that the diamond was stolen from and gets locked inside with Alan Gray. The two of them figure out that Cary is behind both of them being able to enter the museum and team up to scare him.
Mary Anne finds a discarded disguise that was presumably used by the theif.
Mallory helps out a fellow student who's being picked on by Cokie by sort of...halfway between befriending and defending her.
Stacey finds a clue--a piece of paper with a series of numbers written on it, which turn out to be a combination to a hotel room safe. She does some work to narrow down the list of suspects.
Jessi gets the mystery notebook down to Mallory in Salem (a teacher's husband is coming for part of the trip). Again, the trip is FOUR DAYS.
Claudia's chapters mostly mention her homework troubles. She and Logan also come up with the idea of organizing the Halloween parade for the charges.
Logan helps the kids make costumes for Halloween.
Shannon helps Jordan Pike deal with his book of "magic spells" not working out as he had envisioned.
It turns out that a famous author, who had been researching the diamond and its supposed curse, stole the diamond with a partner to add to its mystery and help sell the book she's writing. The BSC serves as the catalyst to solving the mystery, and the owner of the diamond is very grateful.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: M&Ms
Foreshadowing: Claudia and her parents are worried about her grades.
If these books were written now, I wonder if Dawn would crusade against high fructose corn syrup rather than sugar.
At one point, Abby starts concocting a complicated and gruesome (well, for the BSC) theory about the mystery. Later on, in mystery #36, we'll find out that she's a fan of shows similar to America's Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries, so this makes sense.
Mary Anne narrates that Abby is the most individual a person she knows, rather than Dawn!
Stacey has a great memory for numbers. She says they "imprint" on her brain almost immediately and stick with her for a while.
Mallory makes a reference to going to a candle light church service. In the fourth and final Super Mystery it's implied that her family attends a church at least semi-regularly, although religion is rarely mentioned in the BSC books.
Their Families:
Sometimes Nikcy Pike goes through rolls of pennies that his dad gets from the bank, and has twice found one worth five dollars. Unless the penny has a rare defect, Lincoln pennies are worth face value, wheat pennies are worth about three cents, and "Indian head" pennies are worth at least a dollar. The pennies with rare mistakes are worth much more than five dollars, so Nicky must have found Indian head pennies in fantastic shape.
The Club (and clients): nothing new.
SMS:
New-to-us student: Eileen Murphy (6th).
Mary Anne spends an afternoon watching Ms. Garcia's five-year-old daughter. Ms. Garcia references her family being "just the two of us" and says that her daughter has the same outgoing personality that her father had. I didn't realize she was a widow.
PSA Time:
Okay, look. In the US, there is a constitutional garauntee to freedom of speech, of the press, etc. But it means that the GOVERNMENT can't step in the way of these things. Individuals and private businesses can still tell you to shut up or hold your protest on the (public) sidewalk instead of on private property and do so without infringing on any rights. You can say that they're being jerks, and you may well be right, but they are not violating the Constitution.
Misc:
This Halloween is the sixth one celebrated while the (older) BSC members are in eighth grade.
Abby congratulates Mallory on her clever deduction, then wonders aloud if she meant induction instead. I like to think that was a subtle commentary on Mallory perhaps following in her parents' footsteps and having a bunch of kids.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 9
Halloweens in 8th grade: 6 (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: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 56
Students (other than the BSC): 184: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 6 7th graders, 44 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 35 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 120
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? Yes, Nola Thacker
Synopsis:
Bleh, Super Mystery. Only one more of these to go!
This time, Kristy, Abby, Stacey, Mallory, and Mary Anne are on a four day school trip to Salem, MA while a famous diamond called the Witch's Eye is stolen. The girls investigate because they have to be involved in everything, and some creepy stuff starts happening to them, like coming back to the hotel to find their rooms ransacked. Back in Stoneybrook, Claudia, Jessi, Logan, and Shannon (staying behind due to grades, a ballet a recital, a football game, and not going to SMS, respectively) organize a Halloween parade for the kids. Mostly the plot stays on focus, but each sitter gets at least one chapter:
Abby picks up a souvenir pumpkin keychain, and after the creepy stuff starts, wonders if it's cursed and bringing bad luck on the BSC. It turns out that the pumpkin is hollow, and the stolen diamond is inside, which explains why people have been following her, going through her hotel room, and so on: the theif was trying to get the diamond back.
Kristy tries to hold pranks from Cary Retlin and Alan Gray at bay. She ends up in the now-closed museum that the diamond was stolen from and gets locked inside with Alan Gray. The two of them figure out that Cary is behind both of them being able to enter the museum and team up to scare him.
Mary Anne finds a discarded disguise that was presumably used by the theif.
Mallory helps out a fellow student who's being picked on by Cokie by sort of...halfway between befriending and defending her.
Stacey finds a clue--a piece of paper with a series of numbers written on it, which turn out to be a combination to a hotel room safe. She does some work to narrow down the list of suspects.
Jessi gets the mystery notebook down to Mallory in Salem (a teacher's husband is coming for part of the trip). Again, the trip is FOUR DAYS.
Claudia's chapters mostly mention her homework troubles. She and Logan also come up with the idea of organizing the Halloween parade for the charges.
Logan helps the kids make costumes for Halloween.
Shannon helps Jordan Pike deal with his book of "magic spells" not working out as he had envisioned.
It turns out that a famous author, who had been researching the diamond and its supposed curse, stole the diamond with a partner to add to its mystery and help sell the book she's writing. The BSC serves as the catalyst to solving the mystery, and the owner of the diamond is very grateful.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: M&Ms
Foreshadowing: Claudia and her parents are worried about her grades.
If these books were written now, I wonder if Dawn would crusade against high fructose corn syrup rather than sugar.
At one point, Abby starts concocting a complicated and gruesome (well, for the BSC) theory about the mystery. Later on, in mystery #36, we'll find out that she's a fan of shows similar to America's Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries, so this makes sense.
Mary Anne narrates that Abby is the most individual a person she knows, rather than Dawn!
Stacey has a great memory for numbers. She says they "imprint" on her brain almost immediately and stick with her for a while.
Mallory makes a reference to going to a candle light church service. In the fourth and final Super Mystery it's implied that her family attends a church at least semi-regularly, although religion is rarely mentioned in the BSC books.
Their Families:
Sometimes Nikcy Pike goes through rolls of pennies that his dad gets from the bank, and has twice found one worth five dollars. Unless the penny has a rare defect, Lincoln pennies are worth face value, wheat pennies are worth about three cents, and "Indian head" pennies are worth at least a dollar. The pennies with rare mistakes are worth much more than five dollars, so Nicky must have found Indian head pennies in fantastic shape.
The Club (and clients): nothing new.
SMS:
New-to-us student: Eileen Murphy (6th).
Mary Anne spends an afternoon watching Ms. Garcia's five-year-old daughter. Ms. Garcia references her family being "just the two of us" and says that her daughter has the same outgoing personality that her father had. I didn't realize she was a widow.
PSA Time:
Okay, look. In the US, there is a constitutional garauntee to freedom of speech, of the press, etc. But it means that the GOVERNMENT can't step in the way of these things. Individuals and private businesses can still tell you to shut up or hold your protest on the (public) sidewalk instead of on private property and do so without infringing on any rights. You can say that they're being jerks, and you may well be right, but they are not violating the Constitution.
Misc:
This Halloween is the sixth one celebrated while the (older) BSC members are in eighth grade.
Abby congratulates Mallory on her clever deduction, then wonders aloud if she meant induction instead. I like to think that was a subtle commentary on Mallory perhaps following in her parents' footsteps and having a bunch of kids.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 9
Halloweens in 8th grade: 6 (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: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 56
Students (other than the BSC): 184: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 6 7th graders, 44 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 35 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 120
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
11/23/12
Portrait Collection: Kristy's Book
Original Publication Date: 1996
Ghostwriter? Yes, Jeanne Betancourt
Synopsis:
Now it's Kristy's turn to write an autobiography. She summarizes her life this way:
The First Five Innings: Kristy recounts her birth story (her mother started labor at a Yankees game) and tells about her first great idea--building snowmen for the neighbors to earn money for a birthday gift for Mimi.
Breaking the Rules: Kristy was sometimes left out of things by her older brothers, and had stricter rules than they did, because she was younger. She's so frustrated by this that she tricks her brothers into taking her to a movie that she was explicitly told to NOT go to. Her mother comes into the theatre partway through the showing and makes her leave. But Kristy later convinces her brothers to play a game with her that basically reveals the rest of the plot that Kristy had missed.
On Our Own: Not long after David Michael is born, Kristy dad simply fails to come home one night. It takes a call to his boss for Kristy's mom to discover that he's gone. She gets a fulltime job, and the older three kids start helping out more around the house.
Play Ball: Kristy goes to a baseball camp one summer (on scholarship, due to financial hardship). She learns a life lesson about teamwork...it's a pretty boring section.
My Real Father: When Kristy is 13, her father shows up (this plot point was put in the BSC movie). Only Mary Anne knows he's visiting; he wants to keep it secret from the rest of Kristy's family--yes, I'm purposely not calling it HIS family. After a week, Watson gets suspicious, but trusts Kristy enough to wait for a little bit before talking to Elizabeth. Kristy's father gives her an overdue birthday of a baseball glove...for a right-handed player, when Kristy is left-handed. She tries to exchange it and discovers it wasn't bought specially for her, it was part of a giveaway at a work event her father had attended. He skips town a couple days later, and Kristy tells her mom about it all. Later, Watson gets her a gift: a left-handed glove.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: it's mentioned that she seems to have an "endless supply" of candy even in elementary school
Kristy is supposed to be left-handed. but in the picture of her at about age 5 playing catch with her father on page 29, she's wearing a baseball glove on her left hand and actively playing that way. Now, if you're my mom and don't know much about baseball and you buy your left-handed a son a glove for his left hand, it's one thing. But if you have a job in the sports field... The picture of the wrong-handed glove Kristy gets later is of a glove for a right-handed person. (You get a glove for your non-dominant hand to allow for throwing with your dominant hand)
When Louie gets sprayed by a skunk and the kids are trying to figure how to bathe him without getting skunk smell on themselves, Claudia suggest Charlie could wear a plastic garbage bag over himself. It probably looked funny on him, but would have looked great on Claudia!
Their Families:
Maybe it's that Kristy is viewing the past through the lens of the present, but her father seems a bit clueless and distant even before he leaves. For example, she says that her father was more interested in the outcome of the Yankees game her parents had to leave early due to her mom being in labor than the fact that his wife was having a baby.
When relaxing around the house, Kristy's mom likes to wear jeans and sweatshirt, just like Kristy's standard "uniform."
The Club (and clients):
This book comes after Kristy's Worst Idea, which ends with the BSC deciding that it's okay to have priorities other than baby-sitting. Kristy actually seems to stick to that idea when she tries to remember if anyone can sit for her younger siblings: she has to do homework as does Claudia and some members are out of town or doing other extra-curricular activities, and only Mallory has a sitting job (Mary Anne is free and takes the job).
SMS:
Kristy gets a B+ on her report. I wonder what the grading criteria was.
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
All the portrait collections have illustrations. Kristy's baby pictures are weird looking, like one artist drew all but the face and another just copied Kristy's teenage face onto the head.
I detest the term "play date." It's so contrived. When I was a kid, we just went to our friends' house or they came to ours and we played. The question was not "Can we have a play date?" but "Can you play?"
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 9
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: 11
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: 35 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 120
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? Yes, Jeanne Betancourt
Synopsis:
Now it's Kristy's turn to write an autobiography. She summarizes her life this way:
The First Five Innings: Kristy recounts her birth story (her mother started labor at a Yankees game) and tells about her first great idea--building snowmen for the neighbors to earn money for a birthday gift for Mimi.
Breaking the Rules: Kristy was sometimes left out of things by her older brothers, and had stricter rules than they did, because she was younger. She's so frustrated by this that she tricks her brothers into taking her to a movie that she was explicitly told to NOT go to. Her mother comes into the theatre partway through the showing and makes her leave. But Kristy later convinces her brothers to play a game with her that basically reveals the rest of the plot that Kristy had missed.
On Our Own: Not long after David Michael is born, Kristy dad simply fails to come home one night. It takes a call to his boss for Kristy's mom to discover that he's gone. She gets a fulltime job, and the older three kids start helping out more around the house.
Play Ball: Kristy goes to a baseball camp one summer (on scholarship, due to financial hardship). She learns a life lesson about teamwork...it's a pretty boring section.
My Real Father: When Kristy is 13, her father shows up (this plot point was put in the BSC movie). Only Mary Anne knows he's visiting; he wants to keep it secret from the rest of Kristy's family--yes, I'm purposely not calling it HIS family. After a week, Watson gets suspicious, but trusts Kristy enough to wait for a little bit before talking to Elizabeth. Kristy's father gives her an overdue birthday of a baseball glove...for a right-handed player, when Kristy is left-handed. She tries to exchange it and discovers it wasn't bought specially for her, it was part of a giveaway at a work event her father had attended. He skips town a couple days later, and Kristy tells her mom about it all. Later, Watson gets her a gift: a left-handed glove.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: it's mentioned that she seems to have an "endless supply" of candy even in elementary school
Kristy is supposed to be left-handed. but in the picture of her at about age 5 playing catch with her father on page 29, she's wearing a baseball glove on her left hand and actively playing that way. Now, if you're my mom and don't know much about baseball and you buy your left-handed a son a glove for his left hand, it's one thing. But if you have a job in the sports field... The picture of the wrong-handed glove Kristy gets later is of a glove for a right-handed person. (You get a glove for your non-dominant hand to allow for throwing with your dominant hand)
When Louie gets sprayed by a skunk and the kids are trying to figure how to bathe him without getting skunk smell on themselves, Claudia suggest Charlie could wear a plastic garbage bag over himself. It probably looked funny on him, but would have looked great on Claudia!
Their Families:
Maybe it's that Kristy is viewing the past through the lens of the present, but her father seems a bit clueless and distant even before he leaves. For example, she says that her father was more interested in the outcome of the Yankees game her parents had to leave early due to her mom being in labor than the fact that his wife was having a baby.
When relaxing around the house, Kristy's mom likes to wear jeans and sweatshirt, just like Kristy's standard "uniform."
The Club (and clients):
This book comes after Kristy's Worst Idea, which ends with the BSC deciding that it's okay to have priorities other than baby-sitting. Kristy actually seems to stick to that idea when she tries to remember if anyone can sit for her younger siblings: she has to do homework as does Claudia and some members are out of town or doing other extra-curricular activities, and only Mallory has a sitting job (Mary Anne is free and takes the job).
SMS:
Kristy gets a B+ on her report. I wonder what the grading criteria was.
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
All the portrait collections have illustrations. Kristy's baby pictures are weird looking, like one artist drew all but the face and another just copied Kristy's teenage face onto the head.
I detest the term "play date." It's so contrived. When I was a kid, we just went to our friends' house or they came to ours and we played. The question was not "Can we have a play date?" but "Can you play?"
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 9
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: 11
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: 35 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 120
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
11/14/12
Kristy's Worst Idea (RS#100)
Original Publication Date: 1996
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
Kristy is back from her family trip to Hawaii, and anxious to get back to being BSC president. Perhaps too anxious. A few things went wonky with Abby being in charge, and Kristy goes overboard correcting them. To further complicate matters, a lot of members are finding that the BSC meetings are getting in the way of life: Jessi's advanced ballet class now meets on Friday afternoons, Mallory's taking a writing course that conflicts, etc. And several members are having conflicts with each other. And Jackie Rodowsky gets hurt on Kristy's watch, which she blames herself for. Long story short: the BSC disbands.
How does it go? Jessi and Mallory take it the hardest, after the parents (really, the BSC is offered mediation sessions and outright cash to reform). It isn't long before the other members realized they miss their earnings and the comaraderie. At the same time, a lot of the kids they used to sit for think they're to blame, including Jackie, who tries to bike over to Kristy's to make amends and ends up with a concussion that lands him in the hospital. It all comes together in the BSC reforming, with the understanding that the members will try to keep it a priority but also can be flexible.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Snickers, Milk Duds, tortilla chips
Kristy brings back little gifts for the rest of the BSC. Mallory gets clip on earrings. Mallory had her ears pierced in her second book, Mallory and the Trouble with Twins. Continuity fail or Kristy fail?
Their Families:
Kristy's the first kid up at her house one day and Watson offers her the first bit of bacon. My toddler just watched Charlotte's Web, in which the daughter is given Wilbur, the runt of the litter, to raise in events that transpose because she woke up early. Funny parallel that I'm sure in unintentional.
The Club (and clients):
I just realized that original four BSC members are in the same spots on this book's cover as on the cover of Kristy's Great Idea: Kristy in the director's chair, Stacey on the floor, and Mary Anne and Claudia on the bed.
Mrs. DeWitt calls for two sitters for Thursday, and a couple pages later Mary Anne and Claudia go to a sitting job for the barrett-DeWitt kids on Wednesday. Could be a an already-booked job, but it doesn't seem like it.
While it was rotten of Kristy and the BSC to blame Mallory when Nicky broke his finger way back when, but I guess you could say that at least Kristy's consistent when she beats herself up for Jackie's sprained ankle. And later Claire gets hurt and Kristy reassures Mallory that it's not her fault, so I guess she's sort of making up for it.
SMS:
School starts for the ninth time.
PSA Time:
Wear a bike helmet when you're biking. Just do it.
Misc:
Kristy tells us how exhausting the trip back from Hawaii to Connecticut was by saying "We started at X time and the flight was this long, then a layover this long, etc" and asks the reader what time they got home. She says she's too tired to figure it out, but whoever owned this copy of the book before I did answered 5:15am the day after leaving HI. (I checked the math; it's accurate)
If I were to take my family on a trip a few weeks before the start of a new school year, I'd get the back-to-school shopping done BEFORE the trip. Maybe that's just me.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 9
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: 11
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: 35 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 120
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
Kristy is back from her family trip to Hawaii, and anxious to get back to being BSC president. Perhaps too anxious. A few things went wonky with Abby being in charge, and Kristy goes overboard correcting them. To further complicate matters, a lot of members are finding that the BSC meetings are getting in the way of life: Jessi's advanced ballet class now meets on Friday afternoons, Mallory's taking a writing course that conflicts, etc. And several members are having conflicts with each other. And Jackie Rodowsky gets hurt on Kristy's watch, which she blames herself for. Long story short: the BSC disbands.
How does it go? Jessi and Mallory take it the hardest, after the parents (really, the BSC is offered mediation sessions and outright cash to reform). It isn't long before the other members realized they miss their earnings and the comaraderie. At the same time, a lot of the kids they used to sit for think they're to blame, including Jackie, who tries to bike over to Kristy's to make amends and ends up with a concussion that lands him in the hospital. It all comes together in the BSC reforming, with the understanding that the members will try to keep it a priority but also can be flexible.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Snickers, Milk Duds, tortilla chips
Kristy brings back little gifts for the rest of the BSC. Mallory gets clip on earrings. Mallory had her ears pierced in her second book, Mallory and the Trouble with Twins. Continuity fail or Kristy fail?
Their Families:
Kristy's the first kid up at her house one day and Watson offers her the first bit of bacon. My toddler just watched Charlotte's Web, in which the daughter is given Wilbur, the runt of the litter, to raise in events that transpose because she woke up early. Funny parallel that I'm sure in unintentional.
The Club (and clients):
I just realized that original four BSC members are in the same spots on this book's cover as on the cover of Kristy's Great Idea: Kristy in the director's chair, Stacey on the floor, and Mary Anne and Claudia on the bed.
Mrs. DeWitt calls for two sitters for Thursday, and a couple pages later Mary Anne and Claudia go to a sitting job for the barrett-DeWitt kids on Wednesday. Could be a an already-booked job, but it doesn't seem like it.
While it was rotten of Kristy and the BSC to blame Mallory when Nicky broke his finger way back when, but I guess you could say that at least Kristy's consistent when she beats herself up for Jackie's sprained ankle. And later Claire gets hurt and Kristy reassures Mallory that it's not her fault, so I guess she's sort of making up for it.
SMS:
School starts for the ninth time.
PSA Time:
Wear a bike helmet when you're biking. Just do it.
Misc:
Kristy tells us how exhausting the trip back from Hawaii to Connecticut was by saying "We started at X time and the flight was this long, then a layover this long, etc" and asks the reader what time they got home. She says she's too tired to figure it out, but whoever owned this copy of the book before I did answered 5:15am the day after leaving HI. (I checked the math; it's accurate)
If I were to take my family on a trip a few weeks before the start of a new school year, I'd get the back-to-school shopping done BEFORE the trip. Maybe that's just me.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 9
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: 11
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: 35 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 120
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
11/1/12
Stacey's Broken Heart (RS #99)
Original Publication Date: 1996
Ghostwriter? Yes, Suzanne Weyn
Synopsis:
Remember how Stacey was concerned with Robert talking so much to other girls? Well...she hears some unsettling news from Emily Bernstein, and ends up finding out that Robert's been cheating on her. Stacey is hurt of course, but also understands a bit. While sitting for some old charges in New York, she found herself developing a crush, although she didn't act on it. So she understands being attracted to someone, but she doesn't understand running with it. The girl he's been seeing behind Stacey's back, Andi Gentile, actually seeks out Stacey to apologize, which is impressive.
Also, Kristy goes on vacation to Hawaii with her family, and Abby takes over as president while she's gone. Wanting to prove herself, Abby organizes a Mexican-themed festival. She goes over budget, and basically cleans out the treasury AND expects the other members to chip in after the fact. While she has good ideas, she's not very good at executing them or leading the BSC. Basically she needs practice and guidance.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: none mentioned, but she does make watermelon carvings
Stacey's attraction to Ethan brings her crush count up to an even dozen.
Claudia's a good friend for telling Stacey about Robert. It's certainly not welcome news, but Stacey deserved to know.
Their Families:
I totally understand Stacey's frustration with her father when she vents a bit about Robert to him and he tries to fix everything, especially with unwelcome suggestions (seeing other people). Sometimes you just want to vent and not discuss it.
The Club (and clients):
I don't get why Claudia wasn't the president during Kristy's absence, being vice-president. Abby already got to fill in for Stacey as treasurer.
SMS:
Pete Black has grown his hair to almost-shoulder length. I'm not a fan of long hair on guys (I happen to think the military's on to something), but Stacey and Claudia like it.
PSA Time:
None relevant to the book, but something from this evening: while standby flights often work out, don't bet on it after a hurricane disturbs plane flights. That was a fun trip to the airport!
Misc:
Wouldn't it have been easier and cheaper to use balloons to make the pinatas rather than balsa wood?
Henry and Grace Walker, who haven't shown up for dozens of books, are described consistently with their previous appearances.
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: 120
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? Yes, Suzanne Weyn
Synopsis:
Remember how Stacey was concerned with Robert talking so much to other girls? Well...she hears some unsettling news from Emily Bernstein, and ends up finding out that Robert's been cheating on her. Stacey is hurt of course, but also understands a bit. While sitting for some old charges in New York, she found herself developing a crush, although she didn't act on it. So she understands being attracted to someone, but she doesn't understand running with it. The girl he's been seeing behind Stacey's back, Andi Gentile, actually seeks out Stacey to apologize, which is impressive.
Also, Kristy goes on vacation to Hawaii with her family, and Abby takes over as president while she's gone. Wanting to prove herself, Abby organizes a Mexican-themed festival. She goes over budget, and basically cleans out the treasury AND expects the other members to chip in after the fact. While she has good ideas, she's not very good at executing them or leading the BSC. Basically she needs practice and guidance.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: none mentioned, but she does make watermelon carvings
Stacey's attraction to Ethan brings her crush count up to an even dozen.
Claudia's a good friend for telling Stacey about Robert. It's certainly not welcome news, but Stacey deserved to know.
Their Families:
I totally understand Stacey's frustration with her father when she vents a bit about Robert to him and he tries to fix everything, especially with unwelcome suggestions (seeing other people). Sometimes you just want to vent and not discuss it.
The Club (and clients):
I don't get why Claudia wasn't the president during Kristy's absence, being vice-president. Abby already got to fill in for Stacey as treasurer.
SMS:
Pete Black has grown his hair to almost-shoulder length. I'm not a fan of long hair on guys (I happen to think the military's on to something), but Stacey and Claudia like it.
PSA Time:
None relevant to the book, but something from this evening: while standby flights often work out, don't bet on it after a hurricane disturbs plane flights. That was a fun trip to the airport!
Misc:
Wouldn't it have been easier and cheaper to use balloons to make the pinatas rather than balsa wood?
Henry and Grace Walker, who haven't shown up for dozens of books, are described consistently with their previous appearances.
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: 120
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
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