Original Publication Date: 1997
Ghostwriter? Yes, Vicki Berger Erwin
Synopsis:
The BSC is called upon by the granddaughter of a recently deceased local artist to help watch her son
while she goes through the estate. Claudia is interested, naturally, and soons discovers that after some particularly harsh reviews, the artist destroyed much of her artwork. But maybe there are a few paintings left somwhere...
Of course, since this IS a BSC mystery, she finds a painting that she thinks might be covering some original artwork by the deceased artist. It's not, but others are. And there's this whole craziness with someone posing as a real estate agent and an estranged relative of the artist trying to steal the painting and locking Claudia in a closet...it's a little out there. But the mystery is solved and the would-be theives foiled.
At the same time, the BSC helps set up an interactive art exhibit for children at the Stoneybrook art museum.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: M&Ms under a pillow, Ho Hos and a Hershey bar in her closet, pretzels and Hershey's Kisses in a desk drawer, white cheddar popcorn and Gummi Bears
It's pretty minor, but the description of Mary Anne seems to mix up the chronology of certain events in her life, indicating that she got her dramatic haircut before getting a cat.
Claudia always carries tissues with her when she's sitting, in case her charges start crying. Not a bad idea.
Abby's allergic to paint? Just...all paint? There are so many kinds!
Their Families:
Claudia's mom wears a pair of earrings to work that Claudia made her. They're in the shape of open books. That's sweet of Claudia to make something meaningful to her mom, and sweet of her mom to wear them to work.
The BSC gets this job because Kristy's mom is friends with the granddaughter, who inherited much if not all of the estate. I wonder if they were friends before Kristy's mom married Watson or if being in "high society" lead to connections to local artists.
The Club (and clients):
The Addison parents still don't pay much attention to their kids.
SMS: nothing new.
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
This is Claudia's last mystery book.
There's a yellow/orange cat featured in the book, and it's mentioned that the late artist had a few in her lifetime, all of which are implied to have been female. Almost all yellow/orange cats are male, just as almost all tri-colored calico cats are female (the rare male ones are sterile, at that).
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 10
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 10
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 67
Students (other than the BSC): 210: 120 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 26 7th graders, 47 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 131
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-10
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
1/27/13
Stacey's Secret Friend (RS#111)
Original Publication Date: 1997
Ghostwriter? Yes, Suzanne Weyn
Synopsis:
Stacey almost literally runs into a new student: Tess Swinhart accidentally walks into a papier-mache project Stacey's working on with Barbara Hirsch (whose best friend, Amelia Freeman, is the one who was killed by a drunk driver in Mary Anne and the Memory Garden). Stacey's impression of Tess is someone who's very nice but a little awkward. Her physical awkwardness leads to her spilling some papier-mache gunk on Alan Gray, who starts making pig jokes ("Swine-heart"; she dresses in pink a lot, etc) behind her back. Soon half the school is in on it. Stacey and Tess end up working together on an English project, which Stacey takes as an opportunity to "fix" Tess. While Stacey is trying to do something nice, she fails to take into account how Tess actually feels about everything. Then there's this awful part at a pep rally: the school wants to elect a new mascot and someone slips in a poster nominating the cartoon version of Tess that so many students have been laughing about. In her embarassment and the crowd's confusion, Tess slips off the bleachers and sprains her wrist and breaks her ankle. Stacey tries to help, but Tess refuses, confronting Stacey with the fact that Stacey hasn't been a real friend. When Stacey goes to apologize and see how Tess is recovering, she finds out what she'd been missing by ignoring Tess in her quest to fix her: Tess went to school in Paris, and her odd clothing and accessories are actually quite fashionable there. Stacey redeems herself a bit by working with Tess and the BSC to foil a nasty prank that some guys are plotting against Tess to embarass her. The book ends with Tess no longer upset at Stacey, but without them really being friends.
There's a subplot about Jackie Rodowsky having a bully and Nicky Pike protecting him. The bullying started from a misunderstanding about a missing jacket, but Jackie sorts it out.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: popcorn, M&Ms
In a strange bit of continuity, Stacey would still like to be a large cat like a panther if she were to be an animal.
I like that Mary Anne and Claudia are the first to note that Stacey is treating Tess as more of a project than a friend. Mary Anne is supposed to be sensitive, and was forced to wear clothes she didn't like by her father. Claudia is something of an oddity in her immediate family and worries that her parents prefer Janine to her.
Apparently, Claudia is back writing her personals column for the SMS paper again. She references working for the paper in present tense.
Their Families: nothing stood out.
The Club (and clients):
Mrs. Rodowsky has a cell phone! And email was mentioned a few books ago. Is the BSC moving into the 1990s?
SMS:
Time for school to start...again.
The SMS mascot is now a jaguar, when it used to be the Chargers. On the other hand, it's mentioned that the papier-mache panther Claudia helped with looks good because of Claudia's help, and in Claudia Kishi, Queen of the Seventh Grade, Claudia doesn't help with a papier-mache lion and it looks terrible. So...some good continuity.
New student: Tess Swinhart (8th grade). Several students who were introduced in previous book show up, too.
Mr. Peters, a math teacher, is called Mr. Peter in this book (it's pretty clear that it's the same person).
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
"Panthers" don't exist as a separate animal. They're just all-black (melanistic, as opposed to albino) jaguars, leopards, and mountain lions.
You can too feel mascara, Stacey. Especially if you wear glasses and your eyelashes are long enough to get little dots or even streaks on the glasses.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 10
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 10
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 67
Students (other than the BSC): 210: 120 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 26 7th graders, 47 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 130
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-10
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? Yes, Suzanne Weyn
Synopsis:
Stacey almost literally runs into a new student: Tess Swinhart accidentally walks into a papier-mache project Stacey's working on with Barbara Hirsch (whose best friend, Amelia Freeman, is the one who was killed by a drunk driver in Mary Anne and the Memory Garden). Stacey's impression of Tess is someone who's very nice but a little awkward. Her physical awkwardness leads to her spilling some papier-mache gunk on Alan Gray, who starts making pig jokes ("Swine-heart"; she dresses in pink a lot, etc) behind her back. Soon half the school is in on it. Stacey and Tess end up working together on an English project, which Stacey takes as an opportunity to "fix" Tess. While Stacey is trying to do something nice, she fails to take into account how Tess actually feels about everything. Then there's this awful part at a pep rally: the school wants to elect a new mascot and someone slips in a poster nominating the cartoon version of Tess that so many students have been laughing about. In her embarassment and the crowd's confusion, Tess slips off the bleachers and sprains her wrist and breaks her ankle. Stacey tries to help, but Tess refuses, confronting Stacey with the fact that Stacey hasn't been a real friend. When Stacey goes to apologize and see how Tess is recovering, she finds out what she'd been missing by ignoring Tess in her quest to fix her: Tess went to school in Paris, and her odd clothing and accessories are actually quite fashionable there. Stacey redeems herself a bit by working with Tess and the BSC to foil a nasty prank that some guys are plotting against Tess to embarass her. The book ends with Tess no longer upset at Stacey, but without them really being friends.
There's a subplot about Jackie Rodowsky having a bully and Nicky Pike protecting him. The bullying started from a misunderstanding about a missing jacket, but Jackie sorts it out.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: popcorn, M&Ms
In a strange bit of continuity, Stacey would still like to be a large cat like a panther if she were to be an animal.
I like that Mary Anne and Claudia are the first to note that Stacey is treating Tess as more of a project than a friend. Mary Anne is supposed to be sensitive, and was forced to wear clothes she didn't like by her father. Claudia is something of an oddity in her immediate family and worries that her parents prefer Janine to her.
Apparently, Claudia is back writing her personals column for the SMS paper again. She references working for the paper in present tense.
Their Families: nothing stood out.
The Club (and clients):
Mrs. Rodowsky has a cell phone! And email was mentioned a few books ago. Is the BSC moving into the 1990s?
SMS:
Time for school to start...again.
The SMS mascot is now a jaguar, when it used to be the Chargers. On the other hand, it's mentioned that the papier-mache panther Claudia helped with looks good because of Claudia's help, and in Claudia Kishi, Queen of the Seventh Grade, Claudia doesn't help with a papier-mache lion and it looks terrible. So...some good continuity.
New student: Tess Swinhart (8th grade). Several students who were introduced in previous book show up, too.
Mr. Peters, a math teacher, is called Mr. Peter in this book (it's pretty clear that it's the same person).
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
"Panthers" don't exist as a separate animal. They're just all-black (melanistic, as opposed to albino) jaguars, leopards, and mountain lions.
You can too feel mascara, Stacey. Especially if you wear glasses and your eyelashes are long enough to get little dots or even streaks on the glasses.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 10
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 10
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 67
Students (other than the BSC): 210: 120 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 26 7th graders, 47 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 130
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-10
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
1/24/13
Sunny Diary 1 (CD#2)
Original Publication Date: 1997
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
Sunny's mom is losing ground in her fight with cancer. Sunny's trying to process everything, but also trying to still live her own life, which ends up annoying people around her because she's not taking things seriously enough. The thing is, this is written during the time when Sunny first allows herself to understand that her mother is dying, and Sunny needs some venue of escape. Certainly, one could argue that she's taking it too far, cutting class and so on, but no one seems to try to really talk to her or understand how she's feeling. She meets a drifter at a beach one day when she's skipping school, and he unwittingly inspires her to run away. When he realizes that she's doing so and what she's running from, he reads her the riot act and takes off to who know where. Ducky ends up finding Sunny late that night and taking her back home.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Ducky):
Sunny's previous interest in boys is growing.
Sunny thinks tuna sandwiches taste good. I always thought she was vegetarian. Maybe she's a "Dawn vegetarian" in that she only avoids red meat.
This book is the one that really starts with hints about Ducky's sexuality. Or so I've been told. I'm really, really naive about that sort of thing.
It's really funny how Sunny internally rolls her eyes at Dawn's attempts to be helpful when Dawn suggests "hippie" things, considering Sunny's family used to be hippies.
Their Families:
Sunny's mom is 42.
PSA Time:
This whole book is basically a PSA about the dangers of smoking. But here's something else: not all cancers are caused by smoking, including lung, throat, and mouth cancers. Sometimes bad things just happen despite our best efforts. Playing the blame game never does any good when faced with a life-threatening situation. Sure, do what you can to be healthy, but if you or someone else falls into bad health, don't beat anyone up about it.
If you have children, you should have a will regardless of your health. It's important to have things like who would take care of children in the events of their parents' deaths laid out in the proper legal format. In fact, I'm going to go check mine to be sure we had it written to include any future children, because if not, I need it redone to include Daughter #2...okay, just looked at it and called my lawyer (my dad) and we worded it right to cover all future children whether biological or adopted. He wondered why I was spending my free time looking over my will. I didn't want to explain that it was prompted by reading a YA book.
Misc:
Sunny mentions working in her dad's bookstore despite being too young to legally hold a job. Thirteen-year-olds in Stoneybrook do that all the time with hardly any issue...and the one time it's mentioned is actually a situation in which there are laws to make it fine: in many cases, the laws specify that children can work in their parents' businesses.
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 10
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 67
Students (other than the BSC): 209: 119 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 26 7th graders, 47 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 130
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-10
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
Sunny's mom is losing ground in her fight with cancer. Sunny's trying to process everything, but also trying to still live her own life, which ends up annoying people around her because she's not taking things seriously enough. The thing is, this is written during the time when Sunny first allows herself to understand that her mother is dying, and Sunny needs some venue of escape. Certainly, one could argue that she's taking it too far, cutting class and so on, but no one seems to try to really talk to her or understand how she's feeling. She meets a drifter at a beach one day when she's skipping school, and he unwittingly inspires her to run away. When he realizes that she's doing so and what she's running from, he reads her the riot act and takes off to who know where. Ducky ends up finding Sunny late that night and taking her back home.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Ducky):
Sunny's previous interest in boys is growing.
Sunny thinks tuna sandwiches taste good. I always thought she was vegetarian. Maybe she's a "Dawn vegetarian" in that she only avoids red meat.
This book is the one that really starts with hints about Ducky's sexuality. Or so I've been told. I'm really, really naive about that sort of thing.
It's really funny how Sunny internally rolls her eyes at Dawn's attempts to be helpful when Dawn suggests "hippie" things, considering Sunny's family used to be hippies.
Their Families:
Sunny's mom is 42.
PSA Time:
This whole book is basically a PSA about the dangers of smoking. But here's something else: not all cancers are caused by smoking, including lung, throat, and mouth cancers. Sometimes bad things just happen despite our best efforts. Playing the blame game never does any good when faced with a life-threatening situation. Sure, do what you can to be healthy, but if you or someone else falls into bad health, don't beat anyone up about it.
If you have children, you should have a will regardless of your health. It's important to have things like who would take care of children in the events of their parents' deaths laid out in the proper legal format. In fact, I'm going to go check mine to be sure we had it written to include any future children, because if not, I need it redone to include Daughter #2...okay, just looked at it and called my lawyer (my dad) and we worded it right to cover all future children whether biological or adopted. He wondered why I was spending my free time looking over my will. I didn't want to explain that it was prompted by reading a YA book.
Misc:
Sunny mentions working in her dad's bookstore despite being too young to legally hold a job. Thirteen-year-olds in Stoneybrook do that all the time with hardly any issue...and the one time it's mentioned is actually a situation in which there are laws to make it fine: in many cases, the laws specify that children can work in their parents' businesses.
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 10
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 67
Students (other than the BSC): 209: 119 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 26 7th graders, 47 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 130
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-10
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
1/23/13
Dawn Diary 1 (CD#1)
Original Publication Date: 1997
Ghostwriter? No
Synopsis:
This is the first of fifteen California Diaries books. Dawn's school requires all students to keep diaries, from kindergarten through twelfth grade (it's a private school). The teachers never read them, so the students open up a bit as they write. This series tells about the experiences of Dawn and four of her friends through their diaries. We start with Dawn at the beginning of a the school year (still eighth grade), when the eighth grade is moved to the high school campus because of over-crowding. Fans have noted that as these books deal with darker themes than the other Baby-Sitters Club books tend to, it's easier to just pretend they take place when Dawn and her friends are in high school.
This book deals with the tension that comes from being middle schoolers in a high school (there's hazing involved, coming to a head when Dawn, Sunny, Maggie, and Jill are invited to high school party that turns out to be a set-up: there's underage drinking, and it's actually held at the home of an out-of-town teacher), and the stress put on Dawn and Sunny's friendship by Sunny's mother's cancer. Sunny's way of dealing with her mother being so ill is to escape, while Dawn thinks Sunny should spend what time she can with her mom. Dawn, Sunny, and Maggie are also growing apart from Jill, who isn't maturing as fast as the others. There are tensions in Dawn's family too: she accidentally overhears a phone call from Carol's gynecologist that Carol is pregnant. To her credit, Dawn is excited but impatient to let her dad know. Carol wants to wait until she can tell him in person. Dawn feels she nees to tell SOMEONE so she tells Jill, who accidentally lets it slip to Carol that Dawn told, and Dawn guilts Carol into telling Jack before he's back home. Not all the changes are bad or tense: Dawn, Sunny, and Maggie make friends with another eighth grader names Amalia, and a tenth-grader named Christopher who goes by the nickname Ducky (from the movie Pretty in Pink).
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Ducky):
Maggie has switched from trying to gain attention through rebellion to attempting to control everything she can.
Dawn mentions she's growing apart not only from Jill, but from her Connecticut friends and family.
While Jill is pretty immature in this series, I'm with her on two things: I have no sympathy for people with hangovers because they brought it on themselves, and I won't change my plans or routine to accomodate hangovers. I also don't like dishonesty or disloyalty and wouldn't be happy with "friends" coming to a sleepover at my house as a ruse for sneaking away to a better party, especially if I were expected to cover for them.
We learn a bit about Ducky: he's not one of the hazers, he lives basically alone with his older brother who's in college, and his parents travel for extended periods of time on teaching tours.
Their Families:
Sunny's mom is clearly edging toward the terminal side of cancer.
We learn more about Maggie's family: aside from her father being in the movie business, he's pretty distant, and her mother is an alcoholic.
Usually I think Dawn is too harsh on Carol, but when she goes to Carol to ask what "sterile" means (overheard in the context of Sunny's mom's cancer treatments), Carol gets all embarassed and giggly. Yeah, I'd be annoyed, too.
On the other hand, I'm on Carol's side that I'd want to tell my husband about a new baby in person. It will be hard for Dawn to wait, but her dad will be back from his business trip in six days. I was pretty sure I was pregnant for three or four days before confirming it with a home test for this current pregnancy, and it was hard but I didn't say anything, and my husband was home at the time!
The Club (and clients):
The We ♥ Kids Club pretty much falls by the wayside in this book..
PSA Time:
If you drink to the point of vomiting, you probably have a touch of alcohol poisoning. And vomiting itself is dehydrating, which will make any hangover you might have worse.
It's just NOT okay for anyone other than the person who is pregnant (and if he's supportive/involved, the father) to decide when to spread the news. Some people like to do it right away, some people like to wait until after the first trimester, but it's up to the pregnant person/couple!
Misc:
This used copy belonged to Caitlin D., who I must say took excellent care of her books. The pages are still pristine and white, unlike most of my BSC books which are yellowing on the edges.
Carol's gynecologist (and I suppose now obstetrician) calls to confirm that Carol's home pregnancy was correct, and that she's about three weeks along. Well...no. Pregnancy is measured from the first day of the last period, which is about two weeks before ovulation and conception takes place, and about three weeks before implantation. So while you might be 20 weeks pregnant, the baby has existed for 18 weeks. You can't be one week pregnant, and it would be a crazy-sensitive pregnancy test to pick up HCG hormones, which come from the developing placenta, on the same day as implantation! Of course, not every woman has 28 day cycles, but Carol would likely have had a blood test, which shows the level of HCG that can indicate how far along pregnancy is. Four weeks along would have been more realistic. Anyway, if Carol is about three weeks along on October third, the due date should be about June 26.
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 10
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 67
Students (other than the BSC): 209: 119 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 26 7th graders, 47 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 130
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-10
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? No
Synopsis:
This is the first of fifteen California Diaries books. Dawn's school requires all students to keep diaries, from kindergarten through twelfth grade (it's a private school). The teachers never read them, so the students open up a bit as they write. This series tells about the experiences of Dawn and four of her friends through their diaries. We start with Dawn at the beginning of a the school year (still eighth grade), when the eighth grade is moved to the high school campus because of over-crowding. Fans have noted that as these books deal with darker themes than the other Baby-Sitters Club books tend to, it's easier to just pretend they take place when Dawn and her friends are in high school.
This book deals with the tension that comes from being middle schoolers in a high school (there's hazing involved, coming to a head when Dawn, Sunny, Maggie, and Jill are invited to high school party that turns out to be a set-up: there's underage drinking, and it's actually held at the home of an out-of-town teacher), and the stress put on Dawn and Sunny's friendship by Sunny's mother's cancer. Sunny's way of dealing with her mother being so ill is to escape, while Dawn thinks Sunny should spend what time she can with her mom. Dawn, Sunny, and Maggie are also growing apart from Jill, who isn't maturing as fast as the others. There are tensions in Dawn's family too: she accidentally overhears a phone call from Carol's gynecologist that Carol is pregnant. To her credit, Dawn is excited but impatient to let her dad know. Carol wants to wait until she can tell him in person. Dawn feels she nees to tell SOMEONE so she tells Jill, who accidentally lets it slip to Carol that Dawn told, and Dawn guilts Carol into telling Jack before he's back home. Not all the changes are bad or tense: Dawn, Sunny, and Maggie make friends with another eighth grader names Amalia, and a tenth-grader named Christopher who goes by the nickname Ducky (from the movie Pretty in Pink).
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Ducky):
Maggie has switched from trying to gain attention through rebellion to attempting to control everything she can.
Dawn mentions she's growing apart not only from Jill, but from her Connecticut friends and family.
While Jill is pretty immature in this series, I'm with her on two things: I have no sympathy for people with hangovers because they brought it on themselves, and I won't change my plans or routine to accomodate hangovers. I also don't like dishonesty or disloyalty and wouldn't be happy with "friends" coming to a sleepover at my house as a ruse for sneaking away to a better party, especially if I were expected to cover for them.
We learn a bit about Ducky: he's not one of the hazers, he lives basically alone with his older brother who's in college, and his parents travel for extended periods of time on teaching tours.
Their Families:
Sunny's mom is clearly edging toward the terminal side of cancer.
We learn more about Maggie's family: aside from her father being in the movie business, he's pretty distant, and her mother is an alcoholic.
Usually I think Dawn is too harsh on Carol, but when she goes to Carol to ask what "sterile" means (overheard in the context of Sunny's mom's cancer treatments), Carol gets all embarassed and giggly. Yeah, I'd be annoyed, too.
On the other hand, I'm on Carol's side that I'd want to tell my husband about a new baby in person. It will be hard for Dawn to wait, but her dad will be back from his business trip in six days. I was pretty sure I was pregnant for three or four days before confirming it with a home test for this current pregnancy, and it was hard but I didn't say anything, and my husband was home at the time!
The Club (and clients):
The We ♥ Kids Club pretty much falls by the wayside in this book..
PSA Time:
If you drink to the point of vomiting, you probably have a touch of alcohol poisoning. And vomiting itself is dehydrating, which will make any hangover you might have worse.
It's just NOT okay for anyone other than the person who is pregnant (and if he's supportive/involved, the father) to decide when to spread the news. Some people like to do it right away, some people like to wait until after the first trimester, but it's up to the pregnant person/couple!
Misc:
This used copy belonged to Caitlin D., who I must say took excellent care of her books. The pages are still pristine and white, unlike most of my BSC books which are yellowing on the edges.
Carol's gynecologist (and I suppose now obstetrician) calls to confirm that Carol's home pregnancy was correct, and that she's about three weeks along. Well...no. Pregnancy is measured from the first day of the last period, which is about two weeks before ovulation and conception takes place, and about three weeks before implantation. So while you might be 20 weeks pregnant, the baby has existed for 18 weeks. You can't be one week pregnant, and it would be a crazy-sensitive pregnancy test to pick up HCG hormones, which come from the developing placenta, on the same day as implantation! Of course, not every woman has 28 day cycles, but Carol would likely have had a blood test, which shows the level of HCG that can indicate how far along pregnancy is. Four weeks along would have been more realistic. Anyway, if Carol is about three weeks along on October third, the due date should be about June 26.
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 10
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 67
Students (other than the BSC): 209: 119 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 26 7th graders, 47 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 130
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-10
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
1/22/13
Abby the Bad Sport (RS#110)
Original Publication Date: 1997
Ghostwriter? Yes, Nola Thacker
Synopsis:
(If I have typed anything that comes across as offensive, especially by accidentally using outdated terms, please let me know. I tried to use the right words but I'm not sure if I did.)
Abby is playing on a "unified" soccer team, comprised of Special Olympics athletes who have mental disabilities, and neuro-typical players, called partners. The BSC is awesomely supportive of the team, even organizing a car wash to raise money for it. Abby is sure she'll be the star of the team, like the was in her Long Island middle school. Her dreams are quickly threatened when she's given the position of defense instead of striker (an offensive position) like she's used to (but Abby, slide-tackling! Defense is awesome!). Striker goes to an athlete, with whom Abby soon becomes very competitive. She's frustrated at not being able to play the position she thinks is best for her and the for team, and takes it out on the girl, Erin. Then in the first game, Abby doesn't really communicate with her teammates so she feels unsupported during play. The team loses, and Abby's sure it's everyone's fault but hers. Abby doesn't learn any lessons for the second game, and after a yelling match with Erin (to be fair, both were being ball hogs), they both end up benched for a game and a half.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Stevenson is making plans for her and the girls to visit their father's gravesite, the first time since their move. Abby doesn't want to, fearing the emotional toll it will have, and uses a soccer game during which she's being benched (her mom and sister don't know that last part) to avoid it. And really...Mrs. Stevenson should know her daughters' schedules to avoid such conflicts. Abby did commit to the soccer team before she knew anything about a short-notice trip, especially when the day she wants to visit the cemetary is Sunday, when Abby has no game. The family makes a plan TOGETHER to visit the gravesite around the time of the anniversary of his death. Abby decides to leave her lucky soccer cleats there when they go, a symbol that she's ready to let go of certain parts of the past and continue living.
This must have been a difficult book to write, trying to sensitively portray people with mental disabilities. I ended up on Abby's side for the stuff with her family, because everything was sprung on her and it should have been better planned, but not on her side for the soccer stuff. She needed to be brought not a few notches there!
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: none mentioned
When Logan is described as looking like movie star Cam Geary by anyone other than Mary Anne, it's pretty consisently pointed out that it's only according to Mary Anne that he looks like the actor, which I find amusing.
For as little attention as Shannon, gets, it's impressive that her after-school activities are fairly consistnent: astronomy club, French club, Honor Society, debate, and drama.
Kristy makes an offhand remark to wanting to be a dog trainer. In a few books, her family starts training a seeing eye dog.
Kristy's bluntness serves a purpose here, helping to spur Abby to be not only a good sport, but a decent human being.
Their Families:
The interactions with Abby and her family highlight how little the communicate. They're more like roommates than family.
The Club (and clients):
This book claims that August is a busy month for the BSC, where usually it's slower.
SMS:
Coach Wu, from the SMS softball team, shows up to coach the soccer team in this book. We're also introduced to a seventh grader who's playing on the team, Petra Kosinski, and an eighth grade girl named Jojo.
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
My high school cross country coach had a name for people who show off during practice but can't get it done in a competition: practice champion. I used it myself when I coached middle school and high school.
I question just randomly throwing people in to play goalie. I'd understand it if no one already played goalie or no one was willing to volunteer, but just going, "Hey, you're tall. Get in goal." I loved goalie though, so maybe it's hard for me to imagine that no one else on the team wanted to play it. One thing for sure, Coach: make it clear to your team that it's never one person's fault for a loss. For example, a goalie may miss a ball, but that ball had to get through ten other members of the team first. Soccer is a TEAM sport.
Abby narates that one athlete who appears to have Down syndrome is wearing long underwear under her soccer uniform, presumably because people with Down syndrome are more prone to catching colds. But, uh...is it reasonable to wear long underwear during the warm, humid summers the East Coast has?
Please keep in mind, I say this as an aunt to an almost-five-year-old who we hope will want to compete in the Special Olympics. He has mental as well as physical disabilities and lots of energy; we think it would be fun for him. Anyway...does anyone else find it awkward that the Special Olympics logo features stick figures who each have six arms?
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 10
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 67
Students (other than the BSC): 209: 119 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 26 7th graders, 47 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 130
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-10
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? Yes, Nola Thacker
Synopsis:
(If I have typed anything that comes across as offensive, especially by accidentally using outdated terms, please let me know. I tried to use the right words but I'm not sure if I did.)
Abby is playing on a "unified" soccer team, comprised of Special Olympics athletes who have mental disabilities, and neuro-typical players, called partners. The BSC is awesomely supportive of the team, even organizing a car wash to raise money for it. Abby is sure she'll be the star of the team, like the was in her Long Island middle school. Her dreams are quickly threatened when she's given the position of defense instead of striker (an offensive position) like she's used to (but Abby, slide-tackling! Defense is awesome!). Striker goes to an athlete, with whom Abby soon becomes very competitive. She's frustrated at not being able to play the position she thinks is best for her and the for team, and takes it out on the girl, Erin. Then in the first game, Abby doesn't really communicate with her teammates so she feels unsupported during play. The team loses, and Abby's sure it's everyone's fault but hers. Abby doesn't learn any lessons for the second game, and after a yelling match with Erin (to be fair, both were being ball hogs), they both end up benched for a game and a half.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Stevenson is making plans for her and the girls to visit their father's gravesite, the first time since their move. Abby doesn't want to, fearing the emotional toll it will have, and uses a soccer game during which she's being benched (her mom and sister don't know that last part) to avoid it. And really...Mrs. Stevenson should know her daughters' schedules to avoid such conflicts. Abby did commit to the soccer team before she knew anything about a short-notice trip, especially when the day she wants to visit the cemetary is Sunday, when Abby has no game. The family makes a plan TOGETHER to visit the gravesite around the time of the anniversary of his death. Abby decides to leave her lucky soccer cleats there when they go, a symbol that she's ready to let go of certain parts of the past and continue living.
This must have been a difficult book to write, trying to sensitively portray people with mental disabilities. I ended up on Abby's side for the stuff with her family, because everything was sprung on her and it should have been better planned, but not on her side for the soccer stuff. She needed to be brought not a few notches there!
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: none mentioned
When Logan is described as looking like movie star Cam Geary by anyone other than Mary Anne, it's pretty consisently pointed out that it's only according to Mary Anne that he looks like the actor, which I find amusing.
For as little attention as Shannon, gets, it's impressive that her after-school activities are fairly consistnent: astronomy club, French club, Honor Society, debate, and drama.
Kristy makes an offhand remark to wanting to be a dog trainer. In a few books, her family starts training a seeing eye dog.
Kristy's bluntness serves a purpose here, helping to spur Abby to be not only a good sport, but a decent human being.
Their Families:
The interactions with Abby and her family highlight how little the communicate. They're more like roommates than family.
The Club (and clients):
This book claims that August is a busy month for the BSC, where usually it's slower.
SMS:
Coach Wu, from the SMS softball team, shows up to coach the soccer team in this book. We're also introduced to a seventh grader who's playing on the team, Petra Kosinski, and an eighth grade girl named Jojo.
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
My high school cross country coach had a name for people who show off during practice but can't get it done in a competition: practice champion. I used it myself when I coached middle school and high school.
I question just randomly throwing people in to play goalie. I'd understand it if no one already played goalie or no one was willing to volunteer, but just going, "Hey, you're tall. Get in goal." I loved goalie though, so maybe it's hard for me to imagine that no one else on the team wanted to play it. One thing for sure, Coach: make it clear to your team that it's never one person's fault for a loss. For example, a goalie may miss a ball, but that ball had to get through ten other members of the team first. Soccer is a TEAM sport.
Abby narates that one athlete who appears to have Down syndrome is wearing long underwear under her soccer uniform, presumably because people with Down syndrome are more prone to catching colds. But, uh...is it reasonable to wear long underwear during the warm, humid summers the East Coast has?
Please keep in mind, I say this as an aunt to an almost-five-year-old who we hope will want to compete in the Special Olympics. He has mental as well as physical disabilities and lots of energy; we think it would be fun for him. Anyway...does anyone else find it awkward that the Special Olympics logo features stick figures who each have six arms?
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 10
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 67
Students (other than the BSC): 209: 119 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 26 7th graders, 47 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 130
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-10
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
1/20/13
Mary Anne and the Music Box Secret (M#31)
Original Publication Date: 1997
Ghostwriter? Yes, Ellen Miles
Synopsis:
While Sharon's parents on a cruise trip for their anniversary, some pipes leak in their house causing a flood. The BSC volunteers to help clean up, and during the process Mary Anne finds the titular music box behind a loose wall panel. Written on it is a warning that anyone who opens it will be cursed. Perhaps having learned a lesson from Mary Anne's Bad Luck Mystery, she ignores the warning and opens the box to find that it plays "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." It also turns out to contain a cryptic note that seems to be from one smitten person to another, and picture of a young man in a Navy uniform (about whom Mary Anne had mysteriously dreamed the night before). Some letters from Granny Porter's past help shed some light on the mystery, but it's not really solved until after Granny returns from the cruise. Turns out she was in love with the sailor, but he was killed in action. She never forgot him, but also never mentioned him, and kept the music box as a secret momento. She passes it on to Mary Anne to keep.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: both regular and "Lite" Three Musketeers (for comparison purposes)
Claudia's interest in photography resurfaces.
Mary Anne waxes poetic about kids from different families blending together when parents remarry...without mentioning any personal experience with this sort of thing. It's written in a way that she should have mentioned it, and seems to have forgotten that she has a step-family.
Their Families:
Did we know that Sharon is a realtor?
Sharon tries to sneak tofu into things for Richard despite his aversion to it, which in my mind is just as bad as trying to sneak meat into a supposedly vegetarian dish. Newsflash: not everyone likes the same foods. Unless you're a caregiver trying to ensure a well-balanced diet, don't be underhanded with food. Especially for adults!
Why would Granny Porter have made a quilt out of non-colorfast fabric and/or thread? It's on a bed, so presumably meant to be used...I like my bedding to be machine-washable, myself.
A couple things confuse me about the big surprise anniversary party. First, Dawn and Jeff are back in California by then and miss it. Second, in Dawn's Portrait Collection book, Granny and Pop-Pop celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary when Dawn is in fifth grade. So this is their fifty-third or fifty-fourth, neither of which are milestones that would usually involve a party, especially if there wasn't one for their fiftieth. And I still think it's odd for the child of a couple to organize wedding anniversary plans instead of the couple themselves.
The Club (and clients):
The Barrett-DeWitt family completes the renovations to their house, and the finished product fits with the description of the plans from earlier books.
SMS: summer break.
PSA Time:
Check your homeowner's or renter's insurance for flood coverage. It's rarely included automatically. Don't have either homeowner's or renter's insurance? Get the appropriate one. (At least, this applies to the US; not sure about other countries)
Misc:
According the address label stuck on this book, it belonged to a Priscilla S. of Portland, OR.
I'm sure it's just a coincidence, but I find it really funny that the letters Mary Anne reads mention a Mr. Bailey embezzling from his company. Wonder if the company was a building and loan (It's a Wonderful Life).
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 10
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 67
Students (other than the BSC): 207: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 25 7th graders, 47 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 130
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-10
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? Yes, Ellen Miles
Synopsis:
While Sharon's parents on a cruise trip for their anniversary, some pipes leak in their house causing a flood. The BSC volunteers to help clean up, and during the process Mary Anne finds the titular music box behind a loose wall panel. Written on it is a warning that anyone who opens it will be cursed. Perhaps having learned a lesson from Mary Anne's Bad Luck Mystery, she ignores the warning and opens the box to find that it plays "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." It also turns out to contain a cryptic note that seems to be from one smitten person to another, and picture of a young man in a Navy uniform (about whom Mary Anne had mysteriously dreamed the night before). Some letters from Granny Porter's past help shed some light on the mystery, but it's not really solved until after Granny returns from the cruise. Turns out she was in love with the sailor, but he was killed in action. She never forgot him, but also never mentioned him, and kept the music box as a secret momento. She passes it on to Mary Anne to keep.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: both regular and "Lite" Three Musketeers (for comparison purposes)
Claudia's interest in photography resurfaces.
Mary Anne waxes poetic about kids from different families blending together when parents remarry...without mentioning any personal experience with this sort of thing. It's written in a way that she should have mentioned it, and seems to have forgotten that she has a step-family.
Their Families:
Did we know that Sharon is a realtor?
Sharon tries to sneak tofu into things for Richard despite his aversion to it, which in my mind is just as bad as trying to sneak meat into a supposedly vegetarian dish. Newsflash: not everyone likes the same foods. Unless you're a caregiver trying to ensure a well-balanced diet, don't be underhanded with food. Especially for adults!
Why would Granny Porter have made a quilt out of non-colorfast fabric and/or thread? It's on a bed, so presumably meant to be used...I like my bedding to be machine-washable, myself.
A couple things confuse me about the big surprise anniversary party. First, Dawn and Jeff are back in California by then and miss it. Second, in Dawn's Portrait Collection book, Granny and Pop-Pop celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary when Dawn is in fifth grade. So this is their fifty-third or fifty-fourth, neither of which are milestones that would usually involve a party, especially if there wasn't one for their fiftieth. And I still think it's odd for the child of a couple to organize wedding anniversary plans instead of the couple themselves.
The Club (and clients):
The Barrett-DeWitt family completes the renovations to their house, and the finished product fits with the description of the plans from earlier books.
SMS: summer break.
PSA Time:
Check your homeowner's or renter's insurance for flood coverage. It's rarely included automatically. Don't have either homeowner's or renter's insurance? Get the appropriate one. (At least, this applies to the US; not sure about other countries)
Misc:
According the address label stuck on this book, it belonged to a Priscilla S. of Portland, OR.
I'm sure it's just a coincidence, but I find it really funny that the letters Mary Anne reads mention a Mr. Bailey embezzling from his company. Wonder if the company was a building and loan (It's a Wonderful Life).
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 10
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 67
Students (other than the BSC): 207: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 25 7th graders, 47 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 130
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-10
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
1/18/13
BSC in the USA (SS#14)
Original Publication Date: 1997
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
Dawn's dad has a friend who needs his RV driven from New York to California, so he decides to take Dawn and Jeff on a road trip back home (Carol can't get the time off work). Watson Brewer is intrigued by the idea, and suggests his family do the same for their vacation, and that Kristy can bring any BSC friends who have permission. Dawn's dad makes the same suggestion. All the regular members get permission for the two-week trip (I guess Shannon and Logan take care of the few sitting jobs?).
The Schafer van takes Jack, Dawn, and Jeff Schafer, Mary Anne, Kristy (because her desire to see Major League Baseball fields is flexibile and her own family's RV is overcrowded), Claudia, and Stacey on a northern route including a baseball game in Cleveland, OH (sadly, not side trip to Cedar Point for roller coasters), Detroit, Chicago, the Mall of America in southern Minnesota to meet up with Mary Anne's grandmother, South Dakota where they run out of gas in the Badlands and visit Wall Drug (I skipped that; after seeing signs about for it for more than 450 miles I was thoroughly sick of the idea), Yellowstone National Park where they see a bear, the Grand Tetons, southern Idaho, Seattle (yay!), foolishly NOT through Crater Lake, OR, and San Francisco (another ball game) before ending in Palo City.
The Brewer van takes Watson, Elizabeth, Karen, and Andrew Brewer, David Michael (Emily Michelle stays with Nannie which is just rotten; Sam and Charlie are at camp), Abby, Jessi, and Mallory south through New Jersey complete with a stop to see Jessi's extended family, Graceland in Memphis, TN, a slave/plantation museum in Dalton, MS, a visit with a college buddy of Watson's in Oklahoma that includes an F1 tornado, a rodeo in Ten Gallon, TX (complete with enlightened disdain of the event before even seeing it), visiting the Zuni children from Dawn and the Big Sleepover in New Mexico, the Four Corners, the Grand Canyon, and the San Diego Zoo.
They all meet up at Dawn's house in Palo City, where they are greeted by a party.
Here's what happens:
Jessi: thinks Mallory's nervousness about wanting to make a good first impression on her family is because Mallory is a secret racist or something. Her grandmother sets her straight, and she can enjoy the trip to Chincoteague with Mallory. Jessi's main destination is Dalton, MS, where some of her ancestors were slaves on a plantation (Watson and Elizabeth take the kids elsewhere for some family time during this). It's a pretty jarring experience for her to be confronted with the reality of what she knew from stories, as one would expect.
Kristy: wants to see as many ball parks as she can. She gets visit the fields of several teams: the Cleveland Indians (plus see a game against the Boston Red Sox), Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers (with another game, but the competitor isn't specified and oddly even though they're right by Minneapolis she doesn't visit the Minnesota Twins), Seattle Mariners (with a game, which they might have won: the Mariners won the AL West title that year...in a game I got to attend), and San Francisco Giants (with a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates). By the way, the Major League Baseball season runs from about April to October, and most teams play about four or five games a week, so it is possible for her to see the games she does. At the last game, Kristy sees her father! She seeks him out and has a brief, awkward reunion of sorts.
Mallory: her dream side trip is to see Chincoteague and Assateague Islands, home of a herd of wild ponies. They eventually see the animals and the experience is everything Mallory thought it could be and more. While on Chincoteague, the RV gets rear-ended by an annoying family who keeps turning up in the same places as the Brewer RV people.
Claudia: wants to see the Art Institute of Chicago (my choice there was the Field Museum, which has Sue, the most complete Tyrannosaurus skeleton ever found) and has a great time seeing the exhibits. Too bad that on the way to Chicago, she accidentally picks up Stacey's journal and reads a few lines, causing Stacey to get PISSED at her. She buys a piece of art from Wall Drug, SD which turns out to be an authentic Georgia O'Keefe!
Abby: being an Elvis fan, she wants to see Graceland. They juuust miss Elvis Week, but Abby stiell gets some good memories, including seeing a particularly good Elvis impersonator who makes her think maybe the King hasn't quite left the building yet, just for a moment. She also has a very emotional time at the Grand Canyon, because her family had been planning a trip there before her father died.
Mary Anne: aside from dealing with Dawn's dad implying that Richard is a shoddy father and husband on several occasions (but he's "just joking"), she gets to see her grandmother who visits Minneapolis from Maynard, Iowa. Her grandmother sticks up for Richard, too, which helps curb the teasing for a bit. Mary Anne ends up speaking to him about in California, and he agrees to hold back.
Dawn: wants to visit a ghost town, anywhere. She ends up in a tourist trap in Idaho, but is able to have fun anyway.
Stacey: has plans to meet up with her boyfriend in Seattle, where he's vacationing. They have a nice afternoon walking around downtown and, according to the illustration, somehow manage to be on top of the Space Needle at 6:00pm in the summer at nighttime. In August, the sun doesn't set in Seattle until around 9:00 and the sky can be light until almost 10:00. Anyway, it relaxes her enough to patch things up with Claudia.
We are also treated to chapters from Jeff and Karen. Jeff had wanted to go rock climbing, but sadly Yellowstone doesn't allow it...so he gets to do in the Grand Tetons! A bit out of the way, but Yellowstone isn't on the main highway from South Dakota to Seattle anyway. Karen's is about the visit to the Four Corners, where Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah meet.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: there are no scenes set in her room, but she brings and buys some food on the trip, including goldfish crackers, Milky Ways, Chunky Bars, and chips
Again, Stacey and the wearing of black to set off her hair.
I would assume that people living in Connecticut would have at least heard of the Boston Red Sox even if they're not baseball fans. But it seems only sports fans like Kristy know the name.
Mary Anne has plastic knitting needles. I find those awkward to use myself; I like aluminum or steel.
Abby and Claudia both get motion sickness trying to read or write in the RVs, Abby more often than Claudia.
Quote from Dawn: "I think coyotes are vegetarians." Granted, they're not obligate carnivores (they're omnivores), and most are too small to be a huge danger to adults, but still. Nature isn't all fluffy and cute. In fact, it's often quite brutal. Side note: I also heard a coyote and saw its tracks in South Dakota, just like the BSC.
Abby saw a guidance counselor to help her deal with her emotions after her father died? Not a regular counselor or therapist or psychologist or psychiatrist? Yeesh.
After the trip, Mallory sends a patchwork quilt to the Zuni school. It's made by several students at Stoneybrook Elementary, presumably with her help. She's been shown to know how to sew in the past, and while quilting is a little different, it's not a huge stretch that she would have learned it.
Their Families:
Dawn, it's not that your father's humor doesn't work for everyone, it's that his version of humor is trash-talking everything and everyone to try to make himself look better.
Ooh...gotta agree with Karen, much as I'd rather not. While I loved Dinosaur National Monument, which it's implied David Michael suggests over the Four Corners, it's massively out of the way from where they are.
The epilogue is a bunch of letters, as usual. Kristy writes to her father and says it was nice to get a postcard from him, and that she'd love a letter with more details about his. No response is included in the epilogue. I agree with Kristy that he's not really a "dad" to her anymore. A lot of men are dads to their biological children, but plenty of stepfathers and adopted fathers and father figures act like dads to the children in their lives. I'm lucky to be close to my dad, and the contrast between him and Patrick Thomas is striking.
The Club (and clients): nothing new.
SMS: summer break.
PSA Time:
If any of you ever buy a home in tornado alley, look for one that includes a tornado shelter, okay? Just makes sense. And, FOR GOODNESS SAKE, if you have to resort to camping out in the bathroom, BOARD UP OR TAPE THE WINDOWS.
Speaking as a Seattle-area native and someone with a commercial driver's license, please don't try to drive an RV around downtown Seattle. The roads are narrow, there's very little parking, the traffic is almost always thick, and one-way streets pop up to surprise you a lot. You're better off parking in a less crowded part of Seattle, near a park for example, and taking a city bus. The arboretum would be good; the number 12 runs from there right downtown. In fact, Stacey should have just arranged to meet her boyfriend somewhere else, like Mount Rainier National Park. Or if they wanted to stay in Seattle, the Woodland Park Zoo has bus/RV parking. Stacey likes the zoo, according to another book.
Misc:
I halfway agree with Stacey that baseball isn't fun to watch. I can't stand watching twenty minutes of excitement crammed into two and a half hours when baseball's on TV. But in person? Different story.
Typo in Chapter 22: Kristy's notebook entry implies that the Giants are playing the Brewers, but the dialogue of the chapter has the game against the Pirates. The Brewers are from Minneaoplis, MN (oops, I mean Milwaukee, thanks commenter Steffi!) and the Pirates are from Pittsburgh, PA. Not very close to each other.
The annoying girl who keeps turning up where the Brewer RV goes mentions that Assateague is a funny name, and my inner twelve-year-old giggles.
Just a clarification: Puget Sound is an estuary WITH bays not just ONE bay, the eastern border of Seattle is more properly Lake Washington not mountains, and Seattle has mountains visible to the east--the Cascades--AND west--the Olympics. In fact, thanks to those mountains, you can see three national parks from the city on a clear day: Mount Rainier NP, Cascade NP, and Olympic NP.
Stacey describes the route they take through downtown Seattle trying to find the coffee shop where she's supposed to meet her boyfriend...they could have gone from Point A to Point B to Point C to Point D, but go more like to B to D to C to A and back to B.
Most of the geography is done decently well, for example, going from Gallup, NM to the Four Corners to the southern rim of the Grand Canyon doesn't necessitate too much back-tracking and isn't an unreasonable amount of going out of the way.
Dawn's California friends are at the party at the end, and Jill Henderson is portrayed as less mature than the rest. This will become important soon, when the California Diaries enter the picture.
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 10
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 67
Students (other than the BSC): 207: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 25 7th graders, 47 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 128
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-10
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
Dawn's dad has a friend who needs his RV driven from New York to California, so he decides to take Dawn and Jeff on a road trip back home (Carol can't get the time off work). Watson Brewer is intrigued by the idea, and suggests his family do the same for their vacation, and that Kristy can bring any BSC friends who have permission. Dawn's dad makes the same suggestion. All the regular members get permission for the two-week trip (I guess Shannon and Logan take care of the few sitting jobs?).
The Schafer van takes Jack, Dawn, and Jeff Schafer, Mary Anne, Kristy (because her desire to see Major League Baseball fields is flexibile and her own family's RV is overcrowded), Claudia, and Stacey on a northern route including a baseball game in Cleveland, OH (sadly, not side trip to Cedar Point for roller coasters), Detroit, Chicago, the Mall of America in southern Minnesota to meet up with Mary Anne's grandmother, South Dakota where they run out of gas in the Badlands and visit Wall Drug (I skipped that; after seeing signs about for it for more than 450 miles I was thoroughly sick of the idea), Yellowstone National Park where they see a bear, the Grand Tetons, southern Idaho, Seattle (yay!), foolishly NOT through Crater Lake, OR, and San Francisco (another ball game) before ending in Palo City.
The Brewer van takes Watson, Elizabeth, Karen, and Andrew Brewer, David Michael (Emily Michelle stays with Nannie which is just rotten; Sam and Charlie are at camp), Abby, Jessi, and Mallory south through New Jersey complete with a stop to see Jessi's extended family, Graceland in Memphis, TN, a slave/plantation museum in Dalton, MS, a visit with a college buddy of Watson's in Oklahoma that includes an F1 tornado, a rodeo in Ten Gallon, TX (complete with enlightened disdain of the event before even seeing it), visiting the Zuni children from Dawn and the Big Sleepover in New Mexico, the Four Corners, the Grand Canyon, and the San Diego Zoo.
They all meet up at Dawn's house in Palo City, where they are greeted by a party.
Here's what happens:
Jessi: thinks Mallory's nervousness about wanting to make a good first impression on her family is because Mallory is a secret racist or something. Her grandmother sets her straight, and she can enjoy the trip to Chincoteague with Mallory. Jessi's main destination is Dalton, MS, where some of her ancestors were slaves on a plantation (Watson and Elizabeth take the kids elsewhere for some family time during this). It's a pretty jarring experience for her to be confronted with the reality of what she knew from stories, as one would expect.
Kristy: wants to see as many ball parks as she can. She gets visit the fields of several teams: the Cleveland Indians (plus see a game against the Boston Red Sox), Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers (with another game, but the competitor isn't specified and oddly even though they're right by Minneapolis she doesn't visit the Minnesota Twins), Seattle Mariners (with a game, which they might have won: the Mariners won the AL West title that year...in a game I got to attend), and San Francisco Giants (with a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates). By the way, the Major League Baseball season runs from about April to October, and most teams play about four or five games a week, so it is possible for her to see the games she does. At the last game, Kristy sees her father! She seeks him out and has a brief, awkward reunion of sorts.
Mallory: her dream side trip is to see Chincoteague and Assateague Islands, home of a herd of wild ponies. They eventually see the animals and the experience is everything Mallory thought it could be and more. While on Chincoteague, the RV gets rear-ended by an annoying family who keeps turning up in the same places as the Brewer RV people.
Claudia: wants to see the Art Institute of Chicago (my choice there was the Field Museum, which has Sue, the most complete Tyrannosaurus skeleton ever found) and has a great time seeing the exhibits. Too bad that on the way to Chicago, she accidentally picks up Stacey's journal and reads a few lines, causing Stacey to get PISSED at her. She buys a piece of art from Wall Drug, SD which turns out to be an authentic Georgia O'Keefe!
Abby: being an Elvis fan, she wants to see Graceland. They juuust miss Elvis Week, but Abby stiell gets some good memories, including seeing a particularly good Elvis impersonator who makes her think maybe the King hasn't quite left the building yet, just for a moment. She also has a very emotional time at the Grand Canyon, because her family had been planning a trip there before her father died.
Mary Anne: aside from dealing with Dawn's dad implying that Richard is a shoddy father and husband on several occasions (but he's "just joking"), she gets to see her grandmother who visits Minneapolis from Maynard, Iowa. Her grandmother sticks up for Richard, too, which helps curb the teasing for a bit. Mary Anne ends up speaking to him about in California, and he agrees to hold back.
Dawn: wants to visit a ghost town, anywhere. She ends up in a tourist trap in Idaho, but is able to have fun anyway.
Stacey: has plans to meet up with her boyfriend in Seattle, where he's vacationing. They have a nice afternoon walking around downtown and, according to the illustration, somehow manage to be on top of the Space Needle at 6:00pm in the summer at nighttime. In August, the sun doesn't set in Seattle until around 9:00 and the sky can be light until almost 10:00. Anyway, it relaxes her enough to patch things up with Claudia.
We are also treated to chapters from Jeff and Karen. Jeff had wanted to go rock climbing, but sadly Yellowstone doesn't allow it...so he gets to do in the Grand Tetons! A bit out of the way, but Yellowstone isn't on the main highway from South Dakota to Seattle anyway. Karen's is about the visit to the Four Corners, where Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah meet.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: there are no scenes set in her room, but she brings and buys some food on the trip, including goldfish crackers, Milky Ways, Chunky Bars, and chips
Again, Stacey and the wearing of black to set off her hair.
I would assume that people living in Connecticut would have at least heard of the Boston Red Sox even if they're not baseball fans. But it seems only sports fans like Kristy know the name.
Mary Anne has plastic knitting needles. I find those awkward to use myself; I like aluminum or steel.
Abby and Claudia both get motion sickness trying to read or write in the RVs, Abby more often than Claudia.
Quote from Dawn: "I think coyotes are vegetarians." Granted, they're not obligate carnivores (they're omnivores), and most are too small to be a huge danger to adults, but still. Nature isn't all fluffy and cute. In fact, it's often quite brutal. Side note: I also heard a coyote and saw its tracks in South Dakota, just like the BSC.
Abby saw a guidance counselor to help her deal with her emotions after her father died? Not a regular counselor or therapist or psychologist or psychiatrist? Yeesh.
After the trip, Mallory sends a patchwork quilt to the Zuni school. It's made by several students at Stoneybrook Elementary, presumably with her help. She's been shown to know how to sew in the past, and while quilting is a little different, it's not a huge stretch that she would have learned it.
Their Families:
Dawn, it's not that your father's humor doesn't work for everyone, it's that his version of humor is trash-talking everything and everyone to try to make himself look better.
Ooh...gotta agree with Karen, much as I'd rather not. While I loved Dinosaur National Monument, which it's implied David Michael suggests over the Four Corners, it's massively out of the way from where they are.
The epilogue is a bunch of letters, as usual. Kristy writes to her father and says it was nice to get a postcard from him, and that she'd love a letter with more details about his. No response is included in the epilogue. I agree with Kristy that he's not really a "dad" to her anymore. A lot of men are dads to their biological children, but plenty of stepfathers and adopted fathers and father figures act like dads to the children in their lives. I'm lucky to be close to my dad, and the contrast between him and Patrick Thomas is striking.
The Club (and clients): nothing new.
SMS: summer break.
PSA Time:
If any of you ever buy a home in tornado alley, look for one that includes a tornado shelter, okay? Just makes sense. And, FOR GOODNESS SAKE, if you have to resort to camping out in the bathroom, BOARD UP OR TAPE THE WINDOWS.
Speaking as a Seattle-area native and someone with a commercial driver's license, please don't try to drive an RV around downtown Seattle. The roads are narrow, there's very little parking, the traffic is almost always thick, and one-way streets pop up to surprise you a lot. You're better off parking in a less crowded part of Seattle, near a park for example, and taking a city bus. The arboretum would be good; the number 12 runs from there right downtown. In fact, Stacey should have just arranged to meet her boyfriend somewhere else, like Mount Rainier National Park. Or if they wanted to stay in Seattle, the Woodland Park Zoo has bus/RV parking. Stacey likes the zoo, according to another book.
Misc:
I halfway agree with Stacey that baseball isn't fun to watch. I can't stand watching twenty minutes of excitement crammed into two and a half hours when baseball's on TV. But in person? Different story.
Typo in Chapter 22: Kristy's notebook entry implies that the Giants are playing the Brewers, but the dialogue of the chapter has the game against the Pirates. The Brewers are from Minneaoplis, MN (oops, I mean Milwaukee, thanks commenter Steffi!) and the Pirates are from Pittsburgh, PA. Not very close to each other.
The annoying girl who keeps turning up where the Brewer RV goes mentions that Assateague is a funny name, and my inner twelve-year-old giggles.
Just a clarification: Puget Sound is an estuary WITH bays not just ONE bay, the eastern border of Seattle is more properly Lake Washington not mountains, and Seattle has mountains visible to the east--the Cascades--AND west--the Olympics. In fact, thanks to those mountains, you can see three national parks from the city on a clear day: Mount Rainier NP, Cascade NP, and Olympic NP.
Stacey describes the route they take through downtown Seattle trying to find the coffee shop where she's supposed to meet her boyfriend...they could have gone from Point A to Point B to Point C to Point D, but go more like to B to D to C to A and back to B.
Most of the geography is done decently well, for example, going from Gallup, NM to the Four Corners to the southern rim of the Grand Canyon doesn't necessitate too much back-tracking and isn't an unreasonable amount of going out of the way.
Dawn's California friends are at the party at the end, and Jill Henderson is portrayed as less mature than the rest. This will become important soon, when the California Diaries enter the picture.
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 10
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 67
Students (other than the BSC): 207: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 25 7th graders, 47 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 128
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-10
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
1/16/13
Mary Anne to the Rescue (RS#109)
Original Publication Date: 1997
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
While waiting at the airport for Dawn and Jeff's plane to land, Sharon saves a man's life by performing the Heimlich. Mary Anne is disturbed by the incident: she almost saw a man die, and she did absolutely nothing. It spurs the BSC to take a first aid class. Mary Anne is still unsure how she'll react in a real emergency, though. To further stress her, Logan's dad is pushing for Logan to attend a boarding school in the fall.
Then a child starts to drown during a sitting job (he flails, which isn't realistic, by the way; drowning victims all too often go unnoticed because people expect flailing). Mary Anne switches to autopilot and rescues him. This gives her a needed boost of confidence, which even inspires her to get Logan to try talking to his parents about boarding school. They agree that he's well-rounded enough in Stoneybrook and Logan can stay.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Yodels and potato chips under her bed, Skors, Hostess cupcakes (with Mary Anne's name written in Alpha-Bits cereal to celebrate her quick thinking; very thoughtful of Claudia), yeastless seven-grain molasses bread and organic mint tabouli (for Dawn)
This is the second book of late to give Mary Anne pierced ears. Odd that such an event would have taken place "off stage" given how strongly she didn't want them pierced earlier.
A bit of insight into how Claudia can afford her vast wardrobe: most of her outfits come from flea markets and thrift stores.
Another mention of Stacey liking black because it sets off her blonde hair.
Abby has joined a soccer team comprised of Special Olympics athletes and neuro-typical athletes (is that the right term?). This is the bulk of the plot in #110.
Shannon's extra curricular activities extend into summer.
Dawn pushes Mary Anne into something she feels too shy for again (being a gory victim in the staged accident for an EMT class). Guess she didn't learn her lesson from Here Come the Bridesmaids.
I love how Logan doesn't take any of Dawn's pretentiousness about eating habits.
Their Families:
At one point, the Kishis had a star chart to record the girls' excellent test scores (Claudia never made it on the board before they abandoned it). They use yellow for Janine and pink for Claudia. While I don't know if I'll ever have a star chart, I do color-code certain things for my daughters, pink for the older and yellow for the will-be-born-in-about-four-months. For example, I have a little folder with medical and emergency contact information for each, because I plan ahead, and one is pink and one is yellow.
The Club (and clients): nothing new.
SMS: summer break.
PSA Time:
It's a good idea for ANYONE who cares for children to take a first aid class, or at least a CPR class.
Possibly it wasn't the case when this book was published, but in answer to a question asked in the first aid class, yes, they do make "lip cootie protectors" for performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
People make way to big a deal about poinsettias being poisonous. They are, don't get me wrong, but you'd have to eat a LOT to get sick and they taste so bitter that few people or animals will attempt that. Still a good idea to keep them out of reach of small children and the like, but potential allergies aside, one bite won't do much.
No, when you are in a situation where you need to perform CPR, you don't just yell randomly for help. You point to individual bystanders and give them jobs. "You! Call 9-1-1! You! Wait for the ambulance by the front door so you can tell them where we are!" People often freeze in emergencies and just wait around for someone else to fix it.
Misc:
This copy of the book used to belong to a Veronica M.
I can't remember for sure...before the Internet was wide-spread, you could call the airport or airline to see if a flight was on time, right? Why wouldn't Richard and Sharon have done that with Dawn and Jeff's flight? Especially Richard. ESPECIALLY since Logan suggests he and Mary Anne can keep in touch via email if he goes to boarding school.
How does the BSC take a first aid class and NOT learn the Heimlich manuever is named for a Mr. Heimlich? They think it's an organ in the torso. Probably near the "divestive" system.
My fifth grade teacher told us a story about her son being involved in a fake accident scene for a CPR class. He was late getting home, and covered in fake blood and bruises. Took his mom just a moment to remember where he'd been...
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 10
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 67
Students (other than the BSC): 207: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 25 7th graders, 47 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 128
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-10
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
While waiting at the airport for Dawn and Jeff's plane to land, Sharon saves a man's life by performing the Heimlich. Mary Anne is disturbed by the incident: she almost saw a man die, and she did absolutely nothing. It spurs the BSC to take a first aid class. Mary Anne is still unsure how she'll react in a real emergency, though. To further stress her, Logan's dad is pushing for Logan to attend a boarding school in the fall.
Then a child starts to drown during a sitting job (he flails, which isn't realistic, by the way; drowning victims all too often go unnoticed because people expect flailing). Mary Anne switches to autopilot and rescues him. This gives her a needed boost of confidence, which even inspires her to get Logan to try talking to his parents about boarding school. They agree that he's well-rounded enough in Stoneybrook and Logan can stay.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Yodels and potato chips under her bed, Skors, Hostess cupcakes (with Mary Anne's name written in Alpha-Bits cereal to celebrate her quick thinking; very thoughtful of Claudia), yeastless seven-grain molasses bread and organic mint tabouli (for Dawn)
This is the second book of late to give Mary Anne pierced ears. Odd that such an event would have taken place "off stage" given how strongly she didn't want them pierced earlier.
A bit of insight into how Claudia can afford her vast wardrobe: most of her outfits come from flea markets and thrift stores.
Another mention of Stacey liking black because it sets off her blonde hair.
Abby has joined a soccer team comprised of Special Olympics athletes and neuro-typical athletes (is that the right term?). This is the bulk of the plot in #110.
Shannon's extra curricular activities extend into summer.
Dawn pushes Mary Anne into something she feels too shy for again (being a gory victim in the staged accident for an EMT class). Guess she didn't learn her lesson from Here Come the Bridesmaids.
I love how Logan doesn't take any of Dawn's pretentiousness about eating habits.
Their Families:
At one point, the Kishis had a star chart to record the girls' excellent test scores (Claudia never made it on the board before they abandoned it). They use yellow for Janine and pink for Claudia. While I don't know if I'll ever have a star chart, I do color-code certain things for my daughters, pink for the older and yellow for the will-be-born-in-about-four-months. For example, I have a little folder with medical and emergency contact information for each, because I plan ahead, and one is pink and one is yellow.
The Club (and clients): nothing new.
SMS: summer break.
PSA Time:
It's a good idea for ANYONE who cares for children to take a first aid class, or at least a CPR class.
Possibly it wasn't the case when this book was published, but in answer to a question asked in the first aid class, yes, they do make "lip cootie protectors" for performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
People make way to big a deal about poinsettias being poisonous. They are, don't get me wrong, but you'd have to eat a LOT to get sick and they taste so bitter that few people or animals will attempt that. Still a good idea to keep them out of reach of small children and the like, but potential allergies aside, one bite won't do much.
No, when you are in a situation where you need to perform CPR, you don't just yell randomly for help. You point to individual bystanders and give them jobs. "You! Call 9-1-1! You! Wait for the ambulance by the front door so you can tell them where we are!" People often freeze in emergencies and just wait around for someone else to fix it.
Misc:
This copy of the book used to belong to a Veronica M.
I can't remember for sure...before the Internet was wide-spread, you could call the airport or airline to see if a flight was on time, right? Why wouldn't Richard and Sharon have done that with Dawn and Jeff's flight? Especially Richard. ESPECIALLY since Logan suggests he and Mary Anne can keep in touch via email if he goes to boarding school.
How does the BSC take a first aid class and NOT learn the Heimlich manuever is named for a Mr. Heimlich? They think it's an organ in the torso. Probably near the "divestive" system.
My fifth grade teacher told us a story about her son being involved in a fake accident scene for a CPR class. He was late getting home, and covered in fake blood and bruises. Took his mom just a moment to remember where he'd been...
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 10
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 67
Students (other than the BSC): 207: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 25 7th graders, 47 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 128
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-10
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
1/14/13
Kristy and the Mystery Train (M#30)
Original Publication Date: 1997
Ghostwriter? Yes, Nola Thacker
Synopsis:
Kristy, Stacey, and Abby score a three-day sitting job on a train ride. It's a publicity tour for Derek Masters's new movie about a mystery train. Several of Derek's friends (plus a friend for his little brother) are coming along, so Derek's parents requested three sitters. The train barely gets moving before Kristy spots a threatening note. Things ramp up quickly from there: fake severed hands in salads, smoke bombs masquerading as fires, and so on. Who's to blame? There are plenty of suspects: some actors, the publicist, sketchy passengers. After a million red herrings, because that's how BSC mysteries are, it comes to light that the screenwriter got the idea from a student of his, who has been blackmailing the writer, demanding full credit for the script. Someone higher up in the movie's chain of command decides both will receive credit, although the student is being held for psychiatric evaluation and the other writer will have trouble finding work in that field again.
Back in Stoneybrook, the BSC helps get the country club (from Abby and the Secret Society) ready for summer. They notice that the owner's son, Stephen, is having trouble making friends. The big issue is that he doesn't know how to swim. They teach him, and he's able to relax around the other kids.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: none mentioned, although she does help plan the menu for a make-your-own sundae bar at the country club
Abby wears glasses or contacts depending on her mood (which, if she's like me, means glasses if she's too lazy to unscrew the lids on the contacts case). Wouldn't allergies also be a factor? If her eyes were all watery I'd think contacts would be a bother.
Stacey "likes perfume on guys sometimes." Not cologne, perfume.
Their Families:
While most characters in the BSC are stuck at their same ages forever, Karen has a birthday or two in her books (the Little Sister series which I'm not bothering with). Shouldn't the average age of the Krushers have changed just a bit since Kristy figured it out back in the twentieth book? It's still 5.83.
With all the fuss about how Abby and Anna are SO DIFFERENT even though they're twins, it's funny that the Adam, Byron, and Jordan Pike are usually described as pretty similar to each other.
Ah, question from the last book answered: all the Pikes have blue eyes.
Mallory thinks her parents wouldn't let her take the sitting job on the mystery train tour...but Nicky goes as Derek's guest.
Karen Brewer's imagination is more "active" than usual and the sitters aren't quite so delighted with her "spiritedness" as they often are. Maybe they don't feel like they have to fake it for Kristy's sake.
The Club (and clients):
In this book, Ben Hobart, once Mallory's sort-of boyfriend, acts like a sitting charge. It's hard to tell if he's just having fun goofing off, though.
SMS: summer break.
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
Just once it would be nice to read about a pair of best friends who are tons alike.
Bleh. One of the kids in the book has a rat tail. I remember thinking those were disgusting in kindergarten, which I started in 1990. Were they ever considered cool?
"Present and accounted for" doesn't mean everyone is at the same location. It means that those who aren't present are accounted for, as in, yes, that person called in sick and won't be coming today.
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 10
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 67
Students (other than the BSC): 207: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 25 7th graders, 47 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 125
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-10
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? Yes, Nola Thacker
Synopsis:
Kristy, Stacey, and Abby score a three-day sitting job on a train ride. It's a publicity tour for Derek Masters's new movie about a mystery train. Several of Derek's friends (plus a friend for his little brother) are coming along, so Derek's parents requested three sitters. The train barely gets moving before Kristy spots a threatening note. Things ramp up quickly from there: fake severed hands in salads, smoke bombs masquerading as fires, and so on. Who's to blame? There are plenty of suspects: some actors, the publicist, sketchy passengers. After a million red herrings, because that's how BSC mysteries are, it comes to light that the screenwriter got the idea from a student of his, who has been blackmailing the writer, demanding full credit for the script. Someone higher up in the movie's chain of command decides both will receive credit, although the student is being held for psychiatric evaluation and the other writer will have trouble finding work in that field again.
Back in Stoneybrook, the BSC helps get the country club (from Abby and the Secret Society) ready for summer. They notice that the owner's son, Stephen, is having trouble making friends. The big issue is that he doesn't know how to swim. They teach him, and he's able to relax around the other kids.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: none mentioned, although she does help plan the menu for a make-your-own sundae bar at the country club
Abby wears glasses or contacts depending on her mood (which, if she's like me, means glasses if she's too lazy to unscrew the lids on the contacts case). Wouldn't allergies also be a factor? If her eyes were all watery I'd think contacts would be a bother.
Stacey "likes perfume on guys sometimes." Not cologne, perfume.
Their Families:
While most characters in the BSC are stuck at their same ages forever, Karen has a birthday or two in her books (the Little Sister series which I'm not bothering with). Shouldn't the average age of the Krushers have changed just a bit since Kristy figured it out back in the twentieth book? It's still 5.83.
With all the fuss about how Abby and Anna are SO DIFFERENT even though they're twins, it's funny that the Adam, Byron, and Jordan Pike are usually described as pretty similar to each other.
Ah, question from the last book answered: all the Pikes have blue eyes.
Mallory thinks her parents wouldn't let her take the sitting job on the mystery train tour...but Nicky goes as Derek's guest.
Karen Brewer's imagination is more "active" than usual and the sitters aren't quite so delighted with her "spiritedness" as they often are. Maybe they don't feel like they have to fake it for Kristy's sake.
The Club (and clients):
In this book, Ben Hobart, once Mallory's sort-of boyfriend, acts like a sitting charge. It's hard to tell if he's just having fun goofing off, though.
SMS: summer break.
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
Just once it would be nice to read about a pair of best friends who are tons alike.
Bleh. One of the kids in the book has a rat tail. I remember thinking those were disgusting in kindergarten, which I started in 1990. Were they ever considered cool?
"Present and accounted for" doesn't mean everyone is at the same location. It means that those who aren't present are accounted for, as in, yes, that person called in sick and won't be coming today.
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 10
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 67
Students (other than the BSC): 207: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 25 7th graders, 47 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 125
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-10
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
1/13/13
Don't Give Up, Mallory! (RS#108)
Original Publication Date: 1997
Ghostwriter? Yes, Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner.
Synopsis:
Mallory is initially excited for her new Short Takes class about children's literature. She's less excited to find out that her grade will depend mostly on her participation, especially when the teacher makes it difficult for less outspoken students to participate (for example, he ignores the kids raising their hands in favor of others shouting out the answers). When she does try to participate, several of her classmates whisper about her being a "brain." Things aren't all bad, though: Mallory is feeling great about the fund-raising that she's spear-heading for the sixth grades's gift to SMS (seems like more of an eighth grade things, but...). She even discovers that a previous class had raised money for a student lounge, but it went to needed school repairs instead, so makes sure that the lounge will be built after all. The success of the fundraiser gives her the confidence to talk to her teacher and things go better, although she's still the butt of jokes about her grades.
The subplot is about Mallory and the BSC helping the kids who formed a band back in Keep Out, Claudia! get into the Memorial Day parade. It only allows groups to march, so they have to make some easy-to-play instruments and practice extra. Kazoos end up being necessary for the instruments to sound like instruments.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: pretzels and Cheese Whiz in her closet, chocolate stars
No big revelations.
Their Families:
Mallory explains that most of the Pikes have blue eyes and brown hair, then that she's the only one with red/auburn hair. I wonder if any have different colored eyes.
The Pike kids get bedtime stories...from Mallory. Shouldn't that be something the parents do?
The Club (and clients):
Mallory is a few minutes late to a BSC meeting but doesn't get a Look from Kristy. It's clear that Mallory was really trying to get there on time, and she apologizes for being late, so it seems that Kristy is somewhat understanding as long as they make a sincere effort to be on time.
SMS:
New-to-us students: Megan Armstrong, Jen Corn, Laura Nelson (6th)
New-to-us staff/faculty: Mr. Cobb (6th grammar), Mr. Counts (librarian)
Did you remember that Mallory is sixth grade secretary? I barely did.
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
There's a little questionnare in the back that the previous owner, Kara N. A., filled out. She was in sixth grade. Her favorite BSC member was Kristy since they both like sports. She would like to see a book about Kristy suddenly not liking sports.
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 9
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 67
Students (other than the BSC): 207: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 25 7th graders, 47 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 125
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-10
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? Yes, Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner.
Synopsis:
Mallory is initially excited for her new Short Takes class about children's literature. She's less excited to find out that her grade will depend mostly on her participation, especially when the teacher makes it difficult for less outspoken students to participate (for example, he ignores the kids raising their hands in favor of others shouting out the answers). When she does try to participate, several of her classmates whisper about her being a "brain." Things aren't all bad, though: Mallory is feeling great about the fund-raising that she's spear-heading for the sixth grades's gift to SMS (seems like more of an eighth grade things, but...). She even discovers that a previous class had raised money for a student lounge, but it went to needed school repairs instead, so makes sure that the lounge will be built after all. The success of the fundraiser gives her the confidence to talk to her teacher and things go better, although she's still the butt of jokes about her grades.
The subplot is about Mallory and the BSC helping the kids who formed a band back in Keep Out, Claudia! get into the Memorial Day parade. It only allows groups to march, so they have to make some easy-to-play instruments and practice extra. Kazoos end up being necessary for the instruments to sound like instruments.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: pretzels and Cheese Whiz in her closet, chocolate stars
No big revelations.
Their Families:
Mallory explains that most of the Pikes have blue eyes and brown hair, then that she's the only one with red/auburn hair. I wonder if any have different colored eyes.
The Pike kids get bedtime stories...from Mallory. Shouldn't that be something the parents do?
The Club (and clients):
Mallory is a few minutes late to a BSC meeting but doesn't get a Look from Kristy. It's clear that Mallory was really trying to get there on time, and she apologizes for being late, so it seems that Kristy is somewhat understanding as long as they make a sincere effort to be on time.
SMS:
New-to-us students: Megan Armstrong, Jen Corn, Laura Nelson (6th)
New-to-us staff/faculty: Mr. Cobb (6th grammar), Mr. Counts (librarian)
Did you remember that Mallory is sixth grade secretary? I barely did.
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
There's a little questionnare in the back that the previous owner, Kara N. A., filled out. She was in sixth grade. Her favorite BSC member was Kristy since they both like sports. She would like to see a book about Kristy suddenly not liking sports.
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 9
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 67
Students (other than the BSC): 207: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 25 7th graders, 47 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 125
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-10
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
1/11/13
Stacey and the Fashion Victim (M#29)
Original Publication Date: 1997
Ghostwriter? Yes, Ellen Miles.
Synopsis:
During "Take Your Daughter to Work Day" Stacey gets picked for a brief modeling gig. Cokie Mason is in it, too, along with some more experienced girls. At the end of the "fashion week" one girl will be picked to be Princess Bellair. It's not long before strange things start happening. Harmony, the requisite girl with a pushy stage mother, comes down with painful stomach cramps just after having some tea (perhaps spiked with laxatives?). Some outfits are cut to shreds just before a photo shoot. Threatening notes appear. It's pretty similar to Jessi and the Dance School Phantom. But a bit more sinister: someone gets a strange rash from the stage makeup, another girl has a nasty spill on the runway, and Stacey and another girl come a little too close to falling off a roof (they land on part of it a foot lower than the rest). After the girl who was poisoned is name Princess Bellair but doesn't seem truly happy about it, Stacey realizes she's been sabotaging herself (that same girl also fell with Stacey, and on the runway). With the BSC's encouragement, she's able to admit to her mother that she's sick of modeling and that she's going to quit after the fashion week is done. She even relinquishes her title of Princess Bellair, which goes to another of the models.
The subplot is a giant PSA about smoking: how you shouldn't start and how if you have, you should work on quitting. Several parents and other adults suddenly smoke (for example, Aunt Cecelia smokes a few times a day and Watson Brewer has the occasional cigar) and make efforts to give it up all together on a set day. The kids and the BSC help by having people sign a pledge to either never start smoking or quit for (at least) a day, and pass out carrots and gum to help ease the oral fixation.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Skittles
Stacey mentions having won a modeling contest at Belliar's, which if I recall correctly, is a reference to the BSC TV show.
Their Families:
One of Claudia's parents is an investment banker.
Emily Michelle is still having trouble picking up spoken English. My own two-year-old (almost 26 months) knows a lot of words but is stubborn about saying them. However, she uses American Sign Language very well to communicate her needs and wants. Maybe Jessi should work with Emily Michelle.
David Michael comes up with idea of a quit day for the smokes. Guess great ideas run in the family.
Aunt Cecelia's stubborness serves her well when she signs the quit-smoking pledge.
The Club (and clients): nothing new.
SMS: nothing new.
PSA Time:
By the way, if you think a funny joke is to pass out laxative-laced brownies to your schoolmates (like happened when I was in high school), it's not funny. You don't what what other medicine someone might have had that day, or what allergies a person has. Plus laxatives just flat out cause pain. Fortunately I didn't have any, and nother horrible happened, but it was just such a stupid thing to do.
Misc:
I guess about half the days I work are "Take Your Daughter to Work" days. I have a nanny job specifically so I can bring her with me on the days my husband's at work. His weekends are Sunday to Tuesday with every other Wednesday off.
Did I grow up really sheltered or is it weird that this book and the one before, plus a few earlier ones, have teenagers smoking so much? How could they even buy cigarettes? I know some teens do, but it seems more on the level of nose-picking in these books: a habit that a lot of people don't want to see, but that a lot of people have.
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 9
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 65
Students (other than the BSC): 203: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 25 7th graders, 44 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 123
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-10
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? Yes, Ellen Miles.
Synopsis:
During "Take Your Daughter to Work Day" Stacey gets picked for a brief modeling gig. Cokie Mason is in it, too, along with some more experienced girls. At the end of the "fashion week" one girl will be picked to be Princess Bellair. It's not long before strange things start happening. Harmony, the requisite girl with a pushy stage mother, comes down with painful stomach cramps just after having some tea (perhaps spiked with laxatives?). Some outfits are cut to shreds just before a photo shoot. Threatening notes appear. It's pretty similar to Jessi and the Dance School Phantom. But a bit more sinister: someone gets a strange rash from the stage makeup, another girl has a nasty spill on the runway, and Stacey and another girl come a little too close to falling off a roof (they land on part of it a foot lower than the rest). After the girl who was poisoned is name Princess Bellair but doesn't seem truly happy about it, Stacey realizes she's been sabotaging herself (that same girl also fell with Stacey, and on the runway). With the BSC's encouragement, she's able to admit to her mother that she's sick of modeling and that she's going to quit after the fashion week is done. She even relinquishes her title of Princess Bellair, which goes to another of the models.
The subplot is a giant PSA about smoking: how you shouldn't start and how if you have, you should work on quitting. Several parents and other adults suddenly smoke (for example, Aunt Cecelia smokes a few times a day and Watson Brewer has the occasional cigar) and make efforts to give it up all together on a set day. The kids and the BSC help by having people sign a pledge to either never start smoking or quit for (at least) a day, and pass out carrots and gum to help ease the oral fixation.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Skittles
Stacey mentions having won a modeling contest at Belliar's, which if I recall correctly, is a reference to the BSC TV show.
Their Families:
One of Claudia's parents is an investment banker.
Emily Michelle is still having trouble picking up spoken English. My own two-year-old (almost 26 months) knows a lot of words but is stubborn about saying them. However, she uses American Sign Language very well to communicate her needs and wants. Maybe Jessi should work with Emily Michelle.
David Michael comes up with idea of a quit day for the smokes. Guess great ideas run in the family.
Aunt Cecelia's stubborness serves her well when she signs the quit-smoking pledge.
The Club (and clients): nothing new.
SMS: nothing new.
PSA Time:
By the way, if you think a funny joke is to pass out laxative-laced brownies to your schoolmates (like happened when I was in high school), it's not funny. You don't what what other medicine someone might have had that day, or what allergies a person has. Plus laxatives just flat out cause pain. Fortunately I didn't have any, and nother horrible happened, but it was just such a stupid thing to do.
Misc:
I guess about half the days I work are "Take Your Daughter to Work" days. I have a nanny job specifically so I can bring her with me on the days my husband's at work. His weekends are Sunday to Tuesday with every other Wednesday off.
Did I grow up really sheltered or is it weird that this book and the one before, plus a few earlier ones, have teenagers smoking so much? How could they even buy cigarettes? I know some teens do, but it seems more on the level of nose-picking in these books: a habit that a lot of people don't want to see, but that a lot of people have.
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 9
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 65
Students (other than the BSC): 203: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 25 7th graders, 44 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 123
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-10
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
1/9/13
Mind Your Own Business, Kristy! (RS#107)
Original Publication Date: 1997
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis.
Synopsis:
Kristy wins concert tickets through a radio contest, and Charlie agrees to drive her and Claudia, along with his new girlfriend, Angelica. Before the concert, Kristy and Charlie start a week-long softball clinic. The Krushers practically worship Charlie and he's a huge help...when he's not distracted by Angelica. Kristy's not a fan of her. She seems aloof, she distracts Charlie, and she smokes. Kristy decides to try to get Charlie back together with Sarah, the girl he'd been seeing before. Her plan fails miserably, and gets Charlie upset with her. They still want to go to the concert, though. Charlie borrows Watson's car to get there, since he's trying to impress Angelica. She insists on driving after he has a rough time of it, and gets pulled over for speeding. As she's moving to the shoulder, she tries to convince Charlie to switch places with her because--surprise!--she's driving without a license. The ensuing confusion results in the car slamming into the guardrails. No one is hurt, but the car is damaged. And they all miss the concert.
Back at the softball clinic, Kristy discovers that Charlie has forgotten his promise to try to get a professional player to stop by. It turns out that this player is a relative of Charlie's former girlfriend, and she's able to get him to come for the last day.
As for Angelica, she basically says the accident is all Charlie's fault (true, he shouldn't have let her drive, but come on!) and that they shouldn't hang out anymore because he's a bad influence on her. Classy.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Milk Duds behind her bed. Cheez Doodles and caramels
Kristy makes a good point that men are often described as "strong" or "born leaders" for the same attributes that label women as bossy. Though Kristy does go over-the-top on occasion.
According to Kristy, Stacey wears too much black. According to Stacey, it sets off her blonde hair.
At one point, Kristy has an outburst at Charlie (she's mad that he seems to be ignoring her in favor of more fun things) that reveals something: the reason Kristy is so strict about wanting people to be places RIGHT ON TIME and DO THINGS JUST RIGHT is that she doesn't want to a be flake like her biological father.
Their Families:
Mallory mentions that Mary Anne will be sitting at the Pikes' while Mallory is there. How about that? The Pike parents are letting Mallory have a break.
Judging from the fact that Kristy hears Nannie sing Emily Michelle a lullaby at 9:05 pm, EM and my daughter have about the same bedtime.
I'd say that Kristy's older brothers are acting way too young for their ages when they're wrestling around with each other, but I've seen my own brothers in their teen years.
Kristy's biological father once played for a minor league baseball team.
The narrative implies that Claudia's dad is mad at her for...what, exactly? Being in car that got in a minor accident through no fault of her own? No wonder Claudia thinks her parents are tough on her.
The Club (and clients): nothing new.
SMS: on spring break.
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
Charlie gets a brochure from Wissahickon College. There is a Wissahickon School District, so mabye it's a reference to that, but I like to think that it's a reference to the Bill Cosby routine about his childhood basketball team that played at the Wissahickon Boys Club.
Technically, grammar rules dictate that a group, such as a band, should be treated as a single entity. So Sam was correct in saying that Blade (the band Kristy likes) stinks, and Kristy was wrong to correct him that it should be Blade stink. However, people usually mean "the people belonging to whatever group" when they use the names.
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 9
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 65
Students (other than the BSC): 203: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 25 7th graders, 44 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 123
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-10
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis.
Synopsis:
Kristy wins concert tickets through a radio contest, and Charlie agrees to drive her and Claudia, along with his new girlfriend, Angelica. Before the concert, Kristy and Charlie start a week-long softball clinic. The Krushers practically worship Charlie and he's a huge help...when he's not distracted by Angelica. Kristy's not a fan of her. She seems aloof, she distracts Charlie, and she smokes. Kristy decides to try to get Charlie back together with Sarah, the girl he'd been seeing before. Her plan fails miserably, and gets Charlie upset with her. They still want to go to the concert, though. Charlie borrows Watson's car to get there, since he's trying to impress Angelica. She insists on driving after he has a rough time of it, and gets pulled over for speeding. As she's moving to the shoulder, she tries to convince Charlie to switch places with her because--surprise!--she's driving without a license. The ensuing confusion results in the car slamming into the guardrails. No one is hurt, but the car is damaged. And they all miss the concert.
Back at the softball clinic, Kristy discovers that Charlie has forgotten his promise to try to get a professional player to stop by. It turns out that this player is a relative of Charlie's former girlfriend, and she's able to get him to come for the last day.
As for Angelica, she basically says the accident is all Charlie's fault (true, he shouldn't have let her drive, but come on!) and that they shouldn't hang out anymore because he's a bad influence on her. Classy.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Milk Duds behind her bed. Cheez Doodles and caramels
Kristy makes a good point that men are often described as "strong" or "born leaders" for the same attributes that label women as bossy. Though Kristy does go over-the-top on occasion.
According to Kristy, Stacey wears too much black. According to Stacey, it sets off her blonde hair.
At one point, Kristy has an outburst at Charlie (she's mad that he seems to be ignoring her in favor of more fun things) that reveals something: the reason Kristy is so strict about wanting people to be places RIGHT ON TIME and DO THINGS JUST RIGHT is that she doesn't want to a be flake like her biological father.
Their Families:
Mallory mentions that Mary Anne will be sitting at the Pikes' while Mallory is there. How about that? The Pike parents are letting Mallory have a break.
Judging from the fact that Kristy hears Nannie sing Emily Michelle a lullaby at 9:05 pm, EM and my daughter have about the same bedtime.
I'd say that Kristy's older brothers are acting way too young for their ages when they're wrestling around with each other, but I've seen my own brothers in their teen years.
Kristy's biological father once played for a minor league baseball team.
The narrative implies that Claudia's dad is mad at her for...what, exactly? Being in car that got in a minor accident through no fault of her own? No wonder Claudia thinks her parents are tough on her.
The Club (and clients): nothing new.
SMS: on spring break.
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
Charlie gets a brochure from Wissahickon College. There is a Wissahickon School District, so mabye it's a reference to that, but I like to think that it's a reference to the Bill Cosby routine about his childhood basketball team that played at the Wissahickon Boys Club.
Technically, grammar rules dictate that a group, such as a band, should be treated as a single entity. So Sam was correct in saying that Blade (the band Kristy likes) stinks, and Kristy was wrong to correct him that it should be Blade stink. However, people usually mean "the people belonging to whatever group" when they use the names.
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 9
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 65
Students (other than the BSC): 203: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 25 7th graders, 44 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 123
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-10
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
1/6/13
Claudia, Queen of the Seventh Grade (RS#106)
Original Publication Date: 1997
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis.
Synopsis:
Claudia's doing well in seventh grade, keeping up with her classes well enough to help her classmates study. And she's become good enough friends with some classmates that they nominate for Seventh Grade Queen, which is a long-standing tradition that SMS suddenly has. Claudia is flattered, but the eighth grade BSC members are dismissive about it and seem to think seventh graders beneath them. Jessi and Mallory get all immature and giggily at the thought of Claudia potentially being paired up with the Seventh Grade King. The younger two get over it quickly, but the older ones keep acting high and mighty. The SMS "royalty" helps organize the school's prom, but it's basically a puppet government. Claudia, however, is determined to actually have an influence. She channels Kristy and organizes a very well thought-out prom, complete with a food and clothing drive. And she does end up crushing on the seventh grade king, Mark Jaffe...and kissing him. She also puts the older BSC members in their place, which I found more satisfying than Claudia dating someone.
Meanwhile, the BSC is having to deal with Sean Addison's anger issues. Part of his anger comes from feeling like a baby because he still needs a sitter. But the BSC helps him out by discovering that certain classmates have sitters themselves, and show him how to be more responsible and thus earn more trust.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: marshmallows in her dresser drawer, Paydays behind her headboard, Chips Ahoy near her bed, Milk Duds
Stacey can run AN ENTIRE HALF MILE. Yes, a little more than 800 meters. I bet it didn't even take her five minutes. (Yes, sarcasm. In eighth grade, a half mile was the warm up for most of my sports practices, and Stacey is supposed to be decent shape from the description of her bike riding in Stacey McGill, Super Sitter)
Their Families: nothing new.
The Club (and clients):
The Addison family (parents ignored the kids by shuttling them off to different activities in Claudia and the Sad Goodbye, the son torched some library books in Mary Anne and the Library Mystery) are in family therapy, which is good. The mom says the son, Sean, is learning to express his anger verbally...uh, if his anger is on the level of burning books, he needs to learn to not be so angry, not express it differently. Granted, words are better than vandalism, but still...
SMS:
New-to-us students: Tom Blanton, Shira Epstein, Joanna Fried, Mark Jaffe, Loretta Jorgensen, Len Judson, Jeannie Kim, Jennifer Kline, Bonnie Lasher, Abigail Leib, Frank O'Malley, Josh Rocker, Ron Tibbets, Duryan Weinstein, Neil ?, Spud ? (7th grade)
New-to-us teachers: Mr. Hochberger (English), Ms. Pilley (7th grade homeroom)
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
The book states that only animals of the same species can mate, which is not quite true. Only animals of the same species can produce fertile offspring. For example, a donkey and a horse can produce a sterile mule and tigers and lions cross-breed but are clearly not the same species. But a cocker spaniel and a Labrador retreiver can produce puppies who can go on to have puppies themselves.
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 9
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 65
Students (other than the BSC): 203: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 25 7th graders, 44 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 123
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-10
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis.
Synopsis:
Claudia's doing well in seventh grade, keeping up with her classes well enough to help her classmates study. And she's become good enough friends with some classmates that they nominate for Seventh Grade Queen, which is a long-standing tradition that SMS suddenly has. Claudia is flattered, but the eighth grade BSC members are dismissive about it and seem to think seventh graders beneath them. Jessi and Mallory get all immature and giggily at the thought of Claudia potentially being paired up with the Seventh Grade King. The younger two get over it quickly, but the older ones keep acting high and mighty. The SMS "royalty" helps organize the school's prom, but it's basically a puppet government. Claudia, however, is determined to actually have an influence. She channels Kristy and organizes a very well thought-out prom, complete with a food and clothing drive. And she does end up crushing on the seventh grade king, Mark Jaffe...and kissing him. She also puts the older BSC members in their place, which I found more satisfying than Claudia dating someone.
Meanwhile, the BSC is having to deal with Sean Addison's anger issues. Part of his anger comes from feeling like a baby because he still needs a sitter. But the BSC helps him out by discovering that certain classmates have sitters themselves, and show him how to be more responsible and thus earn more trust.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: marshmallows in her dresser drawer, Paydays behind her headboard, Chips Ahoy near her bed, Milk Duds
Stacey can run AN ENTIRE HALF MILE. Yes, a little more than 800 meters. I bet it didn't even take her five minutes. (Yes, sarcasm. In eighth grade, a half mile was the warm up for most of my sports practices, and Stacey is supposed to be decent shape from the description of her bike riding in Stacey McGill, Super Sitter)
Their Families: nothing new.
The Club (and clients):
The Addison family (parents ignored the kids by shuttling them off to different activities in Claudia and the Sad Goodbye, the son torched some library books in Mary Anne and the Library Mystery) are in family therapy, which is good. The mom says the son, Sean, is learning to express his anger verbally...uh, if his anger is on the level of burning books, he needs to learn to not be so angry, not express it differently. Granted, words are better than vandalism, but still...
SMS:
New-to-us students: Tom Blanton, Shira Epstein, Joanna Fried, Mark Jaffe, Loretta Jorgensen, Len Judson, Jeannie Kim, Jennifer Kline, Bonnie Lasher, Abigail Leib, Frank O'Malley, Josh Rocker, Ron Tibbets, Duryan Weinstein, Neil ?, Spud ? (7th grade)
New-to-us teachers: Mr. Hochberger (English), Ms. Pilley (7th grade homeroom)
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
The book states that only animals of the same species can mate, which is not quite true. Only animals of the same species can produce fertile offspring. For example, a donkey and a horse can produce a sterile mule and tigers and lions cross-breed but are clearly not the same species. But a cocker spaniel and a Labrador retreiver can produce puppies who can go on to have puppies themselves.
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 9
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 65
Students (other than the BSC): 203: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 25 7th graders, 44 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 123
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-10
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
1/1/13
Portrait Collection: Abby's Book
Original Publication Date: 1997
Ghostwriter? Yes, Jeanne Betancourt.
Synopsis:
This is Abby's autobiography assignment. She presents her life in the following categories:
From Birth to Backpack: Not surprisingly for twins, Abby and Anna were born a month early. They bonded quickly and became each other's best friend, even developing a secret language. They enjoy dressing alike until they hit first grade, when their independence starts show more.
Red and Blue Just Won't Do: Then, when first grade starts, their teacher finds identical twins to be problematic. She suggests that instead of dressing alike every day, that Anna always wear blue and Abby always wear red. The girls go along with it, but hate it. Their classmates also make no effort to learn who is who (in first grade, I had identical twin girls in my class, and while it was tricky sometimes, we at least TRIED to tell them apart). After talking with their parents, the girls agree to pick out separate clothes based on what they as individuals like, not on what twins can wear together. Anna also gets her hair cut shorter. Their classmates and teacher start to get to know the girls and are able to tell them apart better.
Without Dad: Abby's father is hit and killed by a drunk driver while the girls are at school. Their grandfather picks them up in the middle of the day, and the family grieves together for a long time. Abby, Anna, and their mother observe the Jewish custom of sitting shivah for a week. After that, the girls return to school, but their mother still stays home. Her parents stay to help, but they must leave at some point, because about a month later, the house is a disaster, with the girls too young to take care of it and their mother too distraught to notice. But Abby and Anna help her see, and, though still understandably devasted, she pulls herself together for her daughters and the three go on as best they can.
The Shooting Star: A year after her father's death, Abby's family has drifted apart some. Everyone seems to be staying busy to avoid thinking about the death. But Abby's mom comes up with a plan: a ten-day vacation to a little resort island in Florida. But the vacation starts with the three of them off doing their own separate things. But after a small outburst from Abby, they spend some quality time together and start to create new traditions that will help them have a good time without feeling guilty that they're doing what they used to do with their father.
New Places, New Faces: Abby's mom is doing a few odd things, like taking trips out of town, getting messages from a realtor, and taking to her friends and family about how it's hard to be around so many things that remind her of her late husband. Finally, the annoucement comes: the family is moving to Stoneybrook, CT. There's a brief recap of meeting Kristy's family, from Abby's point of view.
Abby gets an A- on her report.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: none mentioned
Abby's parents knew that the girls were identical twins before they were born. If this book was published in 1997, they would have been born in 1984 (like me!). I know a pair of twins born a little earlier in the 80s, and while ultrasounds weren't routine for most pregnancies, a twin pregnancy did warrant it. I wonder if they could check for twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome back then, which is a concern with identical twins. For what it's worth, it sounds like the twins were NOT a c-section, which is totally possible with cooperative twins (although in some cases twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome can make it risky).
Abby's allergies seem to have popped up between first and fourth grades.
Their Families:
Abby's mom is a book editor. I can't remember if that was specified earlier.
There is a picture of Abby and Anna as little girls with their dad and its really sweet. It sort of gets to me when I think that later in the book their father dies. I think it's part well-drawn pictures, part I have a daughter who hugs my husband the same way, and part pregnancy hormones.
Abby's dad died the month after her birthday. That proximity would be tough enough; it's a good think the twins were a month early.
I think it's really rotten of Abby's mom to spring the news of the move the way she did. Just out of the blue "I bought a house in a different state." I understand her reasons for moving, but the girls should have been involved from the start. Although, it's not like she just suddenly brought home an adopted baby with no notice.
The Club (and clients): nothing new.
SMS:
New teacher: Ms. Belcher, eighth grade English. Wonder how often the kids make fun of her name.
PSA Time:
MONTHS AREN'T EXACTLY FOUR WEEKS LONG UNLESS IT'S FEBRAURY AND NOT A LEAP YEAR. Chapter 12 has cutout bits of calendar from four consecutive months, March through June, and they all start on a Monday. Not possible. This is the sort of thinking that prompts people I know, people with college degrees, to say that pregnancy is ten months long because it lasts 40 weeks, ignoring not only how calendars work but the fact that conception happens at week two (the start of the 40 weeks is the first day of the woman's last period).
Misc:
This is the last of the Portrait Collections; Mallory and Jessi don't have them.
When young, Abby and Anna meet identical twin adult women who proclaim that they always dress alike and even live next door to each other in identical houses. My grandmother is an identical twin, but she and her sister dress according to how each prefers. However, her twin and their older sister DO share identical halves of a duplex. (Identical in floorplan only)
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 9
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 63
Students (other than the BSC): 187: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 9 7th graders, 44 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 123
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? Yes, Jeanne Betancourt.
Synopsis:
This is Abby's autobiography assignment. She presents her life in the following categories:
From Birth to Backpack: Not surprisingly for twins, Abby and Anna were born a month early. They bonded quickly and became each other's best friend, even developing a secret language. They enjoy dressing alike until they hit first grade, when their independence starts show more.
Red and Blue Just Won't Do: Then, when first grade starts, their teacher finds identical twins to be problematic. She suggests that instead of dressing alike every day, that Anna always wear blue and Abby always wear red. The girls go along with it, but hate it. Their classmates also make no effort to learn who is who (in first grade, I had identical twin girls in my class, and while it was tricky sometimes, we at least TRIED to tell them apart). After talking with their parents, the girls agree to pick out separate clothes based on what they as individuals like, not on what twins can wear together. Anna also gets her hair cut shorter. Their classmates and teacher start to get to know the girls and are able to tell them apart better.
Without Dad: Abby's father is hit and killed by a drunk driver while the girls are at school. Their grandfather picks them up in the middle of the day, and the family grieves together for a long time. Abby, Anna, and their mother observe the Jewish custom of sitting shivah for a week. After that, the girls return to school, but their mother still stays home. Her parents stay to help, but they must leave at some point, because about a month later, the house is a disaster, with the girls too young to take care of it and their mother too distraught to notice. But Abby and Anna help her see, and, though still understandably devasted, she pulls herself together for her daughters and the three go on as best they can.
The Shooting Star: A year after her father's death, Abby's family has drifted apart some. Everyone seems to be staying busy to avoid thinking about the death. But Abby's mom comes up with a plan: a ten-day vacation to a little resort island in Florida. But the vacation starts with the three of them off doing their own separate things. But after a small outburst from Abby, they spend some quality time together and start to create new traditions that will help them have a good time without feeling guilty that they're doing what they used to do with their father.
New Places, New Faces: Abby's mom is doing a few odd things, like taking trips out of town, getting messages from a realtor, and taking to her friends and family about how it's hard to be around so many things that remind her of her late husband. Finally, the annoucement comes: the family is moving to Stoneybrook, CT. There's a brief recap of meeting Kristy's family, from Abby's point of view.
Abby gets an A- on her report.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: none mentioned
Abby's parents knew that the girls were identical twins before they were born. If this book was published in 1997, they would have been born in 1984 (like me!). I know a pair of twins born a little earlier in the 80s, and while ultrasounds weren't routine for most pregnancies, a twin pregnancy did warrant it. I wonder if they could check for twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome back then, which is a concern with identical twins. For what it's worth, it sounds like the twins were NOT a c-section, which is totally possible with cooperative twins (although in some cases twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome can make it risky).
Abby's allergies seem to have popped up between first and fourth grades.
Their Families:
Abby's mom is a book editor. I can't remember if that was specified earlier.
There is a picture of Abby and Anna as little girls with their dad and its really sweet. It sort of gets to me when I think that later in the book their father dies. I think it's part well-drawn pictures, part I have a daughter who hugs my husband the same way, and part pregnancy hormones.
Abby's dad died the month after her birthday. That proximity would be tough enough; it's a good think the twins were a month early.
I think it's really rotten of Abby's mom to spring the news of the move the way she did. Just out of the blue "I bought a house in a different state." I understand her reasons for moving, but the girls should have been involved from the start. Although, it's not like she just suddenly brought home an adopted baby with no notice.
The Club (and clients): nothing new.
SMS:
New teacher: Ms. Belcher, eighth grade English. Wonder how often the kids make fun of her name.
PSA Time:
MONTHS AREN'T EXACTLY FOUR WEEKS LONG UNLESS IT'S FEBRAURY AND NOT A LEAP YEAR. Chapter 12 has cutout bits of calendar from four consecutive months, March through June, and they all start on a Monday. Not possible. This is the sort of thinking that prompts people I know, people with college degrees, to say that pregnancy is ten months long because it lasts 40 weeks, ignoring not only how calendars work but the fact that conception happens at week two (the start of the 40 weeks is the first day of the woman's last period).
Misc:
This is the last of the Portrait Collections; Mallory and Jessi don't have them.
When young, Abby and Anna meet identical twin adult women who proclaim that they always dress alike and even live next door to each other in identical houses. My grandmother is an identical twin, but she and her sister dress according to how each prefers. However, her twin and their older sister DO share identical halves of a duplex. (Identical in floorplan only)
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-3, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-2
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 9
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 63
Students (other than the BSC): 187: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 9 7th graders, 44 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 37 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 123
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
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