Karen's Worst Day (LSGN#3)

 Publication date: 2021

Ghostwriter? No, the text copyright is for Ann M. Martin

Illustrators: Katy Farina, with color by Braden Lamb

Synposis:

Ever since Karen broke her wrist, nothing's gone her way. She drops her lunch at school and gets embarrassed, she tries to help Andrew out by cutting his bangs and gets in trouble, she can't sleep, she loses one of her special toys, etc. Going to her father's house for the weekend doesn't help in the least. She starts the day by falling out of bed after a nightmare, then pets won't play with her, the promised cereal box prize is missing, her favorite show is preempted for a special report, Hannie forgets that Karen can't ride bikes and invites her on a picnic she can't go to, she fights with her siblings, and so on. Elizabeth has a good idea, though: get back in bed and start the day over. But it doesn't work. The mail comes, and with a present for Andrew from his godparents. Karen is jealous, and picks a fight with Andrew. She's sent to her room for time-out. When that's done, the ice cream man is out of the treat Karen wants. It seems her bad day will never end. But finally, at dinner, things look up. Karen and her family talk about all the bad days they've had, and Karen realizes that she'll get through this. Sam and Charlie take her to an ice cream parlor, and not a thing goes wrong. Before bedtime, Karen apologizes to the family and friends she took out her frustrations on, and goes to sleep happy.

Continuity related to the BSC books:

Kristy bakes brownies to bring to a BSC meeting.

Misc:

Ann M. Martin dedicates the book to "Read Marie Marcus, Josh's little sister;" Katy Farina to "Rian, my husband, who can turn my worst days into my best days."

I love that Elizabeth keeps her sewing supplies in an old butter cookie tin

 

This may be my favorite illustration of a ticked-off cat EVER

The Baby-sitters Club Netflix TV Series: Dawn and the Impossible Three

 Netflix has a new original series: The Baby-sitters Club! The first season covers the first eight books plus a sort of adaptation of of the second super special, Baby-sitters Summer Vacation. AND...it's set in the present day (2019/2020), updated accordingly, and much more diverse. The plots are broadly the same as the original books. Here are some things that I noticed:

What stood out as surprisingly (not necessarily good or bad) different to me:    

Dawn goes on her first sitting job (for the Barretts) without much fuss aside from resentment from Kristy, because the Baby-sitters Agency didn't send fake recruits earlier.

Mary Anne's room redecoration includes the whole club, and even Dawn's mom. But they overstep by not talking with Richard first, and appearing to disrespect his late wife's memory by not knowing what touches were hers.

Buddy goes with his dad for swimming lessons, like has always been the plan, and he brings Buddy back after, making his actions less antagonistic.

Kristy comes over to help Dawn when Buddy's missing. Seeing a father still involved in his child's life, shortly after seeing Dawn having a relationship with hers, pushes Kristy over the edge and she finally lets out her anger at her father.

What I was happy stayed the same:

The Barrett house is appropriately insane, and the kids are out of control but good-natured.

The tension when Dawn realizes Buddy is missing is intense.

Though Dawn and Kristy bond differently here than in the book, their bonding is satisfying to watch.

Other interesting touches: 

A lot of people in Stoneybrook recognize Dawn's mom, which makes perfect sense as she grew up there.

Richard Spier is a great balance between awkward and eager.

Dawn's mom and Kristy's mom chat about Richard.

Dawn's mom talks to Natalie Barrett directly.

Dawn's dad calls over Facetime daily.