Kristy's Big Day (RS#6)

Original Publication Date: 1987

Ghostwriter? No

Synopsis:

Kristy's mom is getting married...in two and a half weeks. There's a buyer for the house, so they need to hurry up and move. If that happened to me, I'd probably plan a much smaller wedding rather than go ahead with the big one. For example, they have a full meal served buffet-style at the reception. The wedding's at 2 in afternoon! That's why you have mid-afternoon weddings: so you don't need to serve a full meal. Other people have suggested the Thomases move in and do the wedding later, with Elizabeth and Watson having separate rooms for propriety's sake if they wanted. But then there wouldn't be a book, right? Members of the Thomas and Brewer families come to help, and bring 14 kids who need watching, so it's the BSC to the rescue.

They each watch 2-3 kids while the adults prepare for the wedding. Karen tries to ruin the wedding by attempting to start the Salem witch trials over again when Mrs. Porter shows up with a wedding gift for the new couple. Brat.

Kristy comes with a cute idea for a wedding present by the book's end (oddly, at fourteen chapters): she draws a family tree of the new Thomas-Brewer clan. Sweet thought from a thirteen-year-old.


Established or continued in this book:


The Girls:

Kristy has never owned a pair of heels before this book, and it's made out to be a privilege...were heels that big a deal?

Kristy's the shortest person in her grade.

Kristy likes to sleep on Sundays, like the 1950s Biff Tannen in Back to the Future. Since I go to church early on Sundays (unlike the BSC in which no one goes), I'm more like the 1980s Biff at the beginning who sleeps in Saturdays.

Claudia candy: a large bag of M&Ms and Ring Dings in a box under her bed, Snickers in her jewelry box, and Life Savers in her pocket. She also claims that 120 $1 bags of peppermints is a year's supply. That's right about one every three days...I'd get sick of peppermints way before that.

Foreshadowing? Kristy, speaking about Dawn's hair, narrates "I hope she never cuts it or changes it." That attitude will certainly reappear in #60!

Mary Anne still likes yellow: she suggests it as a color for Kristy's bridesmaid dress. By the way, why wouldn't her mom just call her the maid of honor?

Kristy goes with Alan Gray to the Final Fling dance at the end of the school year, Claudia with Austin Bentley, and Stacey with Pete Black. Dawn and Mary Anne go have pizza with their families (see: Mystery Science Theater short "A Date with Your Family").

Dawn doesn't believe in Martians. But we find out later that she believes in ghosts. I wonder where she draws the line? These seems to fit under the category of "Things that might exist, but I wouldn't bet more than a beer on it" (Credit to my astronomy professor re: aliens).


Their Families:

Charlie turned 17, Sam 15, and Andrew 4. Karen is still 6. Andrew's also a picky eater.

Kristy's mom is called Elizabeth here, not Edie. But that could be a nickname.

David Michael teaches us to be champion whiners: turn one-syllable words into two, e.g.; I wanna stay he-ere.

Karen and Andrew's mom is Sheila and their stepdad is Kendall in the older version I have of the book. In the new cover version it's changed to Lisa and Seth.

Kristy's cousin, Robin, who has diabetes isn't mentioned in this book. Maybe she's on her dad's side? I know Robin write Krisy a letter in the Chain Letter book...we'll have to see if she references to Grandma (Patrick's mom) or Nannie.

How does Sam deliver groceries without a car?

Nannie is introduced here, Elizabeth's mother. She's in her seventies. We know that Elizabeth is mid 30s...Nannie was 35 or so when she had Elizabeth? And Kristy's Aunts Theo and Colleen are younger.

Karen calls Nannie "Nannie" in the same way that other people call Mimi by that name. I've read comments that some people wonder about this, but it makes sense to me. I think the only people I know of who don't call my grandmother "Granny" are her kids, sons- and daughters-in-law, and my grandfather.

David Michael doesn't like vitamins. He must not have Flinestones vitamins, then. Oh, and I forgot to take mine today (not Flinestones, sadly).

David Michael gives Elizabeth and Watson goldfish as a wedding present, but like the Pikes' cat, they are never heard from again.


The Club:

Kristy doesn't miss a meeting here, but she six minutes late for one. I wonder if anyone gave her a Look.

While babysitting the horde of children, the BSC makes about $3 an hour per person, which is slightly more than normal. How little are they charging? I guess when Jenny's dad each gave Mary Anne and Dawn an extra $10 in #4 it was a huge deal.


SMS:

Students: Austin Bentley (7th grade, 8th after the summer)


Misc:

I think it's really sweet that Elizabeth (Thomas) asked Charlie to give her away at the wedding. Whatever your views on "being given" it's a great way to acknowledge all the work her oldest son has done since Patrick took off.

In #3, Stacey said Stoneybrook has only one middle school, but people who live in Watson's area are supposed to go to Kelsey Middle School. I suppose that could be in a another town, but I think this counts as a continuity error.

The BSC ends up watching 14 kids, seven boys and seven girls, ranging from 10 years to 8 months. I only mention this because I have an aunt who's one of 14, seven boys and seven girls. They're a little more spaced out than this, but I wonder what Aunt Mary would think about watching that many.

PSA time: if you go to a barbershop with two barbers, have your hair cut by the one with the worse hair...because guess who did his?

Here's proof that the stupid "Us babysitters..." grammar error (see the notes for RS#2) isn't Claudia's fault: when she write a notebook entry she correctly uses "we babysitters."


The numbers:

BSC Fights: 2

Teachers: 4 (3 7th grade, 1 elective)

Students: seventeen 7th graders, four 8th graders

Clients: 9

Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 16 (bubble gum, butterscotch candy, a chocolate bar, Ding-Dongs, gumdrops, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, peanut M&Ms, regular M&Ms, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, Twinkies, Lifesavers)

Crushes: Claudia-1 (Trevor Sandbourne), Stacey-2 (Pete Black, Sam Thomas)