Baby-Sitters' Island Adventure (SS#4)

Original Publication Date: 1990

Ghostwriter? No, Ann gets all the credit for this!

Synopsis:

Dawn and Claudia go sailing with Becca Ramsey, Haley Braddock, Jeff Schafer, and Jamie Newton and get ship-wrecked on an island in Long Island Sound.

No, seriously.

Dawn and Claudia are taking a sailing class and have a race. It ends in tie, so they agree to a rematch. They will race to a specific island, Dawn taking along Jeff and Haley; Claudia taking Becca and Jamie, and have a picnic there. During the race, a storm comes up and Dawn's boat starts sinking. The six of them manage to get to a nearby island with most of their picnic supplies and end up stranded there for two days and nights. Fortunately, they have food, and Jeff helps keep the younger kids occupied. Jamie ends up getting pretty sick, and Dawn gets freaked out enough to be useless. Claudia ends up getting them rescued by finding a broken piece of a mirror to reflect the sun back toward the rescue planes. She also devises a rain-catcher to collect water while they wait.

Back on the mainland, the rest of the BSC is trying to cope. Mary Anne feels guilty because, after a fight (Dawn forgot to tell Mary Anne that Logan couldn't meet her somwhere; she and Logan got in a fight about that), she told Dawn she wished she'd never see her sister again. Stacey's in New York, and her dad doesn't want to her come home early. Kristy cancels a Krusher-Basher softball game and at first Bart thinks she's just wimping out (they work things out). Mallory and her family go searching quite a bit. Jessi, who was left in charge of Becca and Squirt for the weekend (her parents did give permission for Becca to go sailing, by the way), has to call in her dreaded and strict Aunt Cecelia. More about her next book.



Established or continued in this book:


The Girls (and Logan):

Claudia candy: Ring-Dings and pretzels in her closet

Apparently, Dawn and Claudia have been learning to sail for years; the former in California and the latter on summer vacations.

Jessi has taken after Mallory, and now keeps a journal.


Their Families:

Carol (Mr. Schafer's girlfriend) is starting to grow on Jeff.

Hunter Bruno, in addition to his myriad of allergies, has asthma. If he's gone sailing, they could have played Lord of the Flies!

Sharon Spier lets off on a TV reporter, responding to "How do you feel with two of your kids missing?" with "How do you THINK I feel?!" I wouldn't mention it except that she reacts similarly to a reporter later in Dawn and the School Spirit War. In her defense, I'd probably be more worried about my kids than some TV reporter, too.


The Club:

Haley Braddock still appears to have her mullet/rattail thing, according to the illustrations. On the front cover, the one I think is her also has somewhat dark skin, like Matt Braddock does on the cover of Jessi's Secret Language.


SMS: Nothing new


PSA time: Nothing new


Misc:

So, bulking up on pasta, what Dawn wants to do? Carb-loading works for strenuous sports, but it's best eaten two nights before the cross country race or whatever it is. Not sure if sailing is strenuous enough to warrant carb-loading. I've never sailed, but it seems less physically demanding than a 90-minute soccer game.

Know why you lose more body heat through your head in the cold? Because the rest of you is usually clothed. Meaning, if you're wearing shorts and T-shirt, your head won't be losing heat at a radically different rate than your arms and legs.


The numbers:

Starting 8th grade: 3

Halloweens in 8th grade: 1 (plus one in seventh)

Summers after 8th grade: 2

BSC Fights: 5

SMS Staff: 15

Students (other than the BSC): 35 8th graders, five sixth-graders, five unspecified

Clients: 24

Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 38 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Oreos (Double Stuf), popcorn, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)

Crushes: Claudia-5 (Guy, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-1 (Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-5 (Toby, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)

Stacey and the Mystery of Stoneybrook (RS#35)

Original Publication Date: 1990

Ghostwriter? Yes, Ellen Miles

Synopsis:

An old house in Stoneybrook is going to be torn down, but not before certain items are removed for the historical society. While this is going on, Charlotte Johanssen is staying with the McGills for a week while her parents go to be with her grandfather who's having surgery.

Stacey and Charlotte visit the house one day...and see some rather unsettling things: a mysterious face at the window, a swarm of flies near the back door, flames that suddenly disappear. They also have nightmares about the house. Kristy and Claudia do some investigating, and find that the house is built on part of an old cemetery and that the last owner now lives at a retirement home. They go to visit him and he tells them of more hauntings he experienced while living there. Despite his warnings to not attend the demolition for fear of what might be unleashed, Stacey and Charlotte go to it along with many other people from Stoneybrook. As the house is knocked down, Stacey sees more of the same flames...but no one else does. In fact, everyone else seems bored. Stacey rushes off to the retirement home, only to find that the previous owner died the night before, but had also left her a note, in which he admitted making up all the stories just so he could enjoy their company and give them something exciting to pursue. The things Stacey and Charlotte saw have reasonable explanations (the workers removing the historical pieces). So...not much of a mystery.

What Stacey saw the day of the demolition is never explained, and there are the still the nightmares, plus some weird experiences other girls had (Mallory had a nightmare, Claudia felt a presence). But the other girls' experiences happened a long time ago, and I think were just due to their feeling uncomfortable around an old, abandoned house. As for Stacey and Charlotte? Well, Stacey's diabetes has been harder to control lately and Charlotte gets tonsillitis while staying with the McGills. I think their illnesses caused what wasn't explained by the workers' actions.


Established or continued in this book:


The Girls (and Logan):

Claudia candy: M&Ms, Twinkies, and Twix bars in her closet, crackers under her bed, Doritos

There is even MORE foreshadowing about Stacey's diabetes getting harder to control, possibly because of puberty.

Dawn's lived in Stoneybrook for "almost two years now." Which makes sense: she moved their January of their seventh grade year, and they just finished the summer after eighth. But school has just started again, and they're back in eighth grade.


Their Families:

Stacey's dad is the only one she lets call her Anastasia.

Stacey and her mom still have the painting from Mallory and the Mystery Diary hanging over their fireplace.


The Club:

Again, the claim that Kristy's never missed a meeting, and how Dawn wants her to so she can be president for a day. Kristy has missed a few meetings, including at least one when Dawn could easily have taken over: when her dog died.

Charlotte Johanssen's favorite TV show is still The Cosby Show.


SMS: Nothing new


PSA time:

Hooray! Even though Charlotte's feeling better, she still finishes her penicillin prescription. Not doing so is a good way to get antibiotic-resistant bacteria, because when you're on the mend and feeling better, the bacteria that's still left is the stronger bacteria. Finish your dosages!


Misc:

This just occurred to me...the girls ride their bikes a lot, but I don't recall ever reading about any of them putting on a helmet first. And on the cover of Mallory Pike, #1 Fan, she's standing next to her bike with no helmet. I always wear one, so not doing so seems just bizarre.

Stacey and Charlotte play 12 games of War. Since Stacey explained winning as getting the entire deck, not playing through once and counting who has more, that must have taken FOREVER. On a similar note, how do they play Clue with just two people?

Kristy reads about the Blizzard of 1888 in some old books Watson bought at an estate sale. There was a huge blizzard in Connecticut and the surrounding area then (one of the worst recorded), so good job on the continuity with real life!


The numbers:

Starting 8th grade: 3

Halloweens in 8th grade: 1 (plus one in seventh)

Summers after 8th grade: 2

BSC Fights: 5

SMS Staff: 15

Students (other than the BSC): 35 8th graders, five sixth-graders, five unspecified

Clients: 24

Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 38 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Oreos (Double Stuf), popcorn, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)

Crushes: Claudia-5 (Guy, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-1 (Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-5 (Toby, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)

Mary Anne and Too Many Boys (RS#34)

Original Publication Date: 1990

Ghostwriter? Yes, Mary Lou Kennedy

Synopsis:

Mary Anne and Stacey get to help the Pikes at Sea City again, but this time we get to hear about it from Mary Anne's point of view.

The "too many boys" part refers to Mary Anne and Stacey running into Toby and Alex again, Mary Anne feeling bad about hanging out with Alex because of Logan (then don't. Problem solved), and Vanessa having a crush on a boy who works at the ice cream store...who has a crush on Mallory.

Stacey is smitten with Toby, and Mary Anne is shocked about it. 'Kay. Toby breaks it off with Stacey, though, and she's devastated. Mary Anne ends up discovering that Alex has a girlfriend, so she can relax and enjoy just being friends with him. Vanessa writes a secret admirer poem to the boy at the ice cream store, but phrased so he'll think it's Mallory saying goodbye, so that no one ends up embarrassed.

Considering this was the best-selling BSC book, there's not a whole lot to write about. At least, not that I could find.


Established or continued in this book:


The Girls (and Logan):

Claudia candy: Twinkies, Gummi Bears, and M&Ms in a box under her bed,

Stacey hates to iron.

Mallory talks in her sleep.


Their Families:

Dawn's dad is still seeing Carol. Dawn and Jeff are a little worried they might be getting serious.


The Club:

It's interesting to watch Kristy get more and more strict about being to the meetings RIGHT AT 5:30. In her defense, the meetings are short. But it's still funny.


SMS: Summer break


PSA time:

I find it odd that when Jackie gets stung by a bee, there's no mention that Kristy at least keeps an eye out for unusual swelling or already knows he's not allergic. These books usually throw in little tidbits like that. Guess I'll do it: if you're watching someone who gets stung by a bee, watch out for allergic reactions just in case. Most people will be fine, but the people who won't, really won't.


Misc:

This book was ghost-written, and it shows a bit. Some of the writing isn't quite as smooth as it usually is.

It's always bugged me that Mary Anne and Stacey can't explain where the sun "goes" after it sets. Rather than just telling Claire about Earth revolving and rotating around the sun (easily demonstrated with some beach balls), they come up with "It goes behind a cloud." I don't remember not knowing about rotation and revolution. Although, my dad's into space stuff.

The Ramseys and Pikes are lucky that they didn't end up with several more hamsters after Squirt put Frodo in Misty's cage. I know that rats can mate in under three seconds, and I assume hamsters don't take long either.


The numbers:

Starting 8th grade: 2

Halloweens in 8th grade: 1 (plus one in seventh)

Summers after 8th grade: 2

BSC Fights: 5

SMS Staff: 15

Students (other than the BSC): 35 8th graders, five sixth-graders, five unspecified

Clients: 24

Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 38 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Oreos (Double Stuf), popcorn, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)

Crushes: Claudia-5 (Guy, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-1 (Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-5 (Toby, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)

Claudia and the Great Search (RS#33)

Original Publication Date: 1990

Ghostwriter? No

Synopsis:

I cringe when I read this book. It might be the start of Claudia's slide from under-achiever to not-so-bright. She discovers that there are very few pictures of herself as an infant and makes the "logical" jump that she's adopted. After all, she's so different from her own family. She starts a fairly extensive search, and eventually embarrasses herself by asking her parents outright. They're kind about it, though, and explain (tactfully) that there are fewer pictures of her than Janine because they were busier with two kids and the second time around things were less novel. They also point out that while Claudia doesn't look a lot like Janine, she looks like a teenaged Mimi.

Claudia also tutors Emily Michelle, helping her with her language-delay issues. She actually has some pretty clever ideas and helps her out well.

Basically, the moral of the story is take pictures of all your kids.



Established or continued in this book:


The Girls (and Logan):

Claudia candy: mini chocolate bars under a quilt, pretzels under her pillow

Claudia has trouble keeping biology terms like phylum and genus straight. Way in the future, around book #113, she has a mnemonic device to remember them.

Claudia has picked up on Kristy's being pretty but not feeling pretty. She also doesn't act disgusted about Stacey's diabetes regimen, which is nice for a best friend. She is annoyed by the biology bit about it, though (and Stacey's diabetes is still hard to control).

Claudia learns to use the microfiche machine.

Considering Janine's supposed to be a genius, I have to question her intelligence in handing a non-blown up balloon to a two-year-old, one we know puts rocks in her mouth.


Their Families:

Peaches and Russ apparently live close enough to come to Janine's award ceremony, but never visited when Mimi when she had a stroke or when she was dying. Also, Claudia suspects they might not be able to have kids.

This clears something up for me: Claudia calls Kristy's stepdad Mr. Brewer but thinks of him as "Watson" since Kristy calls him that. I was under the impression that he was the only adult they called by his first name.


The Club:

BSC history errors: yes, Mary Anne has made one mistake (which Dawn caught very quickly) and yes, Kristy has missed meetings, most recently when her dog died.

Kristy and Shannon have been watching the Papadakis kids while their grandfather recovers from a broken hip and pnuemonia (see PSA).


SMS: Nothing new

PSA time:

If you're in the hospital for whatever reason, it's perfectly fine to ask that anyone coming in your room pause for hand-washing. The last thing you need is a secondary infection.


Misc:

Claudia's science class ends at 1:51. For no good reason, I remember that my eleventh- and twelfth-grade science classes ended at 1:52.

Like Janine, my older brother was recognized at a number of ceremonies for his academic achievements (but unlike Claudia, I can spell my own name). My friends and I started calling any school assembly a "[Brother]-is-smart-award assembly." We're three years apart, too.

The pediatrician's receptionist seems surprised that Claudia doesn't know she had a different pediatrician until age 2. Yeah, geez, Claudia, don't you remember? Also, Claudia doesn't see a pediatrician anymore. I saw mine until way too late. There was an instance that I needed a checkup that my OBGYN couldn't do, so I ended up seeing the pediatrician when I was 22 and already married. I promised him I'd find a proper primary care doctor and that I wouldn't come back unless it was with an infant (and I get to do that in a few months).

I saw a hyacinth macaw do a color-matching game like Claudia does with Emily Michelle. The bird kept wanting to put blue and yellow together, though, presumably because hyacinth macaws are blue and yellow.


The numbers:

Starting 8th grade: 2

Halloweens in 8th grade: 1

Summers after 8th grade: 1

BSC Fights: 5

SMS Staff: 15

Students (other than the BSC): 35 8th graders, five sixth-graders, five unspecified

Clients: 24

Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 38 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, Cheese Doodles, a chocolate bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers, cupcakes, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, gumdrops, Fritos, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Oreos (Double Stuf), popcorn, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Twinkies)

Crushes: Claudia-5 (Guy, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-1 (Parker Harris), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-5 (Toby, Pete Black, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart)