Claudia and the Genius of Elm Street (RS#49)

Original Publication Date: 1991

Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis

Synopsis:

In this books, Laura Ingalls and Almanzo Wilder apparently need the services of the BSC, as Claudia starts sitting for one Rosie Wilder. I wonder if she was born in December.

Unintended crossovers aside...the Wilders (actually Ginger and George) need a sitter three days a week until Rosie's grandmother (Caroline?) recovers from a broken ankle, the flu, and shingles. I hope she doesn't get post-herpetic neurolgia, a complication my dad got after shingles. Claudia is available all but two of those days, so she gets the job.

As it turns out, the job mostly consists of sitting around while Rosie has various lessons, rehearsals, and practices. She's very talented and her parents push into recitals, TV appearances, competitions, and the like. Rosie rubs the BSC the wrong way at first; she's so smart, and she knows it, that she acts conceited. They even have to bring in Janine to help with Rosie's homework. But Claudia eventually figures out that Rosie doesn't like most of what she's forced to do, which puts her in a bad mood. What does Rosie really like? Art, of course. She's been hiding it from her parents because they'll just turn it into another chore for her. Claudia discovers this while working on sketches of junk food for a. Andy Warhol-inspired art exhibit she's planning to hold in her parents' garage (I know, but it actually turns out really well, despite Alan Gray's sabotage efforts).

Claudia eventually convinces Rosie to talk to her parents about how overbooked she is, and they agree to cut down on her activities to just math club, violin, and art. And there was great rejoicing.


Established or continued in this book:

The Girls (and Logan):

Claudia candy: A Kit-Kat in her night table, Milky Ways, M&Ms, and a Chunky bar (that just sounds gross)

Claudia read (and enjoyed) Oliver Twist and The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.

It's sad how insecure Claudia can be. She worries about her friends mocking her spelling behind her back. Though I wouldn't be surprised if Dawn does.

Stacey has the insight that Rosie might be insecure. Considering she had the trick with using reverse psychology on the Delaneys way back in RS#11, it makes sense for her to think of this idea.


Their Families:

Claudia says that she and Janine are getting along better, and it shows in this book. Hooray! Janine seems nice, if a bit unrelateable at times.


The Club:

New client: Rosie Wilder

Mary Anne color-codes the scheduling book.


SMS: nothing new


PSA time:


Misc:

Is it necessary to check a crossword puzzle for accuracy? If one word is wrong, won't it throw off the other words, too?

Claudia references her lessons with MacKenzie Clark in New York from SS#6.


The numbers:

Starting 8th grade: 3

Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)

Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 1

Summers after 8th grade: 2

BSC Fights: 6

SMS Staff: 20

Students (other than the BSC): 63; 40 8th graders, nine sixth-graders, nine unspecified

Clients: 27

Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 52 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, Chunky bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, dark-chocolate caramels, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, gumdrops, Gummi Bears, Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, Kit-Kats, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf), Planter's Peanut bar, popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, pretzel sticks, red hots, Ring Dings, root beer barrels, salt water taffy, Snickers, taco chips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Triscuits, Twinkies, Yodels)

Crushes: Claudia-7 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-4 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris, Richie Magnesi), Mary Anne-2 (Alex, Logan Bruno), Stacey-7 (Toby, Kelsey Bauman, Pete Black, Ross Brown, Pierre D'Amboise, Scott Foley, Sam Thomas), Kristy-1 (Bart Taylor), Mallory-1 (Ben Hobart), Jessi-1 (Quint Walter)