Original Publication Date: 1992
Ghostwriter? Yes, Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner
Synopsis:
Ah, the book in which Dawn goes full self-righteous, narcissistic, sanctimonious insane.
Dawn's science class is studying ecology, and assigned to come up with an idea to save the planet. Dawn and Stacey team up to teach a series of classes to BSC charges and help them hold a Green Fair at the end of them. Dawn also spearheads a project to get a recycling center at SMS. All good.
But she goes overboard, lecturing people and yelling at them when they screw up, acting as if she's the first person to know about recycling. She gets so obnoxious that when it comes time to elect a chairperson to head the recycling center, Dawn's science teacher wins in a landslide. Dawn is disappointed (to be honest, I would be too) and withdraws a bit from the project. When the recycling center is unveiled, no one acknowledges Dawn's significant part in it (again, I'd be upset too). But this does help her realize how overbearing she was, and she apologizes the BSC, especially Stacey, and things work out. The Green Fair is a success, and the kids donate to proceeds to the SMS recycling center. Dawn's science teacher nominates Dawn as a co-chair, but I don't think it's ever brought up again.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Mallomars behind her bed
There's a lot of accurate callbacks to Dawn's Wicked Stepsister; things like Dawn's needing music to do homework and Richard's sock drawer.
Kristy only gives a look here, not A Look.
People act like it's a novel idea to catch-and-release spiders found in homes, but Mary Anne has always done that, and brought it up when the snake escaped in Jessi Ramsey, Pet Sitter.
Kristy still doesn't like spiders.
Claudia's back in her role as peace-keeper, trying to smooth things over.
Their Families:
Richard gets called "Sir" by an SMS student (Pete Black), which I assume is because he's Richard, not because of politeness.
The Club:
Dawn says Mary Anne's never made a mistake, but she did in the last book (chronologically). I guess she means one that wasn't caught and actually screwed up a job.
Buddy Barrett has a bit of trouble sounding out some words, but is able to read them, which fits with Mallory and the Mystery Diary.
The Ohdner kids, who we only ever hear about but never meet, have the measles. In 1992. The MMR vaccine has been available since the 1960s, and the falsified "study" about its (unproven and faked) link to autism wasn't (irresponsibly) published until 1998, so I wonder how they managed to catch the measles.
The Johanssens say that they can't remember the last time Charlotte got so excited about something when they see how excited she is about the Green Fair. I guess they forgot about the Heritage Day project she did in the last book.
SMS:
Faculty/staff: Mrs. Ensign (lunchroom monitor), Mrs. Gonzalez (8th grade science)
Student: Amelia Freeman (8th)
The SMS band is terrible, apparently.
PSA time:
Generally speaking, muffins aren't terribly healthy. They're basically cake, unless you're careful with the ingredients.
Another good reason to rinse out used milk containers? Old milk stinks.
Canvas bags are a great idea, but please wash them. Juices leak from different foods onto them and...it's not pretty.
Misc:
I have to admit, as annoying as I find Dawn in this book, I have always cut up my six-pack plastic rings since reading it.
Why is no one concerned about using so much paper for the posters and the newsletter? Obviously, no internet when this was published, but you'd think it would have at least been mentioned.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 4
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Summers after 8th grade: 3
BSC Fights: 7
SMS Staff: 29
Students (other than the BSC): 85; 60 8th graders, 2 7th grader, 11 sixth-graders, 11 unspecified
Clients: 29
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 62 (bonbons, bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, chocolate marshmallow cookies, Chunky bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, dark-chocolate caramels, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, fruit pie, gumdrops, Gummi Bears (regular and sweet-n-sour), Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, jellybeans, Kit-Kats, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, malt balls, marshmallows, Mentos, Milky Ways, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf and chocolate-dipped), Payday bars, 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, tortilla chips, Triscuits, Twinkies, Yodels)
Crushes: Claudia-8 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Arthur Feingold, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-5 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris, Price Irving, 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-3 (Daniel, Curtis Shaller, Quint Walter)
6/18/11
Mary Anne and the Secret in the Attic (M#5)
Original Publication Date: 1992
Ghostwriter? Yes, Ellen Miles
Synopsis:
People in Stoneybrook are working projects for Heritage Day, tracing the histories of their families in the town. Mary Anne is forced to acknowledge how little she knows about her family. She decides to look in the attic for clues about her past and her family. To her shock, she discovers letters from her maternal grandparents: Mary Anne lived with them for a while after her mother died, and there was some sort of custody dispute. Mary Anne isn't sure who actually has legal custody (as if her dad wouldn't have taken care of that). And then her grandmother calls Richard! Now Mary Anne's REALLY worried that her grandmother (her grandfather is dead) is going to try to lay claim to her.
As it turns out, Mary Anne has nothing to worry about. Her grandmother merely wants a visit, which Mary Anne and Richard agree would be a good idea. So Mary Anne heads off to Iowa, and we learn through letters that Mary Anne has a good time getting to know her family.
Oh, the letters Mary Anne finds in the attic? Her grandparents were HORRIBLE to Richard. Stuff about not being sure they trust him to raise a daughter on his own, and wanting to check up on his progress. I can see why they didn't stay close.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: bonbons
Mary Anne, on adjusting to having a stepfamily: "At first Dawn and I tried to share a room, but we soon discovered that we each needed our own space." That's not quite how I remember it happening...
Dawn likes to analyze dreams.
Dawn is now officially messy. An organized messy (she knows where everything is) but no longer is she the tidy person we met at the beginning.
Mary Anne's been to DisneyLAND. We already knew about Disneyworld.
Their Families:
Until she married Richard, Sharon had never owned a vacuum cleaner.
Mary Anne says she'll never call Sharon "Mom" ("that name is reserved for someone I lost a long, long time ago), which I absolutely respect, but it makes it even funnier that in a couple of books other characters, or Mary Anne herself, refers to her mom in the present tense. Any speculation that the character was referencing Sharon gone.
Mary Anne's mom is established as having been a good baker.
Kristy's family moved next door to Mary Anne's a little after Mary Anne was born. Kristy would have been an infant.
The Club:
The horror! Mary Anne makes a scheduling mistake! Jessi catches it before it's an issue.
SMS:
School is in session again...still not sure if it was last book. But either this or the previous book marks the fourth time Mary Anne has started 8th grade.
***Commenter Laura pointed out that there is mention of Jessi's French class in the last book (Keep Out, Claudia!), so THAT was the next time the current school year had started***
PSA time:
You wouldn't think I'd have to say this, but given the events of the book: when painting life-size replicas of historical figures, do it outside or in the garage, or your barn if your have one. Not in your den on the carpet. Idiots.
Misc:
This is a really hard book to read now that I have a baby girl (the same age as Mary Anne when her mother died: about six months). I think I'm still hormonal...
While researching, the Pike triplets come across some information about Old Hickory, which all lines up with what's been established before.
One of the names Mary Anne reads on a headstone that can't help giggling at is the last name of someone I graduated high school with.
A census worker comes to Mary Anne's house, but this book was published in 1992. The US census is taken every ten years in years that end in zero (1990, 2000, 2010) and as far as I can tell, Connecticut doesn't take a state census. **update: according to commenter Bazu, census workers collect other information during other times, so this is plausible**
In a letter, Mary Anne writes "awhile" when she should have written "a while."
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 4
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Summers after 8th grade: 3
BSC Fights: 6
SMS Staff: 26
Students (other than the BSC): 84; 59 8th graders, 2 7th grader, 11 sixth-graders, 11 unspecified
Clients: 29
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 62 (bonbons, bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, chocolate marshmallow cookies, Chunky bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, dark-chocolate caramels, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, fruit pie, gumdrops, Gummi Bears (regular and sweet-n-sour), Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, jellybeans, Kit-Kats, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, malt balls, marshmallows, Mentos, Milky Ways, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf and chocolate-dipped), Payday bars, 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, tortilla chips, Triscuits, Twinkies, Yodels)
Crushes: Claudia-8 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Arthur Feingold, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-5 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris, Price Irving, 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-3 (Daniel, Curtis Shaller, Quint Walter)
Ghostwriter? Yes, Ellen Miles
Synopsis:
People in Stoneybrook are working projects for Heritage Day, tracing the histories of their families in the town. Mary Anne is forced to acknowledge how little she knows about her family. She decides to look in the attic for clues about her past and her family. To her shock, she discovers letters from her maternal grandparents: Mary Anne lived with them for a while after her mother died, and there was some sort of custody dispute. Mary Anne isn't sure who actually has legal custody (as if her dad wouldn't have taken care of that). And then her grandmother calls Richard! Now Mary Anne's REALLY worried that her grandmother (her grandfather is dead) is going to try to lay claim to her.
As it turns out, Mary Anne has nothing to worry about. Her grandmother merely wants a visit, which Mary Anne and Richard agree would be a good idea. So Mary Anne heads off to Iowa, and we learn through letters that Mary Anne has a good time getting to know her family.
Oh, the letters Mary Anne finds in the attic? Her grandparents were HORRIBLE to Richard. Stuff about not being sure they trust him to raise a daughter on his own, and wanting to check up on his progress. I can see why they didn't stay close.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: bonbons
Mary Anne, on adjusting to having a stepfamily: "At first Dawn and I tried to share a room, but we soon discovered that we each needed our own space." That's not quite how I remember it happening...
Dawn likes to analyze dreams.
Dawn is now officially messy. An organized messy (she knows where everything is) but no longer is she the tidy person we met at the beginning.
Mary Anne's been to DisneyLAND. We already knew about Disneyworld.
Their Families:
Until she married Richard, Sharon had never owned a vacuum cleaner.
Mary Anne says she'll never call Sharon "Mom" ("that name is reserved for someone I lost a long, long time ago), which I absolutely respect, but it makes it even funnier that in a couple of books other characters, or Mary Anne herself, refers to her mom in the present tense. Any speculation that the character was referencing Sharon gone.
Mary Anne's mom is established as having been a good baker.
Kristy's family moved next door to Mary Anne's a little after Mary Anne was born. Kristy would have been an infant.
The Club:
The horror! Mary Anne makes a scheduling mistake! Jessi catches it before it's an issue.
SMS:
School is in session again...still not sure if it was last book. But either this or the previous book marks the fourth time Mary Anne has started 8th grade.
***Commenter Laura pointed out that there is mention of Jessi's French class in the last book (Keep Out, Claudia!), so THAT was the next time the current school year had started***
PSA time:
You wouldn't think I'd have to say this, but given the events of the book: when painting life-size replicas of historical figures, do it outside or in the garage, or your barn if your have one. Not in your den on the carpet. Idiots.
Misc:
This is a really hard book to read now that I have a baby girl (the same age as Mary Anne when her mother died: about six months). I think I'm still hormonal...
While researching, the Pike triplets come across some information about Old Hickory, which all lines up with what's been established before.
One of the names Mary Anne reads on a headstone that can't help giggling at is the last name of someone I graduated high school with.
A census worker comes to Mary Anne's house, but this book was published in 1992. The US census is taken every ten years in years that end in zero (1990, 2000, 2010) and as far as I can tell, Connecticut doesn't take a state census. **update: according to commenter Bazu, census workers collect other information during other times, so this is plausible**
In a letter, Mary Anne writes "awhile" when she should have written "a while."
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 4
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Summers after 8th grade: 3
BSC Fights: 6
SMS Staff: 26
Students (other than the BSC): 84; 59 8th graders, 2 7th grader, 11 sixth-graders, 11 unspecified
Clients: 29
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 62 (bonbons, bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, chocolate marshmallow cookies, Chunky bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, dark-chocolate caramels, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, fruit pie, gumdrops, Gummi Bears (regular and sweet-n-sour), Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, jellybeans, Kit-Kats, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, malt balls, marshmallows, Mentos, Milky Ways, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf and chocolate-dipped), Payday bars, 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, tortilla chips, Triscuits, Twinkies, Yodels)
Crushes: Claudia-8 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Arthur Feingold, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-5 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris, Price Irving, 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-3 (Daniel, Curtis Shaller, Quint Walter)
6/10/11
Keep Out, Claudia! (RS#56)
Original Publication Date: 1992
Ghostwriter? No
Synopsis:
Jackie Rodowsky inspires Claudia to a great idea of her own: a band that the neighborhood kids can play in. A lot of kids join, their skills ranging from actually taking lessons to banging on oatmeal drums. They come together pretty well, and have a well-received concert of songs from Fiddler on the Roof.
That choice of play, however, means the most recent additions to the BSC client roster won't be in the band. At first, the Lowell children (girl-boy-girl) seem sweet and well-mannered; they're angels for Mary Anne. But when Claudia sits for them, they're rude, even the mother. Then Jessi goes to sit for them, and the mother changes her mind and shuts the door in Jessi's face (we never hear about the father). Pretty soon, the BSC catches on: the Lowells are prejudiced, even going so far as to ask for only blonde-haired, blue-eyed sitters. The BSC decides not to sit for them anymore, and hope that their example will instill some wisdom onto the family. Claudia is especially hurt by this, having never experienced racism before, but her family and the BSC help her through it.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Paydays in her dresser, crckers
Claudia likes Bach.
While I understand what she's saying, it's funny that Claudia thinks the English alphabet could do without the letter C. Spell your name, dear. Oh, wait...Caludia...
Kristy and Jessi horde their money.
Isn't it strange that Claudia equates poor fashion sense with intelligence (as seen in Janine, through Claudia's eyes) when Stacey is her best friend?
Shannon's "description" is now relegated to a parenthetical aside. She doesn't even get her own paragraph.
Though Mary Anne doesn't often attend church, when she does, it's Presbyterian.
Jessi takes French class. (thanks, Laura!)
Their Families:
Watson still likes to talk in quotes.
The Club:
The Rodowskys have a dog, Bo. I don't remember reading about him before. When they were introduced in RS#10, Jackie had a pet grasshopper named Elizabeth.
Jackie and Nicky Pike seem to be getting friendly.
SMS: nothing new; I think it's still summer
***Commenter Laura pointed out that Jessi mentions French class homework; school has started again***
PSA time: nothing new
Misc:
I don't think "out" in the title should have been capitalized, as it is on the book cover (at least my version, which is the old style). It's a preposition. Usually those and articles aren't capitalized.
This book does bring up something interesting...religion very rarely plays a part in the books. I know not everyone is religious, but I was always surprised that it came up so infrequently.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Summers after 8th grade: 3
BSC Fights: 6
SMS Staff: 26
Students (other than the BSC): 84; 59 8th graders, 2 7th grader, 11 sixth-graders, 11 unspecified
Clients: 29
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 61 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, chocolate marshmallow cookies, Chunky bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, dark-chocolate caramels, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, fruit pie, gumdrops, Gummi Bears (regular and sweet-n-sour), Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, jellybeans, Kit-Kats, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, malt balls, marshmallows, Mentos, Milky Ways, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf and chocolate-dipped), Payday bars, 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, tortilla chips, Triscuits, Twinkies, Yodels)
Crushes: Claudia-8 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Arthur Feingold, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-5 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris, Price Irving, 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-3 (Daniel, Curtis Shaller, Quint Walter)
Ghostwriter? No
Synopsis:
Jackie Rodowsky inspires Claudia to a great idea of her own: a band that the neighborhood kids can play in. A lot of kids join, their skills ranging from actually taking lessons to banging on oatmeal drums. They come together pretty well, and have a well-received concert of songs from Fiddler on the Roof.
That choice of play, however, means the most recent additions to the BSC client roster won't be in the band. At first, the Lowell children (girl-boy-girl) seem sweet and well-mannered; they're angels for Mary Anne. But when Claudia sits for them, they're rude, even the mother. Then Jessi goes to sit for them, and the mother changes her mind and shuts the door in Jessi's face (we never hear about the father). Pretty soon, the BSC catches on: the Lowells are prejudiced, even going so far as to ask for only blonde-haired, blue-eyed sitters. The BSC decides not to sit for them anymore, and hope that their example will instill some wisdom onto the family. Claudia is especially hurt by this, having never experienced racism before, but her family and the BSC help her through it.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Paydays in her dresser, crckers
Claudia likes Bach.
While I understand what she's saying, it's funny that Claudia thinks the English alphabet could do without the letter C. Spell your name, dear. Oh, wait...Caludia...
Kristy and Jessi horde their money.
Isn't it strange that Claudia equates poor fashion sense with intelligence (as seen in Janine, through Claudia's eyes) when Stacey is her best friend?
Shannon's "description" is now relegated to a parenthetical aside. She doesn't even get her own paragraph.
Though Mary Anne doesn't often attend church, when she does, it's Presbyterian.
Jessi takes French class. (thanks, Laura!)
Their Families:
Watson still likes to talk in quotes.
The Club:
The Rodowskys have a dog, Bo. I don't remember reading about him before. When they were introduced in RS#10, Jackie had a pet grasshopper named Elizabeth.
Jackie and Nicky Pike seem to be getting friendly.
SMS: nothing new; I think it's still summer
***Commenter Laura pointed out that Jessi mentions French class homework; school has started again***
PSA time: nothing new
Misc:
I don't think "out" in the title should have been capitalized, as it is on the book cover (at least my version, which is the old style). It's a preposition. Usually those and articles aren't capitalized.
This book does bring up something interesting...religion very rarely plays a part in the books. I know not everyone is religious, but I was always surprised that it came up so infrequently.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Summers after 8th grade: 3
BSC Fights: 6
SMS Staff: 26
Students (other than the BSC): 84; 59 8th graders, 2 7th grader, 11 sixth-graders, 11 unspecified
Clients: 29
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 61 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, chocolate marshmallow cookies, Chunky bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, dark-chocolate caramels, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, fruit pie, gumdrops, Gummi Bears (regular and sweet-n-sour), Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, jellybeans, Kit-Kats, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, malt balls, marshmallows, Mentos, Milky Ways, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf and chocolate-dipped), Payday bars, 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, tortilla chips, Triscuits, Twinkies, Yodels)
Crushes: Claudia-8 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Arthur Feingold, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-5 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris, Price Irving, 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-3 (Daniel, Curtis Shaller, Quint Walter)
6/4/11
Baby-sitters at Shadow Lake (SS#8)
Original Publication Date: 1992
Ghostwriter? No
Synopsis:
Watson Brewer's aunt and uncle are updating their wills, and considering leaving him their summer cabin at Shadow Lake. To decide, Watson proposes a two-week vacation to the cabin, and of course, the BSC--minus Logan and Shannon OF COURSE, as they have plans--is invited to come along (so do some friends of Karen's and David Michael's; Sam and Charlie decline to bring friends in hopes of meeting girls). Hmm, the whole club, a fortnight...you know what this means: Super Special. Here are the plots:
Kristy spends her time doing everything she can think to convince Watson to agree to be willed the cabin, including making everyone write in a journal about how wonderful it is. Watson does agree to have the cabin willed to him, and we never hear about it again (that I can think of).
Dawn is obsessed with finding the mystery of Shadow Lake. There was a family who owned and lived on the island in the middle of the lake, but suddenly disappeared, leaving no trace. One night, the BSC has a campout on the island, during which Dawn finds a gold locket that she thinks belonged to an eighteen-year-old who lived there and was engaged to a man Dawn met in town before the disappearance. Dawn gives him the locket.
Jessi finds herself potentially flirting with a boy named Daniel, and wondering about her allegiance to Quint. But it turns out that Daniel has a girlfriend, and was just being friendly.
Stacey is the unwilling object of Sam Thomas's attentions. He does a good job annoying her, until Charlie gives him some advice. Stacey and Sam end up dancing the night away at the lodge dance.
Mary Anne mostly just babysits. She doesn't get much of a plot.
Mallory gets eaten alive by bugs. And made fun of by everyone but Jessi when she covers up to defend herself against the onslaught. The best friends you'll ever have indeed! After the trip, she sends a letter to the bug spray company explaining its product doesn't work, and gets a form letter thanking her for her comments with two coupons for the spray.
Claudia decides to enter the cabin's small boat in a contest, decorated as a lake monster (there's talk of something like Nessie in Shadow Lake). Andrew and Emily Michelle help her come up with ideas. She wins a prize for "Most Spirit."
We are also "treated" to chapters narrated by the kids. It's Karen, Nancy Dawes, and Hannie Papadakis versus David Michael, Linny Papadakis, and Nicky Pike over who will create a better hideaway in the woods. The girls have found a shack they're converting to a playhouse while the boys want to build their own fort, which distracts Linny and Nicky from trying to impress each other. The girls win when the boys' fort collapses. Tragically, Karen was not injured.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Mallomars "under a pile of junk" (yummy)
Claudia still tutors Emily Michelle.
Mary Anne claims to not believe in ghosts. What about the secret passage?
Stacey still can't stand vomit.
Their Families:
I like how Charlie sometimes steps in with the kids while Sam remains a goofball. It's consistent with Charlie having had to suddenly take on more responsibility when their dad walked out.
Haha, Sam finds Karen annoying.
Charlie shaves, but Sam doesn't yet.
Emily Michelle occasionally uses a pacifier.
Watson refers to Kristy as his daughter. Aww...
The Club:
Remember the advice to ask a child "Tell me about your picture" rather than trying to guess what it is? Must be club policy, because Claudia's invoking it here.
SMS: Summer vacation (again)
PSA time: nothing new
Misc: nothing stood out
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Summers after 8th grade: 3
BSC Fights: 6
SMS Staff: 26
Students (other than the BSC): 84; 59 8th graders, 2 7th grader, 11 sixth-graders, 11 unspecified
Clients: 29
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 60 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, chocolate marshmallow cookies, Chunky bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, dark-chocolate caramels, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, fruit pie, gumdrops, Gummi Bears (regular and sweet-n-sour), Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, jellybeans, Kit-Kats, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, malt balls, marshmallows, Mentos, Milky Ways, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf and chocolate-dipped), 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, tortilla chips, Triscuits, Twinkies, Yodels)
Crushes: Claudia-8 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Arthur Feingold, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-5 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris, Price Irving, 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-3 (Daniel, Curtis Shaller, Quint Walter)
Ghostwriter? No
Synopsis:
Watson Brewer's aunt and uncle are updating their wills, and considering leaving him their summer cabin at Shadow Lake. To decide, Watson proposes a two-week vacation to the cabin, and of course, the BSC--minus Logan and Shannon OF COURSE, as they have plans--is invited to come along (so do some friends of Karen's and David Michael's; Sam and Charlie decline to bring friends in hopes of meeting girls). Hmm, the whole club, a fortnight...you know what this means: Super Special. Here are the plots:
Kristy spends her time doing everything she can think to convince Watson to agree to be willed the cabin, including making everyone write in a journal about how wonderful it is. Watson does agree to have the cabin willed to him, and we never hear about it again (that I can think of).
Dawn is obsessed with finding the mystery of Shadow Lake. There was a family who owned and lived on the island in the middle of the lake, but suddenly disappeared, leaving no trace. One night, the BSC has a campout on the island, during which Dawn finds a gold locket that she thinks belonged to an eighteen-year-old who lived there and was engaged to a man Dawn met in town before the disappearance. Dawn gives him the locket.
Jessi finds herself potentially flirting with a boy named Daniel, and wondering about her allegiance to Quint. But it turns out that Daniel has a girlfriend, and was just being friendly.
Stacey is the unwilling object of Sam Thomas's attentions. He does a good job annoying her, until Charlie gives him some advice. Stacey and Sam end up dancing the night away at the lodge dance.
Mary Anne mostly just babysits. She doesn't get much of a plot.
Mallory gets eaten alive by bugs. And made fun of by everyone but Jessi when she covers up to defend herself against the onslaught. The best friends you'll ever have indeed! After the trip, she sends a letter to the bug spray company explaining its product doesn't work, and gets a form letter thanking her for her comments with two coupons for the spray.
Claudia decides to enter the cabin's small boat in a contest, decorated as a lake monster (there's talk of something like Nessie in Shadow Lake). Andrew and Emily Michelle help her come up with ideas. She wins a prize for "Most Spirit."
We are also "treated" to chapters narrated by the kids. It's Karen, Nancy Dawes, and Hannie Papadakis versus David Michael, Linny Papadakis, and Nicky Pike over who will create a better hideaway in the woods. The girls have found a shack they're converting to a playhouse while the boys want to build their own fort, which distracts Linny and Nicky from trying to impress each other. The girls win when the boys' fort collapses. Tragically, Karen was not injured.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Mallomars "under a pile of junk" (yummy)
Claudia still tutors Emily Michelle.
Mary Anne claims to not believe in ghosts. What about the secret passage?
Stacey still can't stand vomit.
Their Families:
I like how Charlie sometimes steps in with the kids while Sam remains a goofball. It's consistent with Charlie having had to suddenly take on more responsibility when their dad walked out.
Haha, Sam finds Karen annoying.
Charlie shaves, but Sam doesn't yet.
Emily Michelle occasionally uses a pacifier.
Watson refers to Kristy as his daughter. Aww...
The Club:
Remember the advice to ask a child "Tell me about your picture" rather than trying to guess what it is? Must be club policy, because Claudia's invoking it here.
SMS: Summer vacation (again)
PSA time: nothing new
Misc: nothing stood out
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Summers after 8th grade: 3
BSC Fights: 6
SMS Staff: 26
Students (other than the BSC): 84; 59 8th graders, 2 7th grader, 11 sixth-graders, 11 unspecified
Clients: 29
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 60 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, chocolate marshmallow cookies, Chunky bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, dark-chocolate caramels, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, fruit pie, gumdrops, Gummi Bears (regular and sweet-n-sour), Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, jellybeans, Kit-Kats, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, malt balls, marshmallows, Mentos, Milky Ways, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf and chocolate-dipped), 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, tortilla chips, Triscuits, Twinkies, Yodels)
Crushes: Claudia-8 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Arthur Feingold, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-5 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris, Price Irving, 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-3 (Daniel, Curtis Shaller, Quint Walter)
5/26/11
Logan's Story (RR#1)
Original Publication Date: 1992
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
Logan gets a book! He's asked to temporarily replace Dawn as a regular member while she and her mom go to California for two weeks while Jeff recuperates from an appendectomy (his appendix burst, too). He agrees, even though some jobs conflict with his football practice. Frankly, I think it's really unfair of the BSC to expect him to miss practices for a team he's committed himself too, considering that Shannon could probably have filled in once or twice. Anyway, his teammates give him a hard time for it. When Logan is sitting and takes his charges to the health fair, some of his teammates even start teasing his charges (the Hobarts). It causes a big mess, and Logan decides he can't do the BSC and do sports, so he resigns. Of course, after a little while, he realizes that he misses sitting, so he goes back to being an associate member with the understanding that sports come first.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: chocolate marshmallow cookies behind her pillow, tortilla chips under her bed
Logan has blue eyes.
If Claudia remembers rights, she has type O blood (no mention of Rh factor).
Their Families:
Logan's dad manages a sporting goods manufacturer. He's also into traditional gender roles.
I understand that they live on opposite coasts, but isn't it weird that Jeff Schafer is rarely if ever described as Mary Anne's stepbrother?
Mary Anne's mom is back from the grave. She herself mentions "my mom" in the present tense. Presumably she meant Sharon, but why not just say "Sharon"?
The Club: nothing new
SMS:
Students: Lew Greenburg, Peter Hayes, Irv Hirsch, Clarence King, Harry Nolan, Jim Poirier, Steve Randazzo, Bob Stillman, Alex Turnbull (8th)
Okay, I've addressed the anachronism in the past (no pun intended) about SMS not converting to metric for its track and field team, but the track tryouts? No mention of any throwing or distance events and the coach selects all of SIX people for it. What?
PSA time:
Go donate blood if you're eligible. You'll get cookies.
Misc:
Stacey's partially right in calling people with type O blood universal donors. O+ can donate to all blood types with an Rh factor; O- can donate to everyone.
Ooh, very nice, Logan. Saber-tooth TIGER is a misnomer; it's more proper to call the animals saber-tooth cats, as done in the book.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 6
SMS Staff: 26
Students (other than the BSC): 84; 59 8th graders, 2 7th grader, 11 sixth-graders, 11 unspecified
Clients: 29
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 60 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, chocolate marshmallow cookies, Chunky bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, dark-chocolate caramels, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, fruit pie, gumdrops, Gummi Bears (regular and sweet-n-sour), Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, jellybeans, Kit-Kats, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, malt balls, marshmallows, Mentos, Milky Ways, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf and chocolate-dipped), 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, tortilla chips, Triscuits, Twinkies, Yodels)
Crushes: Claudia-8 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Arthur Feingold, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-5 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris, Price Irving, 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-2 (Curtiis Shaller, Quint Walter)
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
Logan gets a book! He's asked to temporarily replace Dawn as a regular member while she and her mom go to California for two weeks while Jeff recuperates from an appendectomy (his appendix burst, too). He agrees, even though some jobs conflict with his football practice. Frankly, I think it's really unfair of the BSC to expect him to miss practices for a team he's committed himself too, considering that Shannon could probably have filled in once or twice. Anyway, his teammates give him a hard time for it. When Logan is sitting and takes his charges to the health fair, some of his teammates even start teasing his charges (the Hobarts). It causes a big mess, and Logan decides he can't do the BSC and do sports, so he resigns. Of course, after a little while, he realizes that he misses sitting, so he goes back to being an associate member with the understanding that sports come first.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: chocolate marshmallow cookies behind her pillow, tortilla chips under her bed
Logan has blue eyes.
If Claudia remembers rights, she has type O blood (no mention of Rh factor).
Their Families:
Logan's dad manages a sporting goods manufacturer. He's also into traditional gender roles.
I understand that they live on opposite coasts, but isn't it weird that Jeff Schafer is rarely if ever described as Mary Anne's stepbrother?
Mary Anne's mom is back from the grave. She herself mentions "my mom" in the present tense. Presumably she meant Sharon, but why not just say "Sharon"?
The Club: nothing new
SMS:
Students: Lew Greenburg, Peter Hayes, Irv Hirsch, Clarence King, Harry Nolan, Jim Poirier, Steve Randazzo, Bob Stillman, Alex Turnbull (8th)
Okay, I've addressed the anachronism in the past (no pun intended) about SMS not converting to metric for its track and field team, but the track tryouts? No mention of any throwing or distance events and the coach selects all of SIX people for it. What?
PSA time:
Go donate blood if you're eligible. You'll get cookies.
Misc:
Stacey's partially right in calling people with type O blood universal donors. O+ can donate to all blood types with an Rh factor; O- can donate to everyone.
Ooh, very nice, Logan. Saber-tooth TIGER is a misnomer; it's more proper to call the animals saber-tooth cats, as done in the book.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 6
SMS Staff: 26
Students (other than the BSC): 84; 59 8th graders, 2 7th grader, 11 sixth-graders, 11 unspecified
Clients: 29
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 60 (bubble gum, Butterfingers, butterscotch candy, candy hearts, Cheese Doodles, Cheetos, a chocolate bar, chocolate-covered cherries, chocolate marshmallow cookies, Chunky bar, cookies, Cracker Jacks, crackers (unspecified and whole wheat), cupcakes, dark-chocolate caramels, Ding-Dongs, Doritos, Fig Newtons, Fritos, fruit pie, gumdrops, Gummi Bears (regular and sweet-n-sour), Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, jellybeans, Kit-Kats, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, malt balls, marshmallows, Mentos, Milky Ways, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf and chocolate-dipped), 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, tortilla chips, Triscuits, Twinkies, Yodels)
Crushes: Claudia-8 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Arthur Feingold, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-5 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris, Price Irving, 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-2 (Curtiis Shaller, Quint Walter)
5/17/11
Jessi's Gold Medal (RS#55)
Original Publication Date: 1992
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
The summer olympics are on (they were held in this book's publication year, in Barcelona) and they inspire both a sports festival at SMS and mini olympics for the BSC charges (Jessi's idea). About a month before both, SMS gym classes have a swimming session, during which Jessi is asked to join the synchronized swim team. She competes in it for the sports festival and wins, which should come as no surprise to anyone who read the title of the book. Most of the BSC competes, too, including Kristy who beats Alan Gray in an obstacle course, winning a bet that indentures him to a week of servitude to Kristy. Mary Anne mans the concession stand so that she can still be part of the day with doing a sport, and Mallory tries to fake-sprain an ankle to avoid being pressured to compete but sprains it for real.
The mini-olympics goes pretty well, although Andrew gets upset at losing every event he tries to enter (why didn't they separate the kids by age groups?). Fortunately, it's an Everyone Gets a Trophy Day, and he gets a ribbon for trying so hard. Totally appropriate for a four-year-old, but I would think that ten-year-olds can handle someone coming in first.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Ring Dings, Milky Ways, pretzels, chips, malt balls, Oreos (no hiding places mentioned)
This book says Kristy "lets her long, brown hair hang straight." I think it's supposed to mean that she doesn't curl or perm it, but it doesn't quite sound like a ponytail. I've also never pictured her hair as long, more medium-length, like around her shoulder blades.
It also implies that Mary Anne was dressing in little girl clothes with pigtails until her dad remarried. And that she didn't start dating Logan until after that.
Their Families:
Mr. Pike has "brewer's yeast" sitting around that Byron mixes with water and drinks...I know there wouldn't be any alcohol in it the way he makes it (just water, drinks it right away) but it seems weird to throw that into the story.
The Club:
The BSC still puts out ads from time to time.
SMS:
Faculty/Staff: Ms. Walden (6th gym)
Students: Elise Coates and Janet Gates (unspecified), Maya Condos (6th)
PSA time:
No. No, no, no. You can't just walk out and try pole vault. It's dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. Utterly fantastic event, but please practice it before you actually go compete in it. (No, the author didn't confuse it with high jump or javelin; both are mentioned separately.)
Misc:
Hee. This line: "Horses sweat, gentlemen perspire, and ladies glow." I used to say that to the cross country team I coached.
Should you ever do high jump, the Fosbury Flop is almost certainly a better option than the Western Roll. Dick Fosbury was an engineer in addition to an athlete, and figured out the mathematics of it.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 6
SMS Staff: 26
Students (other than the BSC): 75; 50 8th graders, 2 7th grader, 11 sixth-graders, 11 unspecified
Clients: 29
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 58 (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, fruit pie, gumdrops, Gummi Bears (regular and sweet-n-sour), Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, jellybeans, Kit-Kats, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, malt balls, marshmallows, Mentos, Milky Ways, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf and chocolate-dipped), 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-8 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Arthur Feingold, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-5 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris, Price Irving, 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-2 (Curtiis Shaller, Quint Walter)
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
The summer olympics are on (they were held in this book's publication year, in Barcelona) and they inspire both a sports festival at SMS and mini olympics for the BSC charges (Jessi's idea). About a month before both, SMS gym classes have a swimming session, during which Jessi is asked to join the synchronized swim team. She competes in it for the sports festival and wins, which should come as no surprise to anyone who read the title of the book. Most of the BSC competes, too, including Kristy who beats Alan Gray in an obstacle course, winning a bet that indentures him to a week of servitude to Kristy. Mary Anne mans the concession stand so that she can still be part of the day with doing a sport, and Mallory tries to fake-sprain an ankle to avoid being pressured to compete but sprains it for real.
The mini-olympics goes pretty well, although Andrew gets upset at losing every event he tries to enter (why didn't they separate the kids by age groups?). Fortunately, it's an Everyone Gets a Trophy Day, and he gets a ribbon for trying so hard. Totally appropriate for a four-year-old, but I would think that ten-year-olds can handle someone coming in first.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Ring Dings, Milky Ways, pretzels, chips, malt balls, Oreos (no hiding places mentioned)
This book says Kristy "lets her long, brown hair hang straight." I think it's supposed to mean that she doesn't curl or perm it, but it doesn't quite sound like a ponytail. I've also never pictured her hair as long, more medium-length, like around her shoulder blades.
It also implies that Mary Anne was dressing in little girl clothes with pigtails until her dad remarried. And that she didn't start dating Logan until after that.
Their Families:
Mr. Pike has "brewer's yeast" sitting around that Byron mixes with water and drinks...I know there wouldn't be any alcohol in it the way he makes it (just water, drinks it right away) but it seems weird to throw that into the story.
The Club:
The BSC still puts out ads from time to time.
SMS:
Faculty/Staff: Ms. Walden (6th gym)
Students: Elise Coates and Janet Gates (unspecified), Maya Condos (6th)
PSA time:
No. No, no, no. You can't just walk out and try pole vault. It's dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. Utterly fantastic event, but please practice it before you actually go compete in it. (No, the author didn't confuse it with high jump or javelin; both are mentioned separately.)
Misc:
Hee. This line: "Horses sweat, gentlemen perspire, and ladies glow." I used to say that to the cross country team I coached.
Should you ever do high jump, the Fosbury Flop is almost certainly a better option than the Western Roll. Dick Fosbury was an engineer in addition to an athlete, and figured out the mathematics of it.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 6
SMS Staff: 26
Students (other than the BSC): 75; 50 8th graders, 2 7th grader, 11 sixth-graders, 11 unspecified
Clients: 29
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 58 (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, fruit pie, gumdrops, Gummi Bears (regular and sweet-n-sour), Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, jellybeans, Kit-Kats, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, malt balls, marshmallows, Mentos, Milky Ways, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf and chocolate-dipped), 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-8 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Arthur Feingold, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-5 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris, Price Irving, 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-2 (Curtiis Shaller, Quint Walter)
5/10/11
Kristy and the Missing Child (M#4)
Original Publication Date: 1992
Ghostwriter? Yes, Ellen Miles
Synopsis:
Jake Kuhn goes missing one afternoon after a Krusher practice. The Kuhn parents are in the final stages of a divorce, and Mrs. Kuhn thinks Mr. Kuhn has taken him. Kristy was one of the last people to see him, and feels guilty that she didn't insist on walking him home. She's also not convinced Mr. Kuhn was involved in the disappearance. She spearheads an auxiliary search to the official one the police have. With a lot of help from Matt Braddock, who know the places Jake likes to frequent, Kristy's search team finds Jake in a construction site nearly two full days after he went missing. He's bruised and dehydrated, but okay.
Kristy ends up getting a special award at the eighth grade award ceremony for her efforts. Mary Anne gets one, too, the Most Improved Home Ec award. She'd been struggling with sewing and cooking, but stumbles upon the recipe for Jello Jigglers without realizing it, which gets her enough extra credit to bring her grade up.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: none mentioned
Kristy says that when she was eight, the furthest she'd been from home was Stamford. But we know (from Mary Anne Saves the Day that she's been to Florida, which I think was before her dad left, which would have been before she was eight.
Their Families:
It's implied a lot in this book, and others if you think about it, that Kristy is closer to David Michael than Sam or Charlie, despite being closer in age to her older brothers. I think that's reasonable; I'm closer in age to my older brother but have spent more "quantity time" (my brother's words) with my younger brother, including coaching him in sports.
The Club:
Shannon attends an emergency meeting AND has speaking lines!
Jake Kuhn has brown eyes.
SMS:
Faculty/Staff: Mrs. Ploof, home ec
PSA time: nothing new
Misc:
Patsy Kuhn thinks everyone has The Little Mermaid. I...do have it. And not because I now have a daughter, either.
Whoa. Mr. Kuhn has a lady friend...their divorce isn't quite finalized yet. Even Kristy is surprised that Mrs. Kuhn isn't jealous. Perhaps that's the reason for the divorce?
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 6
SMS Staff: 26
Students (other than the BSC): 72; 50 8th graders, 2 7th grader, 10 sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 29
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 56 (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, fruit pie, gumdrops, Gummi Bears (regular and sweet-n-sour), Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, jellybeans, Kit-Kats, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf and chocolate-dipped), 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-8 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Arthur Feingold, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-5 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris, Price Irving, 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-2 (Curtiis Shaller, Quint Walter)
Ghostwriter? Yes, Ellen Miles
Synopsis:
Jake Kuhn goes missing one afternoon after a Krusher practice. The Kuhn parents are in the final stages of a divorce, and Mrs. Kuhn thinks Mr. Kuhn has taken him. Kristy was one of the last people to see him, and feels guilty that she didn't insist on walking him home. She's also not convinced Mr. Kuhn was involved in the disappearance. She spearheads an auxiliary search to the official one the police have. With a lot of help from Matt Braddock, who know the places Jake likes to frequent, Kristy's search team finds Jake in a construction site nearly two full days after he went missing. He's bruised and dehydrated, but okay.
Kristy ends up getting a special award at the eighth grade award ceremony for her efforts. Mary Anne gets one, too, the Most Improved Home Ec award. She'd been struggling with sewing and cooking, but stumbles upon the recipe for Jello Jigglers without realizing it, which gets her enough extra credit to bring her grade up.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: none mentioned
Kristy says that when she was eight, the furthest she'd been from home was Stamford. But we know (from Mary Anne Saves the Day that she's been to Florida, which I think was before her dad left, which would have been before she was eight.
Their Families:
It's implied a lot in this book, and others if you think about it, that Kristy is closer to David Michael than Sam or Charlie, despite being closer in age to her older brothers. I think that's reasonable; I'm closer in age to my older brother but have spent more "quantity time" (my brother's words) with my younger brother, including coaching him in sports.
The Club:
Shannon attends an emergency meeting AND has speaking lines!
Jake Kuhn has brown eyes.
SMS:
Faculty/Staff: Mrs. Ploof, home ec
PSA time: nothing new
Misc:
Patsy Kuhn thinks everyone has The Little Mermaid. I...do have it. And not because I now have a daughter, either.
Whoa. Mr. Kuhn has a lady friend...their divorce isn't quite finalized yet. Even Kristy is surprised that Mrs. Kuhn isn't jealous. Perhaps that's the reason for the divorce?
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 6
SMS Staff: 26
Students (other than the BSC): 72; 50 8th graders, 2 7th grader, 10 sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 29
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 56 (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, fruit pie, gumdrops, Gummi Bears (regular and sweet-n-sour), Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, jellybeans, Kit-Kats, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf and chocolate-dipped), 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-8 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Arthur Feingold, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-5 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris, Price Irving, 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-2 (Curtiis Shaller, Quint Walter)
5/1/11
Mallory and the Dream Horse(RS#54)
Original Publication Date: 1992
Ghostwriter? Yes, Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner
Synopsis:
Mallory couldn't be happier when she sees riding lessons advertised at a nearby stable. She and Jessi both plan to go, but Jessi's parents say she's too busy already with ballet and the BSC. Mallory get the go-ahead, and is excited to learn, even if Jessi can't be there.
But it doesn't go well. She's clearly the outsider among the students, who know each other from a different school they attend together. And she doesn't realize it at first. It's pretty painful to read about her introducing herself to several students and offer to host them at her house and give out her phone number, only to have no one reciprocate. She does end up invited to another student's birthday party, but is so out of place that she can't wait to leave. And her horse throws her badly during the second lesson, so she gets nervous about riding, which the other students pick up on and tease her for. Mallory tries to vent to Jessi, but Jessi's too busy being jealous of the riding lessons. I mean, sure, it would be hard to hear Mallory go on about how great they are, as she initially does, but later Mallory just needs someone to be there for her. And she comes across as such a genuinely nice person in this book. Of course, the friends do patch things up, and Mallory gains enough confidence to ride in the competition at the end of the session (not placing very high, sixth of twelve, because it's Mallory), but decides to not sign up for the next session.
Meanwhile, Nina Marshall is having trouble adjusting to preschool, largely because she insists on taking her huge once-blue-now-grey security blanket with her. The BSC figures it out pretty quickly, but in this instance where it would be really helpful to tell the parents, they keep it to themselves. Even when it-GASP-impedes on Nina's joining the talent show the younger Pikes are hosting. Tragic, as you can't ever have someone who'd simply rather not participate (it does make it hard for her to make friends, though). Anyway, Dawn ends up solving the problem when the blanket disintegrates in the dryer. Dawn show Nina that she can take tiny pieces of the blanket with her and people won't notice. On second thought, that doesn't really solve the problem, does it? Just hides it. Oh well, maybe one of the pieces is the right size to be a handkerchief for Nina at her wedding someday.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy:
Why is it such a big deal that Jessi's full name is Jessica but it's rarely mentioned that Stacey is short for Anastasia?
Dawn and Lewis Bruno are still writing to each other.
Their Families: nothing new
The Club:
Fail: Mallory describes the additions of Logan and Shannon as associate members happening after she and Jessi joined the BSC. No mention of Stacey's moving back and forth.
However, obscure win: a callback to Eleanor Marshall's ear infections.
Nina Marshall has blue eyes.
SMS: nothing new
PSA time: nothing new
Misc:
Mallory indicates that she wore her own regular clothes on a trail ride at Camp Mohawk. That's surprising, given that Camp Mohawk required uniforms.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 6
SMS Staff: 25
Students (other than the BSC): 72; 50 8th graders, 2 7th grader, 10 sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 29
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 56 (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, fruit pie, gumdrops, Gummi Bears (regular and sweet-n-sour), Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, jellybeans, Kit-Kats, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf and chocolate-dipped), 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-8 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Arthur Feingold, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-5 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris, Price Irving, 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-2 (Curtiis Shaller, Quint Walter)
Ghostwriter? Yes, Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner
Synopsis:
Mallory couldn't be happier when she sees riding lessons advertised at a nearby stable. She and Jessi both plan to go, but Jessi's parents say she's too busy already with ballet and the BSC. Mallory get the go-ahead, and is excited to learn, even if Jessi can't be there.
But it doesn't go well. She's clearly the outsider among the students, who know each other from a different school they attend together. And she doesn't realize it at first. It's pretty painful to read about her introducing herself to several students and offer to host them at her house and give out her phone number, only to have no one reciprocate. She does end up invited to another student's birthday party, but is so out of place that she can't wait to leave. And her horse throws her badly during the second lesson, so she gets nervous about riding, which the other students pick up on and tease her for. Mallory tries to vent to Jessi, but Jessi's too busy being jealous of the riding lessons. I mean, sure, it would be hard to hear Mallory go on about how great they are, as she initially does, but later Mallory just needs someone to be there for her. And she comes across as such a genuinely nice person in this book. Of course, the friends do patch things up, and Mallory gains enough confidence to ride in the competition at the end of the session (not placing very high, sixth of twelve, because it's Mallory), but decides to not sign up for the next session.
Meanwhile, Nina Marshall is having trouble adjusting to preschool, largely because she insists on taking her huge once-blue-now-grey security blanket with her. The BSC figures it out pretty quickly, but in this instance where it would be really helpful to tell the parents, they keep it to themselves. Even when it-GASP-impedes on Nina's joining the talent show the younger Pikes are hosting. Tragic, as you can't ever have someone who'd simply rather not participate (it does make it hard for her to make friends, though). Anyway, Dawn ends up solving the problem when the blanket disintegrates in the dryer. Dawn show Nina that she can take tiny pieces of the blanket with her and people won't notice. On second thought, that doesn't really solve the problem, does it? Just hides it. Oh well, maybe one of the pieces is the right size to be a handkerchief for Nina at her wedding someday.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy:
Why is it such a big deal that Jessi's full name is Jessica but it's rarely mentioned that Stacey is short for Anastasia?
Dawn and Lewis Bruno are still writing to each other.
Their Families: nothing new
The Club:
Fail: Mallory describes the additions of Logan and Shannon as associate members happening after she and Jessi joined the BSC. No mention of Stacey's moving back and forth.
However, obscure win: a callback to Eleanor Marshall's ear infections.
Nina Marshall has blue eyes.
SMS: nothing new
PSA time: nothing new
Misc:
Mallory indicates that she wore her own regular clothes on a trail ride at Camp Mohawk. That's surprising, given that Camp Mohawk required uniforms.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 3
Halloweens in 8th grade: 2 (plus one in seventh)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Summers after 8th grade: 2
BSC Fights: 6
SMS Staff: 25
Students (other than the BSC): 72; 50 8th graders, 2 7th grader, 10 sixth-graders, nine unspecified
Clients: 29
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 56 (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, fruit pie, gumdrops, Gummi Bears (regular and sweet-n-sour), Heath bars, Hershey's kisses, Ho Hos, jawbreakers, jellybeans, Kit-Kats, licorice, licorice whips, Lifesavers, M&Ms (regular and peanut), Mallomars, marshmallows, Mentos, mini candy bars, Necco wafers, Oreos (Double Stuf and chocolate-dipped), 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-8 (Guy, Terry, Austin Bentley, Timothy Carmody, Arthur Feingold, Woody Jefferson, Trevor Sandbourne, Will Yamakawa), Dawn-5 (Travis, Lewis Bruno, Parker Harris, Price Irving, 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-2 (Curtiis Shaller, Quint Walter)
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