Original Publication Date: 1995
Ghostwriter? Yes, Nola Thacker
Synopsis:
During the lull between school letting out and summer camps starting, the BSC runs a circus-themed day camp. It also overlaps with a business for Mary Anne's dad. Mary Anne ends up missing a lot more than she expected to, which coincides with Alicia Gianelli's difficulty in saying goodbye to her mother during camp. Mary Anne coddles Alicia though, and has a bit of a pity party for herself. She feels left out of Dawn and Sharon's plans. While Alicia quickly adjusts to the change in her routine, Mary Anne's attempts are compounded by a sprained ankle. Alicia adjust so well that Mary Anne realizes she needs to pull herself together too, and is able to enjoy spending time with her step-family.
Also, Karen's a brat (see, SHE'S been to REAL circus camp, and knows better than everyone). She inspires some co-REAL circus campers to snot about things too, but she gets her comeuppance.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: sour cream potato chips and jujubes in her closet,
In one of her early books, Kristy is fond of sleeping in late, but this book and Shannon's Story tell us that Kristy likes to get up and going.
Their Families:
In Mary Anne's first book (Mary Anne Saves the Day), she mentions that her dad asks God to bless her mother when he says grace. From this book, it's clear that he and Mary Anne no longer pray before eating. In Keep out, Claudia!, Mary Anne mentions she and her dad rarely if ever attend church, so they must have grown out of whatever religious inclinations they had.
The Club (and clients):
Shannon's still the alternate officer, with Dawn as treasurer.
Mary Anne says that Dawn helped start California's We ♥ K ids Club, but Sunny, Maggie, and Jill did that on their own and surprised Dawn with it.
Conspicuously absent from the camp are the Hobarts, Jenny Prezzioso, the Barrett/DeWitt kids, the Rodowskys (except Jackie one evening), and the Perkins. In fact, it's been a while since the Perkins girls have been mentioned. Not as conspicuous: teh Addisons, the Kormans, the Kuhns, the Robertses, and Rosie Wilder.
SMS:
School's just letting out for the summer (for the 8th time).
PSA Time:
Now, Mary Anne does sulk too much in this book. But speaking from experience, a county fair is horrible if you're on crutches. You can't get around anywhere, there's a ton of stuff to trip over, you can't go on rides, you slow everybody down... Don't suggest that idea to someone who's not used to having mobility issues; let the injured party bring it up.
Also, if you're using crutches right your armpits shouldn't hurt. But you might get callouses on the sides of your ribcage a little above elbow height.
Misc:
There's internal confusion on when the camp ends. Sometimes it's 5:30, sometimes 5:00.
Ew. Looks like I had a nosebleed while reading this book (happens all the time), judging by a couple tiny stains on a few pages. I must have sneezed. Too bad it's not a mystery book.
Logan says that cuckoo birds laugh. I think meant kookaburra.
I think there's a typo on page 79, when Mary Anne is talking about how many take-out menus they have: "...and ordered from [those restaurants] and they brought more food." I think "food" should be "menus."
The ghost cat is mentioned, but as something that happened to Dawn, not Mallory (in mystery #3, Mallory and the Ghost Cat).
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 7
Halloweens in 8th grade: 4 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 1
Christmases in 8th grade: 1 (Hanukkah is also mentioned, but no one in the BSC celebrates it)
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Summers after 8th grade: 8
BSC Fights: 10
SMS Staff and Faculty: 48
Students (other than the BSC): 172; 108 8th graders, 6 7th graders, 42 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 33 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 111
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-8
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
3/5/12
Claudia Kishi, Live from WSTO! (RS#85)
Original Publication Date: 1995
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
The local radio station hosts a contest for middle schoolers to compete for a chance to host a twice-weekly show. Feeling lonely (she's missing Stacey as well as Mimi and Peaches) and looking for something to do, Claudia enters. She wins, along with Ashley Wyeth. The two have an awkward start, having gone their separate ways since book #12, but they figure out a good show format and enjoy decent success, despite Kristy trying to hijack the show for BSC advertising (I think she and Karen switched bodies, given how annoying Kristy is here).
However, it turns out that part of the reason for the contest is that the station's on the verge of bankruptcy. With the winners hosting a show, the station doesn't have to pay as many employees. That is, until the station gets a large donation from the happy mother of a child who called in to the station. Turned out he was going through some very rough stuff, and Claudia was able to help him out by recommending the therapist Mary Anne saw (Mary Anne told Claudia about that in the Secret Santa letter book). So Claudia saves the day! Not only that, Claudia alludes to missing Stacey while on the air, and Stacey hears her, and the two start to slowly rekindle their friendship.
Overall, it's a fun read, more than you'd expect from the title.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Milk Duds and Snickers in her desk; pretzels and Charleston Chews under her bed; M&Ms, Raininettes, Yankee Doodles, and Doritos in her closet; Twinkies in her art supplies; Skittles in her sock drawer; plus a Milky Way bar, Peppermint Patties, Snickers, Chunky bars, Hostess cupcakes, rice cakes, Oreos, and potato chips
Kristy learned to walk before Claudia did.
Mallory's writing stories about an Oogly Oogly Beast, which actually seems pretty entertaining.
Their Families:
Claudia and Janine are definitely getting along better. Not only is Janine really sweet to Claudia when Claudia announces she won the contest, the two girls are more comfortable around each other than previously.
The Club (and clients):
Shannon's still the alternate officer, with Dawn as treasurer.
SMS:
Claudia is no longer in charge of the SMS newspaper's personals column. Oddly, when she's looking for a hobby she doesn't consider returning to it nor does she indicate why she doesn't, despite mentioning the column a few times.
PSA Time:
Claudia suggests giving a baby who won't go to sleep warm milk with HONEY in it. Honey isn't recommended for children under 1 or 2 (opinions vary) because of the risk of botulism. The baby in question is 18 months old, but still...
Misc:
There's a mention of a kazoo band. My dad was in one in high school, which was banned from basketball games because no one could hear the real band. Until the basketball team started losing...
Claudia alludes to how the sound of the letter "P" can "pop" in a microphone, which is one of the first things I learned about speaking in a microphone. I lector (read) at my church and my dad warned me about that so I could practice avoiding it. Also, the letter "S" can hiss really bad, so you need to almost lisp and say the "S" sound really fast.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 7
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Halloweens in 8th grade: 4 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 1
Christmases in 8th grade: 1 (Hanukkah is also mentioned, but no one in the BSC celebrates it)
Summers after 8th grade: 7
BSC Fights: 10
SMS Staff and Faculty: 48
Students (other than the BSC): 172; 108 8th graders, 6 7th graders, 42 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 31
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 109
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-8
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
The local radio station hosts a contest for middle schoolers to compete for a chance to host a twice-weekly show. Feeling lonely (she's missing Stacey as well as Mimi and Peaches) and looking for something to do, Claudia enters. She wins, along with Ashley Wyeth. The two have an awkward start, having gone their separate ways since book #12, but they figure out a good show format and enjoy decent success, despite Kristy trying to hijack the show for BSC advertising (I think she and Karen switched bodies, given how annoying Kristy is here).
However, it turns out that part of the reason for the contest is that the station's on the verge of bankruptcy. With the winners hosting a show, the station doesn't have to pay as many employees. That is, until the station gets a large donation from the happy mother of a child who called in to the station. Turned out he was going through some very rough stuff, and Claudia was able to help him out by recommending the therapist Mary Anne saw (Mary Anne told Claudia about that in the Secret Santa letter book). So Claudia saves the day! Not only that, Claudia alludes to missing Stacey while on the air, and Stacey hears her, and the two start to slowly rekindle their friendship.
Overall, it's a fun read, more than you'd expect from the title.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Milk Duds and Snickers in her desk; pretzels and Charleston Chews under her bed; M&Ms, Raininettes, Yankee Doodles, and Doritos in her closet; Twinkies in her art supplies; Skittles in her sock drawer; plus a Milky Way bar, Peppermint Patties, Snickers, Chunky bars, Hostess cupcakes, rice cakes, Oreos, and potato chips
Kristy learned to walk before Claudia did.
Mallory's writing stories about an Oogly Oogly Beast, which actually seems pretty entertaining.
Their Families:
Claudia and Janine are definitely getting along better. Not only is Janine really sweet to Claudia when Claudia announces she won the contest, the two girls are more comfortable around each other than previously.
The Club (and clients):
Shannon's still the alternate officer, with Dawn as treasurer.
SMS:
Claudia is no longer in charge of the SMS newspaper's personals column. Oddly, when she's looking for a hobby she doesn't consider returning to it nor does she indicate why she doesn't, despite mentioning the column a few times.
PSA Time:
Claudia suggests giving a baby who won't go to sleep warm milk with HONEY in it. Honey isn't recommended for children under 1 or 2 (opinions vary) because of the risk of botulism. The baby in question is 18 months old, but still...
Misc:
There's a mention of a kazoo band. My dad was in one in high school, which was banned from basketball games because no one could hear the real band. Until the basketball team started losing...
Claudia alludes to how the sound of the letter "P" can "pop" in a microphone, which is one of the first things I learned about speaking in a microphone. I lector (read) at my church and my dad warned me about that so I could practice avoiding it. Also, the letter "S" can hiss really bad, so you need to almost lisp and say the "S" sound really fast.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 7
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Halloweens in 8th grade: 4 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 1
Christmases in 8th grade: 1 (Hanukkah is also mentioned, but no one in the BSC celebrates it)
Summers after 8th grade: 7
BSC Fights: 10
SMS Staff and Faculty: 48
Students (other than the BSC): 172; 108 8th graders, 6 7th graders, 42 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 31
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 109
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-8
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
3/1/12
Dawn and the School Spirit War (RS#84)
Original Publication Date: 1995
Ghostwriter? Yes, Suzanne Weyn
Synopsis:
So stupid. The SMS baseball team is on a hot streak and in support, SMS puts on School Spirit Month. Yes, MONTH. Not week. Also? It's mandatory. Not explicitly, but it soon becomes very clear that there will be hell to pay if people dare forget or--perish the thought--choose to not participate. Dawn's solution to the harassment, threats, and assault (no hyperbole) is to get Spirit Month cancelled. Cue cries of teaching students to be subversive and undermining their patriotism, and of training them to be mindless sheeple. Finally, SMS compromises a return to Spirit Month, with the understanding that people can participate if they desire. LIKE IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN TO START WITH.
Rant time: I was a high school and middle school athlete, and I coached both levels (also participated in and coached for other levels). I've been part of teams that are doing very well in both capacities. I was the first girl from my high school to get on the medal stand for my track and field team (sixth place, pole vault; top 8 get medals). I was the manager of the basketball team that went to State three years in a row. I coached the cross country team that only lost one meet: the State Championships, at which they placed second. I coached the three-time League Champion and the State Champion track teams. On a far more casual level, I am huge UW Husky fan, and also support the Sounders FC, Seahawks, and Mariners. I understand being excited about sports and supporting teams. What I don't understand is forcing people who aren't connected to the team to care.
I actually agree with Dawn for the most part in this book, and sympathize with her more than I have in a while, possibly since #9 (The Ghost at Dawn's House). That's how outlandish the plot of this book is: I agree with conspiratorial, holier-than-thou Dawn Schafer. I do think she should have first attempted to have the SMS staff make it clear that participation was voluntary, but things got heated so fast that I can understand why she went straight to getting rid of it outright.
(Subplot is the Barrett-Dewitt household trying to fit into a too-small house and deciding to add on to it)
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy:
Did we know that Mallory has blue eyes? I think we did. Dawn, Shannon, and Stacey do for sure; Jessi, Claudia, Mary Anne, and Kristy have brown eyes.
Claudia expresses concern over her fabric paint's claim of being waterproof. Makes sense, as she had that tie-dye outfit whose colors ran in the rain.
We're still subjected to a Stacey description in Chapter Two.
I have to give Logan credit: he's obviously happy that people are caring about his baseball team, but he also supports Mary Anne in standing up for herself even though she's trying to get rid of Spirit Month. He must have learned something when they had their break earlier.
Their Families: nothing new.
The Club (and clients):
Shannon's still the alternate officer, with Dawn as treasurer.
SMS:
8th graders: Bruce Jamison, Katie Shea, Mary Sherwood
Teachers: Mr. Harold (science, no grade specified), Mr. Lehrer (not specified, but maybe English?), Mr. Wong (art)
Can we have a standing ovation for the vice principal, Mr. Kingbridge? When a food fight erupts, he has the students clean up the mess rather than the janitor.
Spirit Month includes the initial kick-off and Backward, Clean up Your School, Color, Dress Like a Teacher, Dress up, Garden, Make a New Friend, Mural, Pajama, and Retro Days. Dawn tells us that April 1 is a Wednesday, so that April had 22 school days (not including a possible spring break). I was expecting to find more than 22 themes, but no such luck.
Dawn's petition collected about 300 signatures, which is implied to represent about half of the student body. According to Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation, there are just under 400 students at SMS. A couple new students have joined, but not 200.
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc: I was too busy being distracted by the stupidity.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 7
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Halloweens in 8th grade: 4 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 1
Christmases in 8th grade: 1 (Hanukkah is also mentioned, but no one in the BSC celebrates it)
Summers after 8th grade: 7
BSC Fights: 10
SMS Staff and Faculty: 48
Students (other than the BSC): 172; 108 8th graders, 6 7th graders, 42 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 31
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 104
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-8
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Ghostwriter? Yes, Suzanne Weyn
Synopsis:
So stupid. The SMS baseball team is on a hot streak and in support, SMS puts on School Spirit Month. Yes, MONTH. Not week. Also? It's mandatory. Not explicitly, but it soon becomes very clear that there will be hell to pay if people dare forget or--perish the thought--choose to not participate. Dawn's solution to the harassment, threats, and assault (no hyperbole) is to get Spirit Month cancelled. Cue cries of teaching students to be subversive and undermining their patriotism, and of training them to be mindless sheeple. Finally, SMS compromises a return to Spirit Month, with the understanding that people can participate if they desire. LIKE IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN TO START WITH.
Rant time: I was a high school and middle school athlete, and I coached both levels (also participated in and coached for other levels). I've been part of teams that are doing very well in both capacities. I was the first girl from my high school to get on the medal stand for my track and field team (sixth place, pole vault; top 8 get medals). I was the manager of the basketball team that went to State three years in a row. I coached the cross country team that only lost one meet: the State Championships, at which they placed second. I coached the three-time League Champion and the State Champion track teams. On a far more casual level, I am huge UW Husky fan, and also support the Sounders FC, Seahawks, and Mariners. I understand being excited about sports and supporting teams. What I don't understand is forcing people who aren't connected to the team to care.
I actually agree with Dawn for the most part in this book, and sympathize with her more than I have in a while, possibly since #9 (The Ghost at Dawn's House). That's how outlandish the plot of this book is: I agree with conspiratorial, holier-than-thou Dawn Schafer. I do think she should have first attempted to have the SMS staff make it clear that participation was voluntary, but things got heated so fast that I can understand why she went straight to getting rid of it outright.
(Subplot is the Barrett-Dewitt household trying to fit into a too-small house and deciding to add on to it)
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy:
Did we know that Mallory has blue eyes? I think we did. Dawn, Shannon, and Stacey do for sure; Jessi, Claudia, Mary Anne, and Kristy have brown eyes.
Claudia expresses concern over her fabric paint's claim of being waterproof. Makes sense, as she had that tie-dye outfit whose colors ran in the rain.
We're still subjected to a Stacey description in Chapter Two.
I have to give Logan credit: he's obviously happy that people are caring about his baseball team, but he also supports Mary Anne in standing up for herself even though she's trying to get rid of Spirit Month. He must have learned something when they had their break earlier.
Their Families: nothing new.
The Club (and clients):
Shannon's still the alternate officer, with Dawn as treasurer.
SMS:
8th graders: Bruce Jamison, Katie Shea, Mary Sherwood
Teachers: Mr. Harold (science, no grade specified), Mr. Lehrer (not specified, but maybe English?), Mr. Wong (art)
Can we have a standing ovation for the vice principal, Mr. Kingbridge? When a food fight erupts, he has the students clean up the mess rather than the janitor.
Spirit Month includes the initial kick-off and Backward, Clean up Your School, Color, Dress Like a Teacher, Dress up, Garden, Make a New Friend, Mural, Pajama, and Retro Days. Dawn tells us that April 1 is a Wednesday, so that April had 22 school days (not including a possible spring break). I was expecting to find more than 22 themes, but no such luck.
Dawn's petition collected about 300 signatures, which is implied to represent about half of the student body. According to Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation, there are just under 400 students at SMS. A couple new students have joined, but not 200.
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc: I was too busy being distracted by the stupidity.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 7
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Halloweens in 8th grade: 4 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 1
Christmases in 8th grade: 1 (Hanukkah is also mentioned, but no one in the BSC celebrates it)
Summers after 8th grade: 7
BSC Fights: 10
SMS Staff and Faculty: 48
Students (other than the BSC): 172; 108 8th graders, 6 7th graders, 42 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 31
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 104
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-8
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
2/26/12
Mary Anne and the Zoo Mystery (M#20)
Original Publication Date: 1995
Ghostwriter? Yes, Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner
Synopsis:
In a similar vein to the short takes classes, the 8th grade biology classes will spend three weeks studying animals. They can either choose a pet at home or be bussed to a nearby zoo after school (why they can't pick squirrels or wild birds I have no idea). The students are assigned to groups of three--Mary Anne is with Howie Johnson and Alan Gray, Kristy's with Stacey, and Logan, Claudia, and Dawn are together--and whichever group has the best presentation will be rewarded with extra credit and a trip to a Sea World type place. None of the BSC groups win, though.
At the zoo, some animals start getting out of cages. Who's responsible? A student? A disgruntled employee? The animals rights protesters? The strange couple taking cryptic notes? Turns out it's the disgruntled employee, who was passed up for a promotion and was trying to make the person in that position look bad. Claudia uses her photography skills to get evidence.
Because we can't have a book without a subplot, the BSC organizes a walk-a-thon to raise money to help an elephant that's being kept in the mall as a tourist draw.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: pretzels, Oreos in a shoebox
Mallory knows calligraphy.
Dawn gets really upset at one point when Marilyn Arnold wanders off. And if I'd been watching a kid would I thought was kidnapped (Buddy Barrett in Dawn and the Impossible Three), I'd be sensitive the that issue as well.
I guess Mary Anne doesn't like fish, from her comments while watching the seals get fed.
Their Families:
Jessi's mom knows how to sew.
The Club (and clients):
The BSC isn't quite ready to get a permanent replacement for Stacey yet. For now, Dawn is treasurer and Shannon is alternate officer.
SMS:
8th graders: Brent Jensen, Todd Long
8th grade science teacher (a third one): Ms. Griswold. Also mentioned is the shop teacher, Mr. Kirkwood.
Really, THREE science teachers for one grade? I know I went to a small school--my graduating class had 69 students--but still. Three seems like a lot. So far I've counted 111 students in the 8th grade, including the BSC.
A teacher drives the school bus to the zoo. In my experience, public schools have employed specifically to drive buses. However, I went to a private school and the teachers and coaches had CDLs so they could drive the buses. There were no buses that picked up kids every morning and dropped them off every afternoon; buses were only for field trips and sports events. So now I'm really confused about who drives the buses for SMS.
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
Would it be even remotely legal to keep a wild, endangered animal in a cage at a mall? It seems so bizarre that this would an issue. Maybe it's to distract us from how a middle school can get a chimpanzee as a "guest speaker" for an assembly.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 7
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Halloweens in 8th grade: 4 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 1
Christmases in 8th grade: 1 (Hanukkah is also mentioned, but no one in the BSC celebrates it)
Summers after 8th grade: 7
BSC Fights: 10
SMS Staff and Faculty: 48
Students (other than the BSC): 169; 105 8th graders, 6 7th graders, 42 6th graders, 15 unspecified
Clients: 31
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 104
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-8
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Ghostwriter? Yes, Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner
Synopsis:
In a similar vein to the short takes classes, the 8th grade biology classes will spend three weeks studying animals. They can either choose a pet at home or be bussed to a nearby zoo after school (why they can't pick squirrels or wild birds I have no idea). The students are assigned to groups of three--Mary Anne is with Howie Johnson and Alan Gray, Kristy's with Stacey, and Logan, Claudia, and Dawn are together--and whichever group has the best presentation will be rewarded with extra credit and a trip to a Sea World type place. None of the BSC groups win, though.
At the zoo, some animals start getting out of cages. Who's responsible? A student? A disgruntled employee? The animals rights protesters? The strange couple taking cryptic notes? Turns out it's the disgruntled employee, who was passed up for a promotion and was trying to make the person in that position look bad. Claudia uses her photography skills to get evidence.
Because we can't have a book without a subplot, the BSC organizes a walk-a-thon to raise money to help an elephant that's being kept in the mall as a tourist draw.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: pretzels, Oreos in a shoebox
Mallory knows calligraphy.
Dawn gets really upset at one point when Marilyn Arnold wanders off. And if I'd been watching a kid would I thought was kidnapped (Buddy Barrett in Dawn and the Impossible Three), I'd be sensitive the that issue as well.
I guess Mary Anne doesn't like fish, from her comments while watching the seals get fed.
Their Families:
Jessi's mom knows how to sew.
The Club (and clients):
The BSC isn't quite ready to get a permanent replacement for Stacey yet. For now, Dawn is treasurer and Shannon is alternate officer.
SMS:
8th graders: Brent Jensen, Todd Long
8th grade science teacher (a third one): Ms. Griswold. Also mentioned is the shop teacher, Mr. Kirkwood.
Really, THREE science teachers for one grade? I know I went to a small school--my graduating class had 69 students--but still. Three seems like a lot. So far I've counted 111 students in the 8th grade, including the BSC.
A teacher drives the school bus to the zoo. In my experience, public schools have employed specifically to drive buses. However, I went to a private school and the teachers and coaches had CDLs so they could drive the buses. There were no buses that picked up kids every morning and dropped them off every afternoon; buses were only for field trips and sports events. So now I'm really confused about who drives the buses for SMS.
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
Would it be even remotely legal to keep a wild, endangered animal in a cage at a mall? It seems so bizarre that this would an issue. Maybe it's to distract us from how a middle school can get a chimpanzee as a "guest speaker" for an assembly.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 7
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Halloweens in 8th grade: 4 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 1
Christmases in 8th grade: 1 (Hanukkah is also mentioned, but no one in the BSC celebrates it)
Summers after 8th grade: 7
BSC Fights: 10
SMS Staff and Faculty: 48
Students (other than the BSC): 169; 105 8th graders, 6 7th graders, 42 6th graders, 15 unspecified
Clients: 31
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 104
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-8
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
2/19/12
Stacey vs. the BSC (RS#83)
Original Publication Date: 1995
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
Stacey's becoming very aware of the fact that she's more mature than most of the BSC. Why? She's been hanging out more with the basketball crowd that she met when she started dating Robert and tried out for the cheerleading squad. They're able to talk about more that just little kids and don't tease people about having boyfriends ("Stacey and Robert sitting in a tree..."). She's also finding that BSC commitments are getting in the way of her social life, and ends up late to meetings or finding subs for her sitting jobs. To be fair to Stacey, the Kristy and Dawn do get self-righteous in the book, refusing to totally forgive Stacey for being late to meetings and getting subs, even after she's apologized and stopped.
Stacey's not innocent though. She has been putting her responsibilities on the back burner. Remember in her Portrait Collection book, when Stacey specifically mentioned that she likes to keep clients' houses quiet when kids are sleeping so she can hear if they need help? Well, while sitting for the Newtons she ignores Jamie's complaints of an upset stomach in favor of talking to Robert...until he throws up. Of course, he would have thrown up anyway, but if she'd been paying attention she probably could have gotten him to the toilet. Things come to a head when a "cool kids" party is rescheduled to Stacey's house and Claudia is the only other BSC member invited. Of course everyone finds out, and Stacey's too embarrassed to show her face at the BSC talent show the next day...even though she promised Charlotte Johanssen. That last bit even gets Claudia mad at her. The next Monday at the BSC meeting, everyone has a piece to say. Jessi finally points out that no one's forcing Stacey to be there.
So, Stacey quits.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Goobers under her pillow, pretzels in her shoe rack, Mallomars on the hat shelf, sesame seed pretzels
Stacey describes Dawn this way: "Easygoing, intense, open-minded, and opinionated. Sound like a a bunch of contradictions? That's Dawn." Yes, I agree that Dawn is contrary.
Stacey knows two verses to "Hush, Little Baby." I thought there was only one official verse. Did she learn the one my dad made up?
Claudia really tries to keep the peace in this one, much like her character earlier in the series.
Their Families:
As established in Snowbound, Stacey's mom is not a confident driver.
Stacey doesn't visit her dad at all in this book. He's hardly mentioned.
Maria Kilbourne can tap dance to "Putting on the Ritz." I just watched Young Frankenstein so you can imagine how I'm picturing her performance.
The Club (and clients): nothing new.
SMS:
Eighth graders: Andi Gentile (I wonder, pronounced "Gen-teel" like it is in my head or "Gen-tile" like "a person who's not Jewish") and Alex Zacharias. Several others that were introduced in Stacey and the Cheerleaders also appear.
PSA Time:
It's totally normal for a four-year-old (like Jamie Newton) to have a day or two when he's just not hungry. He'll probably eat a ton tomorrow. With toddlers and little kids, you should be looking at what they eat over the course of a week, not necessarily a given day.
Misc:
This book takes place in late winter.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 7
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Halloweens in 8th grade: 4 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 1
Christmases in 8th grade: 1 (Hanukkah is also mentioned, but no one in the BSC celebrates it)
Summers after 8th grade: 7
BSC Fights: 10
SMS Staff and Faculty: 47
Students (other than the BSC): 167; 103 8th graders, 6 7th graders, 42 6th graders, 15 unspecified
Clients: 31
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 104
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-8
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
Stacey's becoming very aware of the fact that she's more mature than most of the BSC. Why? She's been hanging out more with the basketball crowd that she met when she started dating Robert and tried out for the cheerleading squad. They're able to talk about more that just little kids and don't tease people about having boyfriends ("Stacey and Robert sitting in a tree..."). She's also finding that BSC commitments are getting in the way of her social life, and ends up late to meetings or finding subs for her sitting jobs. To be fair to Stacey, the Kristy and Dawn do get self-righteous in the book, refusing to totally forgive Stacey for being late to meetings and getting subs, even after she's apologized and stopped.
Stacey's not innocent though. She has been putting her responsibilities on the back burner. Remember in her Portrait Collection book, when Stacey specifically mentioned that she likes to keep clients' houses quiet when kids are sleeping so she can hear if they need help? Well, while sitting for the Newtons she ignores Jamie's complaints of an upset stomach in favor of talking to Robert...until he throws up. Of course, he would have thrown up anyway, but if she'd been paying attention she probably could have gotten him to the toilet. Things come to a head when a "cool kids" party is rescheduled to Stacey's house and Claudia is the only other BSC member invited. Of course everyone finds out, and Stacey's too embarrassed to show her face at the BSC talent show the next day...even though she promised Charlotte Johanssen. That last bit even gets Claudia mad at her. The next Monday at the BSC meeting, everyone has a piece to say. Jessi finally points out that no one's forcing Stacey to be there.
So, Stacey quits.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Goobers under her pillow, pretzels in her shoe rack, Mallomars on the hat shelf, sesame seed pretzels
Stacey describes Dawn this way: "Easygoing, intense, open-minded, and opinionated. Sound like a a bunch of contradictions? That's Dawn." Yes, I agree that Dawn is contrary.
Stacey knows two verses to "Hush, Little Baby." I thought there was only one official verse. Did she learn the one my dad made up?
Claudia really tries to keep the peace in this one, much like her character earlier in the series.
Their Families:
As established in Snowbound, Stacey's mom is not a confident driver.
Stacey doesn't visit her dad at all in this book. He's hardly mentioned.
Maria Kilbourne can tap dance to "Putting on the Ritz." I just watched Young Frankenstein so you can imagine how I'm picturing her performance.
The Club (and clients): nothing new.
SMS:
Eighth graders: Andi Gentile (I wonder, pronounced "Gen-teel" like it is in my head or "Gen-tile" like "a person who's not Jewish") and Alex Zacharias. Several others that were introduced in Stacey and the Cheerleaders also appear.
PSA Time:
It's totally normal for a four-year-old (like Jamie Newton) to have a day or two when he's just not hungry. He'll probably eat a ton tomorrow. With toddlers and little kids, you should be looking at what they eat over the course of a week, not necessarily a given day.
Misc:
This book takes place in late winter.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 7
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Halloweens in 8th grade: 4 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 1
Christmases in 8th grade: 1 (Hanukkah is also mentioned, but no one in the BSC celebrates it)
Summers after 8th grade: 7
BSC Fights: 10
SMS Staff and Faculty: 47
Students (other than the BSC): 167; 103 8th graders, 6 7th graders, 42 6th graders, 15 unspecified
Clients: 31
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 104
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-8
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
2/16/12
Portrait Collection: Claudia's Book
Original Publication Date: 1995
Ghostwriter? Yes, Nola Thacker
Synopsis:
The eighth grade has been given an autobiography assignment. This is Claudia's report. She divides it into five sections:
Baby Days: Janine recounts meeting Claudia when her parents brought her home from the hospital. Later on, Mimi helps Claudia, Mary Anne, and Kristy leave their handprints in fresh cement on the Kishi's driveway. The handprints are still there.
Happy Birthday to Me: Claudia invites her entire kindergarten class to her sixth birthday party...and only Mary Anne and Kristy come. She's devastated, but then gets surprised later that day when the Kishis, Spiers, and Thomases all get together for a celebration and ends up having a good day.
The Truth about the Tooth Fairy: Claudia is convinced that the Tooth Fairy is a monster who eats teeth including teeth still in your head. So when she has to have a tooth pulled, she's terrified of putting it under her pillow and sets up booby traps and hides from the Fairy. She discovers (SPOILER ALERT) that there is no Fairy, and deduces that her parents also play the parts of the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus.
Boo for Fourth Grade: Claudia had a great teacher for second grade, but her third grade teacher's style didn't mesh well, and by fourth grade Claudia was doing very poorly. Her teacher recommends an alternative school, to which Claudia is accepted. And while her school work does improve, she's miserable. Her parents decide that good grades aren't worth depression and Claudia goes back to Stoneybrook Elementary with the understanding that she needs to apply her self.
The Sea Rose: The summer that she was 11, Claudia went with Kristy's family on a weekend trip for Sam and Charlie's baseball team. It's on the trip that Claudia sees how much responsibility Kristy has had to take on since her father walked out on the family.
Claudia gets a B-, having been marked down for organization, spelling, and grammar errors.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Fruit Roll-Ups and Hershey's Hugs in a coat pocket
Good continuity with the memory of Claudia's butterfly self-portrait and her birth announcement being in a now-defunct newspaper.
Claudia had candy hidden in her room as early as second grade!
Their Families:
If Claudia's mom had an ultrasound during her pregnancy (they weren't routine until fairly recently), her parents opted to not find out she was a girl until she was born.
The Club (and clients): nothing new.
SMS:
Alan Gray, Pete Black, and Cokie Mason were in the same kindergarten class with Claudia, Mary Anne, and Kristy. Rick Chow, Emily Bernstein, and Cokie were in Claudia's second grade class. Kristy was in her fourth grade class.
By the end of kindergarten, Claudia couldn't really read. I wonder if that was just her or if her class didn't learn it. I could read at that point, and though I was admittedly good at reading from the start, I remember having reading lessons in kindergarten.
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
For my sixth birthday party, I invited all the girls in my kindergarten class. My parents were only okay with this because they assumed several girls wouldn't be able to come, but only one said no. Big party that year...
Claudia has the entrance interview for an alternative school on the last day of November and gets the results a week before Thanksgiving...which in the US is the fourth Thursday of November.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 7
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Halloweens in 8th grade: 4 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 1
Christmases in 8th grade: 1 (Hanukkah is also mentioned, but no one in the BSC celebrates it)
Summers after 8th grade: 7
BSC Fights: 9
SMS Staff and Faculty: 47
Students (other than the BSC): 165; 101 8th graders, 6 7th graders, 42 6th graders, 15 unspecified
Clients: 31
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 103
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-8
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Ghostwriter? Yes, Nola Thacker
Synopsis:
The eighth grade has been given an autobiography assignment. This is Claudia's report. She divides it into five sections:
Baby Days: Janine recounts meeting Claudia when her parents brought her home from the hospital. Later on, Mimi helps Claudia, Mary Anne, and Kristy leave their handprints in fresh cement on the Kishi's driveway. The handprints are still there.
Happy Birthday to Me: Claudia invites her entire kindergarten class to her sixth birthday party...and only Mary Anne and Kristy come. She's devastated, but then gets surprised later that day when the Kishis, Spiers, and Thomases all get together for a celebration and ends up having a good day.
The Truth about the Tooth Fairy: Claudia is convinced that the Tooth Fairy is a monster who eats teeth including teeth still in your head. So when she has to have a tooth pulled, she's terrified of putting it under her pillow and sets up booby traps and hides from the Fairy. She discovers (SPOILER ALERT) that there is no Fairy, and deduces that her parents also play the parts of the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus.
Boo for Fourth Grade: Claudia had a great teacher for second grade, but her third grade teacher's style didn't mesh well, and by fourth grade Claudia was doing very poorly. Her teacher recommends an alternative school, to which Claudia is accepted. And while her school work does improve, she's miserable. Her parents decide that good grades aren't worth depression and Claudia goes back to Stoneybrook Elementary with the understanding that she needs to apply her self.
The Sea Rose: The summer that she was 11, Claudia went with Kristy's family on a weekend trip for Sam and Charlie's baseball team. It's on the trip that Claudia sees how much responsibility Kristy has had to take on since her father walked out on the family.
Claudia gets a B-, having been marked down for organization, spelling, and grammar errors.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Fruit Roll-Ups and Hershey's Hugs in a coat pocket
Good continuity with the memory of Claudia's butterfly self-portrait and her birth announcement being in a now-defunct newspaper.
Claudia had candy hidden in her room as early as second grade!
Their Families:
If Claudia's mom had an ultrasound during her pregnancy (they weren't routine until fairly recently), her parents opted to not find out she was a girl until she was born.
The Club (and clients): nothing new.
SMS:
Alan Gray, Pete Black, and Cokie Mason were in the same kindergarten class with Claudia, Mary Anne, and Kristy. Rick Chow, Emily Bernstein, and Cokie were in Claudia's second grade class. Kristy was in her fourth grade class.
By the end of kindergarten, Claudia couldn't really read. I wonder if that was just her or if her class didn't learn it. I could read at that point, and though I was admittedly good at reading from the start, I remember having reading lessons in kindergarten.
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
For my sixth birthday party, I invited all the girls in my kindergarten class. My parents were only okay with this because they assumed several girls wouldn't be able to come, but only one said no. Big party that year...
Claudia has the entrance interview for an alternative school on the last day of November and gets the results a week before Thanksgiving...which in the US is the fourth Thursday of November.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 7
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Halloweens in 8th grade: 4 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 1
Christmases in 8th grade: 1 (Hanukkah is also mentioned, but no one in the BSC celebrates it)
Summers after 8th grade: 7
BSC Fights: 9
SMS Staff and Faculty: 47
Students (other than the BSC): 165; 101 8th graders, 6 7th graders, 42 6th graders, 15 unspecified
Clients: 31
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 103
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-8
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
2/11/12
Jessi and the Troublemaker (RS#82)
Original Publication Date: 1995
Ghostwriter? Yes, Nola Thacker
Synopsis:
Danielle Roberts's cancer is in remission! Great news, but her parents are being overly permissive with her, which of course comes back to bite them. The BSC sees some of the exburance and its ill effects (rollerblading in the house, trying to make a swimming pool out the shower), but it's hard for them to rein her in. Understandably, too: this is a girl who has been fighting a life-threatening disease and is now feeling well enough to act up. The BSC does talk to her parents, but they dismiss the warnings. But then Danielle actually goes for a short joyride in her parents' car with Charlotte, Becca, haley, and Vanessa and crashes (slowly) into a parked car. Her friends are ticked off, and her parents realize they do need to set some boundaries. Apologies are made and eventually status quo reigns.
Tiny subplot of Becca and Jessi thinking that their aunt is engaged, but she's actually just IN a wedding.
Also, despite her big role in resolving the conflict between Danielle and her friends, Stacey's getting a little flaky. Hmm...
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: chocolate chip cookies, Frookies (for Stacey), pretzels
Dawn still packs her lunch in wax paper, which I don't see as all that different from plastic. At least she now also uses re-useable containers.
Their Families:
I'm honestly surprised that with Aunt Cecelia taking care of so many household chores that the Ramseys' house isn't a "no shoes inside" house.
Aww, Squirt gets Goodnight Moon before bed. So does my daughter (yes, I've memorized it).
Aunt Cecelia has a "husky" chuckle. In a later book, it's revealed that she smokes; the huskiness makes sense.
The Club (and clients):
It's implied that Shannon and Logan joined after Jessi and Mallory. This isn't the first time, either.
It's also implied that the notebook entries don't have as much details as the baby-sitting chapters, as Mary Anne recounts a sitting job and goes into details that weren't in her entry. Although it seems Kristy still does expect MOST of the details.
SMS: nothing new.
PSA Time:
"It was enough for today that Danielle felt good." I understand that the difference between "well" and "good" can be tricky, but published books should have editors that catch these things. "Good" is an adjective; "well" is an adverb, except when used to describe one's physical health--then it's an adjective. Unless Jessi means that Danielle has a good sense of touch, she should have used well. I'm betting the author used good because Danielle and well rhyme.
Also: Stacey was...later than I. Not later than me. Why? Because the complete sentence would be "Stacey was later than I was." At least I haven't read "Us baby-sitters are blahblahblah" yet.
Misc:
I agree with Jessi, if it's going to be cold it should go ahead and snow.
Kansas isn't square. It's not a very good rectangle, either. Pick Wyoming or Colorado if you want square.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 7
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Halloweens in 8th grade: 4 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 1
Christmases in 8th grade: 1 (Hanukkah is also mentioned, but no one in the BSC celebrates it)
Summers after 8th grade: 7
BSC Fights: 9
SMS Staff and Faculty: 47
Students (other than the BSC): 165; 101 8th graders, 6 7th graders, 42 6th graders, 15 unspecified
Clients: 31
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 101
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-8
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Ghostwriter? Yes, Nola Thacker
Synopsis:
Danielle Roberts's cancer is in remission! Great news, but her parents are being overly permissive with her, which of course comes back to bite them. The BSC sees some of the exburance and its ill effects (rollerblading in the house, trying to make a swimming pool out the shower), but it's hard for them to rein her in. Understandably, too: this is a girl who has been fighting a life-threatening disease and is now feeling well enough to act up. The BSC does talk to her parents, but they dismiss the warnings. But then Danielle actually goes for a short joyride in her parents' car with Charlotte, Becca, haley, and Vanessa and crashes (slowly) into a parked car. Her friends are ticked off, and her parents realize they do need to set some boundaries. Apologies are made and eventually status quo reigns.
Tiny subplot of Becca and Jessi thinking that their aunt is engaged, but she's actually just IN a wedding.
Also, despite her big role in resolving the conflict between Danielle and her friends, Stacey's getting a little flaky. Hmm...
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: chocolate chip cookies, Frookies (for Stacey), pretzels
Dawn still packs her lunch in wax paper, which I don't see as all that different from plastic. At least she now also uses re-useable containers.
Their Families:
I'm honestly surprised that with Aunt Cecelia taking care of so many household chores that the Ramseys' house isn't a "no shoes inside" house.
Aww, Squirt gets Goodnight Moon before bed. So does my daughter (yes, I've memorized it).
Aunt Cecelia has a "husky" chuckle. In a later book, it's revealed that she smokes; the huskiness makes sense.
The Club (and clients):
It's implied that Shannon and Logan joined after Jessi and Mallory. This isn't the first time, either.
It's also implied that the notebook entries don't have as much details as the baby-sitting chapters, as Mary Anne recounts a sitting job and goes into details that weren't in her entry. Although it seems Kristy still does expect MOST of the details.
SMS: nothing new.
PSA Time:
"It was enough for today that Danielle felt good." I understand that the difference between "well" and "good" can be tricky, but published books should have editors that catch these things. "Good" is an adjective; "well" is an adverb, except when used to describe one's physical health--then it's an adjective. Unless Jessi means that Danielle has a good sense of touch, she should have used well. I'm betting the author used good because Danielle and well rhyme.
Also: Stacey was...later than I. Not later than me. Why? Because the complete sentence would be "Stacey was later than I was." At least I haven't read "Us baby-sitters are blahblahblah" yet.
Misc:
I agree with Jessi, if it's going to be cold it should go ahead and snow.
Kansas isn't square. It's not a very good rectangle, either. Pick Wyoming or Colorado if you want square.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 7
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Halloweens in 8th grade: 4 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 1
Christmases in 8th grade: 1 (Hanukkah is also mentioned, but no one in the BSC celebrates it)
Summers after 8th grade: 7
BSC Fights: 9
SMS Staff and Faculty: 47
Students (other than the BSC): 165; 101 8th graders, 6 7th graders, 42 6th graders, 15 unspecified
Clients: 31
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 101
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-8
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
2/5/12
Kristy and the Missing Fortune (M#19)
Original Publication Date: 1995
Ghostwriter? Yes, Ellen Miles
Synopsis:
Kristy stumbles across a mystery: a young woman named Christina Thomas who disappeared, probably with some gold...and who might be one of Kristy's ancestors (yes, she does acknowledge that Thomas is a common name). Kristy finds a relative of Christina's, a great-great-niece, who lends her the last letter received from Christina, which has a clue on it in the form of an intricate sketch.
Kristy finds some clues while the BSC is helping fix up the arboretum. They're cleaning up to make it presentable to potential buyers, lest it get developed. It turns out Christina's family owned the land before, and it was donated by her great-niece and nephew. Who else is in Christina's family? Cokie Mason! Her maternal grandmother is the one who lent Kristy the letter. The BSC discovers this when they go to the arboretum at night and she's there, too. Due to the moon behaving as it never has before or since (see my last paragraph below) they find a lockbox with Christina's treasures. No gold, but it does have the deed to the land the arboretum's on, so it's saved from the developers.
What happened to Christina, or she's Kristy's ancestor, is never discovered. However...if Kristy is related to Christina...then she's also related to Cokie!
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Cocoa Blinkens, popcorn, M&Ms, Chips Ahoy, sourdough pretzels, and Fig, Apple, and Cherry Newtons
Claudia still remembers the knitting that Mary Anne taught her: she's knitting a scarf, with three colors of yarn. Hmm...three at once? Stranding? Intarsia? Color changes?
Stacey's spending more time with Robert, rather than hanging out with the BSC.
Their Families:
Watson tells "the stupidest jokes in the world." Kristy still loves him, though.
David Michael is still a "champion whiner."
Shannon's sister has a green thumb...why don't they ask her for help with Jessi's plant-sitting job?
The Club (and clients):
Jessi gets a plant-sitting job. Everyone acts like it's a huge inconvenience, but come on. All you have to do is water the things every few days. In fact, inspired by the BSC, a pre-teen me put up fliers in my neighborhood advertising my pet- and plant-sitting services to vacationing neighbors.
SMS: nothing new.
PSA Time:
Spend five minutes looking up how the moon phases work if you're going to incorporate them in a plot. Otherwise you will incur my (impotent) wrath.
Misc:
The Krushers only play during the regular baseball season, so no winter games. For some reason, I thought they were year-round.
In my experience, cats suddenly biting while being pet isn't due to being old and cranky, like Kristy thinks is the case with Boo-Boo. I know at least three cats who get so happy they don't know what else to do.
Does Ann M. Martin hate February? It's a common thing among the BSC.
The archaic "Stoneybrooke" is used in old letters and the like (dating from the late 1800s).
Because I've always lived in the Seattle area with its great Washington Park Arboretum, I find it odd that Stoneybrook's is so unknown, even by long-time residents like Watson Brewer.
The BSC makes a big deal about the size of some footprints, stating they're too small to be an adult's because their "small like ours." By the time I was 13 my feet were fully grown, and three sizes bigger than my mom's. Not far behind my dad's, for that matter.
February 14, 1863 didn't have a full moon. It was a waxing crescent and hit first quarter three days later; the full moon that month was the 25th. Also, while the technical "full moon" is brief, for all intents and purposes, the night surrounding a full moon are pretty similar in terms of brightness. More importantly to the plot, FULL MOONS RISE AT SUNSET. ALWAYS. The moon is full when its "front" (relative to the Earth) is facing the sun. From the earth's perspective, the sun and moon are opposite each other when the moon is full. But these are the same girls who told Claire Pike that when the sun sets it goes behind a cloud, so why should I expect them to know anything about astronomy.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 7
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Halloweens in 8th grade: 4 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 1
Christmases in 8th grade: 1 (Hanukkah is also mentioned, but no one in the BSC celebrates it)
Summers after 8th grade: 7
BSC Fights: 9
SMS Staff and Faculty: 47
Students (other than the BSC): 165; 101 8th graders, 6 7th graders, 42 6th graders, 15 unspecified
Clients: 31
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 101
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-8
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Ghostwriter? Yes, Ellen Miles
Synopsis:
Kristy stumbles across a mystery: a young woman named Christina Thomas who disappeared, probably with some gold...and who might be one of Kristy's ancestors (yes, she does acknowledge that Thomas is a common name). Kristy finds a relative of Christina's, a great-great-niece, who lends her the last letter received from Christina, which has a clue on it in the form of an intricate sketch.
Kristy finds some clues while the BSC is helping fix up the arboretum. They're cleaning up to make it presentable to potential buyers, lest it get developed. It turns out Christina's family owned the land before, and it was donated by her great-niece and nephew. Who else is in Christina's family? Cokie Mason! Her maternal grandmother is the one who lent Kristy the letter. The BSC discovers this when they go to the arboretum at night and she's there, too. Due to the moon behaving as it never has before or since (see my last paragraph below) they find a lockbox with Christina's treasures. No gold, but it does have the deed to the land the arboretum's on, so it's saved from the developers.
What happened to Christina, or she's Kristy's ancestor, is never discovered. However...if Kristy is related to Christina...then she's also related to Cokie!
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Cocoa Blinkens, popcorn, M&Ms, Chips Ahoy, sourdough pretzels, and Fig, Apple, and Cherry Newtons
Claudia still remembers the knitting that Mary Anne taught her: she's knitting a scarf, with three colors of yarn. Hmm...three at once? Stranding? Intarsia? Color changes?
Stacey's spending more time with Robert, rather than hanging out with the BSC.
Their Families:
Watson tells "the stupidest jokes in the world." Kristy still loves him, though.
David Michael is still a "champion whiner."
Shannon's sister has a green thumb...why don't they ask her for help with Jessi's plant-sitting job?
The Club (and clients):
Jessi gets a plant-sitting job. Everyone acts like it's a huge inconvenience, but come on. All you have to do is water the things every few days. In fact, inspired by the BSC, a pre-teen me put up fliers in my neighborhood advertising my pet- and plant-sitting services to vacationing neighbors.
SMS: nothing new.
PSA Time:
Spend five minutes looking up how the moon phases work if you're going to incorporate them in a plot. Otherwise you will incur my (impotent) wrath.
Misc:
The Krushers only play during the regular baseball season, so no winter games. For some reason, I thought they were year-round.
In my experience, cats suddenly biting while being pet isn't due to being old and cranky, like Kristy thinks is the case with Boo-Boo. I know at least three cats who get so happy they don't know what else to do.
Does Ann M. Martin hate February? It's a common thing among the BSC.
The archaic "Stoneybrooke" is used in old letters and the like (dating from the late 1800s).
Because I've always lived in the Seattle area with its great Washington Park Arboretum, I find it odd that Stoneybrook's is so unknown, even by long-time residents like Watson Brewer.
The BSC makes a big deal about the size of some footprints, stating they're too small to be an adult's because their "small like ours." By the time I was 13 my feet were fully grown, and three sizes bigger than my mom's. Not far behind my dad's, for that matter.
February 14, 1863 didn't have a full moon. It was a waxing crescent and hit first quarter three days later; the full moon that month was the 25th. Also, while the technical "full moon" is brief, for all intents and purposes, the night surrounding a full moon are pretty similar in terms of brightness. More importantly to the plot, FULL MOONS RISE AT SUNSET. ALWAYS. The moon is full when its "front" (relative to the Earth) is facing the sun. From the earth's perspective, the sun and moon are opposite each other when the moon is full. But these are the same girls who told Claire Pike that when the sun sets it goes behind a cloud, so why should I expect them to know anything about astronomy.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 7
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 2
Halloweens in 8th grade: 4 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 1
Christmases in 8th grade: 1 (Hanukkah is also mentioned, but no one in the BSC celebrates it)
Summers after 8th grade: 7
BSC Fights: 9
SMS Staff and Faculty: 47
Students (other than the BSC): 165; 101 8th graders, 6 7th graders, 42 6th graders, 15 unspecified
Clients: 31
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 101
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-8
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
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