Original Publication Date: 1996
Ghostwriter? Yes, Jeanne Betancourt
Synopsis:
Now it's Kristy's turn to write an autobiography. She summarizes her life this way:
The First Five Innings: Kristy recounts her birth story (her mother started labor at a Yankees game) and tells about her first great idea--building snowmen for the neighbors to earn money for a birthday gift for Mimi.
Breaking the Rules: Kristy was sometimes left out of things by her older brothers, and had stricter rules than they did, because she was younger. She's so frustrated by this that she tricks her brothers into taking her to a movie that she was explicitly told to NOT go to. Her mother comes into the theatre partway through the showing and makes her leave. But Kristy later convinces her brothers to play a game with her that basically reveals the rest of the plot that Kristy had missed.
On Our Own: Not long after David Michael is born, Kristy dad simply fails to come home one night. It takes a call to his boss for Kristy's mom to discover that he's gone. She gets a fulltime job, and the older three kids start helping out more around the house.
Play Ball: Kristy goes to a baseball camp one summer (on scholarship, due to financial hardship). She learns a life lesson about teamwork...it's a pretty boring section.
My Real Father: When Kristy is 13, her father shows up (this plot point was put in the BSC movie). Only Mary Anne knows he's visiting; he wants to keep it secret from the rest of Kristy's family--yes, I'm purposely not calling it HIS family. After a week, Watson gets suspicious, but trusts Kristy enough to wait for a little bit before talking to Elizabeth. Kristy's father gives her an overdue birthday of a baseball glove...for a right-handed player, when Kristy is left-handed. She tries to exchange it and discovers it wasn't bought specially for her, it was part of a giveaway at a work event her father had attended. He skips town a couple days later, and Kristy tells her mom about it all. Later, Watson gets her a gift: a left-handed glove.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: it's mentioned that she seems to have an "endless supply" of candy even in elementary school
Kristy is supposed to be left-handed. but in the picture of her at about age 5 playing catch with her father on page 29, she's wearing a baseball glove on her left hand and actively playing that way. Now, if you're my mom and don't know much about baseball and you buy your left-handed a son a glove for his left hand, it's one thing. But if you have a job in the sports field... The picture of the wrong-handed glove Kristy gets later is of a glove for a right-handed person. (You get a glove for your non-dominant hand to allow for throwing with your dominant hand)
When Louie gets sprayed by a skunk and the kids are trying to figure how to bathe him without getting skunk smell on themselves, Claudia suggest Charlie could wear a plastic garbage bag over himself. It probably looked funny on him, but would have looked great on Claudia!
Their Families:
Maybe it's that Kristy is viewing the past through the lens of the present, but her father seems a bit clueless and distant even before he leaves. For example, she says that her father was more interested in the outcome of the Yankees game her parents had to leave early due to her mom being in labor than the fact that his wife was having a baby.
When relaxing around the house, Kristy's mom likes to wear jeans and sweatshirt, just like Kristy's standard "uniform."
The Club (and clients):
This book comes after Kristy's Worst Idea, which ends with the BSC deciding that it's okay to have priorities other than baby-sitting. Kristy actually seems to stick to that idea when she tries to remember if anyone can sit for her younger siblings: she has to do homework as does Claudia and some members are out of town or doing other extra-curricular activities, and only Mallory has a sitting job (Mary Anne is free and takes the job).
SMS:
Kristy gets a B+ on her report. I wonder what the grading criteria was.
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
All the portrait collections have illustrations. Kristy's baby pictures are weird looking, like one artist drew all but the face and another just copied Kristy's teenage face onto the head.
I detest the term "play date." It's so contrived. When I was a kid, we just went to our friends' house or they came to ours and we played. The question was not "Can we have a play date?" but "Can you play?"
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 9
Halloweens in 8th grade: 5 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 2
Winter holidays in 8th grade (that BSC members celebrate, not just reference): Christmas-2, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-1
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 9
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 56
Students (other than the BSC): 183: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 6 7th graders, 43 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 35 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 120
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
11/14/12
Kristy's Worst Idea (RS#100)
Original Publication Date: 1996
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
Kristy is back from her family trip to Hawaii, and anxious to get back to being BSC president. Perhaps too anxious. A few things went wonky with Abby being in charge, and Kristy goes overboard correcting them. To further complicate matters, a lot of members are finding that the BSC meetings are getting in the way of life: Jessi's advanced ballet class now meets on Friday afternoons, Mallory's taking a writing course that conflicts, etc. And several members are having conflicts with each other. And Jackie Rodowsky gets hurt on Kristy's watch, which she blames herself for. Long story short: the BSC disbands.
How does it go? Jessi and Mallory take it the hardest, after the parents (really, the BSC is offered mediation sessions and outright cash to reform). It isn't long before the other members realized they miss their earnings and the comaraderie. At the same time, a lot of the kids they used to sit for think they're to blame, including Jackie, who tries to bike over to Kristy's to make amends and ends up with a concussion that lands him in the hospital. It all comes together in the BSC reforming, with the understanding that the members will try to keep it a priority but also can be flexible.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Snickers, Milk Duds, tortilla chips
Kristy brings back little gifts for the rest of the BSC. Mallory gets clip on earrings. Mallory had her ears pierced in her second book, Mallory and the Trouble with Twins. Continuity fail or Kristy fail?
Their Families:
Kristy's the first kid up at her house one day and Watson offers her the first bit of bacon. My toddler just watched Charlotte's Web, in which the daughter is given Wilbur, the runt of the litter, to raise in events that transpose because she woke up early. Funny parallel that I'm sure in unintentional.
The Club (and clients):
I just realized that original four BSC members are in the same spots on this book's cover as on the cover of Kristy's Great Idea: Kristy in the director's chair, Stacey on the floor, and Mary Anne and Claudia on the bed.
Mrs. DeWitt calls for two sitters for Thursday, and a couple pages later Mary Anne and Claudia go to a sitting job for the barrett-DeWitt kids on Wednesday. Could be a an already-booked job, but it doesn't seem like it.
While it was rotten of Kristy and the BSC to blame Mallory when Nicky broke his finger way back when, but I guess you could say that at least Kristy's consistent when she beats herself up for Jackie's sprained ankle. And later Claire gets hurt and Kristy reassures Mallory that it's not her fault, so I guess she's sort of making up for it.
SMS:
School starts for the ninth time.
PSA Time:
Wear a bike helmet when you're biking. Just do it.
Misc:
Kristy tells us how exhausting the trip back from Hawaii to Connecticut was by saying "We started at X time and the flight was this long, then a layover this long, etc" and asks the reader what time they got home. She says she's too tired to figure it out, but whoever owned this copy of the book before I did answered 5:15am the day after leaving HI. (I checked the math; it's accurate)
If I were to take my family on a trip a few weeks before the start of a new school year, I'd get the back-to-school shopping done BEFORE the trip. Maybe that's just me.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 9
Halloweens in 8th grade: 5 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 2
Winter holidays in 8th grade (that BSC members celebrate, not just reference): Christmas-2, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-1
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 9
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 56
Students (other than the BSC): 183: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 6 7th graders, 43 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 35 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 120
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
Kristy is back from her family trip to Hawaii, and anxious to get back to being BSC president. Perhaps too anxious. A few things went wonky with Abby being in charge, and Kristy goes overboard correcting them. To further complicate matters, a lot of members are finding that the BSC meetings are getting in the way of life: Jessi's advanced ballet class now meets on Friday afternoons, Mallory's taking a writing course that conflicts, etc. And several members are having conflicts with each other. And Jackie Rodowsky gets hurt on Kristy's watch, which she blames herself for. Long story short: the BSC disbands.
How does it go? Jessi and Mallory take it the hardest, after the parents (really, the BSC is offered mediation sessions and outright cash to reform). It isn't long before the other members realized they miss their earnings and the comaraderie. At the same time, a lot of the kids they used to sit for think they're to blame, including Jackie, who tries to bike over to Kristy's to make amends and ends up with a concussion that lands him in the hospital. It all comes together in the BSC reforming, with the understanding that the members will try to keep it a priority but also can be flexible.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Snickers, Milk Duds, tortilla chips
Kristy brings back little gifts for the rest of the BSC. Mallory gets clip on earrings. Mallory had her ears pierced in her second book, Mallory and the Trouble with Twins. Continuity fail or Kristy fail?
Their Families:
Kristy's the first kid up at her house one day and Watson offers her the first bit of bacon. My toddler just watched Charlotte's Web, in which the daughter is given Wilbur, the runt of the litter, to raise in events that transpose because she woke up early. Funny parallel that I'm sure in unintentional.
The Club (and clients):
I just realized that original four BSC members are in the same spots on this book's cover as on the cover of Kristy's Great Idea: Kristy in the director's chair, Stacey on the floor, and Mary Anne and Claudia on the bed.
Mrs. DeWitt calls for two sitters for Thursday, and a couple pages later Mary Anne and Claudia go to a sitting job for the barrett-DeWitt kids on Wednesday. Could be a an already-booked job, but it doesn't seem like it.
While it was rotten of Kristy and the BSC to blame Mallory when Nicky broke his finger way back when, but I guess you could say that at least Kristy's consistent when she beats herself up for Jackie's sprained ankle. And later Claire gets hurt and Kristy reassures Mallory that it's not her fault, so I guess she's sort of making up for it.
SMS:
School starts for the ninth time.
PSA Time:
Wear a bike helmet when you're biking. Just do it.
Misc:
Kristy tells us how exhausting the trip back from Hawaii to Connecticut was by saying "We started at X time and the flight was this long, then a layover this long, etc" and asks the reader what time they got home. She says she's too tired to figure it out, but whoever owned this copy of the book before I did answered 5:15am the day after leaving HI. (I checked the math; it's accurate)
If I were to take my family on a trip a few weeks before the start of a new school year, I'd get the back-to-school shopping done BEFORE the trip. Maybe that's just me.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 9
Halloweens in 8th grade: 5 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 2
Winter holidays in 8th grade (that BSC members celebrate, not just reference): Christmas-2, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-1
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 9
BSC Fights: 11
SMS Staff and Faculty: 56
Students (other than the BSC): 183: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 6 7th graders, 43 6th graders, 15 unspecified. Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation tells us that SMS has about 380 students.
Clients: 35 families
Types of candy in Claudia’s room: 120
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
11/1/12
Stacey's Broken Heart (RS #99)
Original Publication Date: 1996
Ghostwriter? Yes, Suzanne Weyn
Synopsis:
Remember how Stacey was concerned with Robert talking so much to other girls? Well...she hears some unsettling news from Emily Bernstein, and ends up finding out that Robert's been cheating on her. Stacey is hurt of course, but also understands a bit. While sitting for some old charges in New York, she found herself developing a crush, although she didn't act on it. So she understands being attracted to someone, but she doesn't understand running with it. The girl he's been seeing behind Stacey's back, Andi Gentile, actually seeks out Stacey to apologize, which is impressive.
Also, Kristy goes on vacation to Hawaii with her family, and Abby takes over as president while she's gone. Wanting to prove herself, Abby organizes a Mexican-themed festival. She goes over budget, and basically cleans out the treasury AND expects the other members to chip in after the fact. While she has good ideas, she's not very good at executing them or leading the BSC. Basically she needs practice and guidance.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: none mentioned, but she does make watermelon carvings
Stacey's attraction to Ethan brings her crush count up to an even dozen.
Claudia's a good friend for telling Stacey about Robert. It's certainly not welcome news, but Stacey deserved to know.
Their Families:
I totally understand Stacey's frustration with her father when she vents a bit about Robert to him and he tries to fix everything, especially with unwelcome suggestions (seeing other people). Sometimes you just want to vent and not discuss it.
The Club (and clients):
I don't get why Claudia wasn't the president during Kristy's absence, being vice-president. Abby already got to fill in for Stacey as treasurer.
SMS:
Pete Black has grown his hair to almost-shoulder length. I'm not a fan of long hair on guys (I happen to think the military's on to something), but Stacey and Claudia like it.
PSA Time:
None relevant to the book, but something from this evening: while standby flights often work out, don't bet on it after a hurricane disturbs plane flights. That was a fun trip to the airport!
Misc:
Wouldn't it have been easier and cheaper to use balloons to make the pinatas rather than balsa wood?
Henry and Grace Walker, who haven't shown up for dozens of books, are described consistently with their previous appearances.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 8
Halloweens in 8th grade: 5 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 2
Winter holidays in 8th grade (that BSC members celebrate, not just reference): Christmas-2, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-1
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 9
BSC Fights: 10
SMS Staff and Faculty: 56
Students (other than the BSC): 183: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 6 7th graders, 43 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: 120
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? Yes, Suzanne Weyn
Synopsis:
Remember how Stacey was concerned with Robert talking so much to other girls? Well...she hears some unsettling news from Emily Bernstein, and ends up finding out that Robert's been cheating on her. Stacey is hurt of course, but also understands a bit. While sitting for some old charges in New York, she found herself developing a crush, although she didn't act on it. So she understands being attracted to someone, but she doesn't understand running with it. The girl he's been seeing behind Stacey's back, Andi Gentile, actually seeks out Stacey to apologize, which is impressive.
Also, Kristy goes on vacation to Hawaii with her family, and Abby takes over as president while she's gone. Wanting to prove herself, Abby organizes a Mexican-themed festival. She goes over budget, and basically cleans out the treasury AND expects the other members to chip in after the fact. While she has good ideas, she's not very good at executing them or leading the BSC. Basically she needs practice and guidance.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: none mentioned, but she does make watermelon carvings
Stacey's attraction to Ethan brings her crush count up to an even dozen.
Claudia's a good friend for telling Stacey about Robert. It's certainly not welcome news, but Stacey deserved to know.
Their Families:
I totally understand Stacey's frustration with her father when she vents a bit about Robert to him and he tries to fix everything, especially with unwelcome suggestions (seeing other people). Sometimes you just want to vent and not discuss it.
The Club (and clients):
I don't get why Claudia wasn't the president during Kristy's absence, being vice-president. Abby already got to fill in for Stacey as treasurer.
SMS:
Pete Black has grown his hair to almost-shoulder length. I'm not a fan of long hair on guys (I happen to think the military's on to something), but Stacey and Claudia like it.
PSA Time:
None relevant to the book, but something from this evening: while standby flights often work out, don't bet on it after a hurricane disturbs plane flights. That was a fun trip to the airport!
Misc:
Wouldn't it have been easier and cheaper to use balloons to make the pinatas rather than balsa wood?
Henry and Grace Walker, who haven't shown up for dozens of books, are described consistently with their previous appearances.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 8
Halloweens in 8th grade: 5 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 2
Winter holidays in 8th grade (that BSC members celebrate, not just reference): Christmas-2, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-1
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 9
BSC Fights: 10
SMS Staff and Faculty: 56
Students (other than the BSC): 183: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 6 7th graders, 43 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: 120
Crushes:
Stacey-12
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
10/15/12
Dawn Schafer, Undercover Baby-sitter (M#26)
Original Publication Date: 1996
Ghostwriter? Yes, Ellen Miles
Synopsis:
The BSC gets a string of unusual jobs sitting for two sets of cousins in the same house, often at the same times, but separately. Their mothers are sisters who are in town to settle their late father's estate, and they don't get along, so they don't let their children get along either. There's also something odd about their father's will: he's given his three living children (a son had previously died) individual clues to figure out a riddle, and the "winner" gets the inheritance. He used to pit his children against each other when he was alive, and his will continues this. The BSC lets the cousins play together, and the sisters eventually drop enough of their feud to work together on solving the riddle (naturally, Dawn is the one who actually gets it, because the BSC is made up of the smartest people ever). Oh, and it turns out the affable butler is actually the brother, who was only metaphorically "dead" to his father. So now it's all one big, happy family.
Dawn is also finding herself struggling to fit in her goodbyes before heading back to California. After talking with Mary Anne, she sets aside a few days to have get-togethers with different groups of people all at once: school friends, BSC clients, and family.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Dots, Tootsie Roll Pops
Dawn gets presents every time she leaves for California, and when she comes back too. Maybe that's why she likes to go back and forth so much.
Dawn's favorite animal is the dolphin.
Their Families:
The re-tellling of how Mary Anne's dad and Dawn's mom rekindled their romance is off. In this version, the discovery that they'd been high school sweethearts takes place after Tigger and Logan entered the picture.
The Club (and clients): nothing new.
SMS: nothing new.
PSA Time:
If for some reason you find yourself inheriting all of an estate when you feel it should have been divided between you and others, there's nothing to stop you from simply giving part of your inheritance away after you accept it. It doesn't have to be a complicated legal thing.
Misc:
This is Dawn's last mystery book.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 8
Halloweens in 8th grade: 5 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 2
Winter holidays in 8th grade (that BSC members celebrate, not just reference): Christmas-2, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-1
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 9
BSC Fights: 10
SMS Staff and Faculty: 56
Students (other than the BSC): 183: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 6 7th graders, 43 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: 120
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? Yes, Ellen Miles
Synopsis:
The BSC gets a string of unusual jobs sitting for two sets of cousins in the same house, often at the same times, but separately. Their mothers are sisters who are in town to settle their late father's estate, and they don't get along, so they don't let their children get along either. There's also something odd about their father's will: he's given his three living children (a son had previously died) individual clues to figure out a riddle, and the "winner" gets the inheritance. He used to pit his children against each other when he was alive, and his will continues this. The BSC lets the cousins play together, and the sisters eventually drop enough of their feud to work together on solving the riddle (naturally, Dawn is the one who actually gets it, because the BSC is made up of the smartest people ever). Oh, and it turns out the affable butler is actually the brother, who was only metaphorically "dead" to his father. So now it's all one big, happy family.
Dawn is also finding herself struggling to fit in her goodbyes before heading back to California. After talking with Mary Anne, she sets aside a few days to have get-togethers with different groups of people all at once: school friends, BSC clients, and family.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Dots, Tootsie Roll Pops
Dawn gets presents every time she leaves for California, and when she comes back too. Maybe that's why she likes to go back and forth so much.
Dawn's favorite animal is the dolphin.
Their Families:
The re-tellling of how Mary Anne's dad and Dawn's mom rekindled their romance is off. In this version, the discovery that they'd been high school sweethearts takes place after Tigger and Logan entered the picture.
The Club (and clients): nothing new.
SMS: nothing new.
PSA Time:
If for some reason you find yourself inheriting all of an estate when you feel it should have been divided between you and others, there's nothing to stop you from simply giving part of your inheritance away after you accept it. It doesn't have to be a complicated legal thing.
Misc:
This is Dawn's last mystery book.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 8
Halloweens in 8th grade: 5 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 2
Winter holidays in 8th grade (that BSC members celebrate, not just reference): Christmas-2, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-1
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 9
BSC Fights: 10
SMS Staff and Faculty: 56
Students (other than the BSC): 183: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 6 7th graders, 43 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: 120
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
10/11/12
Aloha, Baby-sitters! (SS#13)
Original Publication Date: 1996
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
Most of the BSC is on a school-sponsored trip to Hawaii (Mallory has other commitments and it's too expensive anyway; Kristy's family is going later in the summer already; Shannon's at summer camp).
Jessi spends so much time trying to capture memories for Mallory that she almost forgets to have a fun time herself.
Mary Anne and Logan are trying to spend more time with their friends and less time with each other, since their friends have been complaining about not seeing them. Mary Anne also ends up getting a sitting job, of course.
Claudia has a crisis of conscience when she visits Pearl Harbor and is overcome with guilt for being of Japanese descent. At Mary Anne's suggestion, she meets the family Mary Anne is sitting for. The grandfather was in World War II and he reassures Claudia that she needn't feel guilty for what other people have done. (There's also "Well, the a-bombs were evil" which massively oversimplifies things, but that's another story.)
Abby ends up cast in a TV commercial for sunscreen (she lies about her age to avoid needing her mom's permission, and a teacher agrees to hang out nearby to surreptiously supervise). The sunscreen isn't quite as advertised: she comes home with a sunburn.
Stacey is dealing with some concerns about how friendly Robert's being with other girls. She gains some perspective when the helicopter she's in (without Robert) crashes. She ends up in the hospital briefly after having a diabetic reaction following too much exertion and not enough food.
Dawn organizes a beach clean up with the locals.
On the home front, Mallory helps with a day camp at Mrs. Stone's farm and deals with Jenny Prezzioso, who is recently being introduced to discipline and more annoyingling, another mother at a park who thinks she knows better despite having never met Jenny (and of course Mallory's wearing a BSC shirt that day). Mallory takes her little sisters to the same park later and sees the woman struggling with her own son throwing a horrific tantrum. It's fun to see the mom get her comeuppance.
Kristy also helps with the day camp. She also gets a call from the irate mother in Mallory's story (before the second meeting) and does a good job of both sticking up for Mallory and reassuring Mallory that she did the right thing.
Robert also gets a brief chapter, detailing his confusion about Stacey's jealousy. In his mind, he's just being friendly. So does Logan, in which he and Mary Anne decide that taking time for their friends doesn't have to mean they ignore each other.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Mallomars
Kristy thinks Logan spends too much time with Mary Anne. Not "they spend too much time with each other" mind you; she places the blame on Logan.
I guess Abby eats dry cereal, since she pours herself some Chex despite her milk allergy. I'd probably go for eggs myself (Abby's not allergic to eggs), but I don't much like cereal anyway.
Their Families:
Mimi lived in Japan during World War II. But I doubt she was much older than a teenager; twenties at the oldest (my grandfather was in his twenties in World War II, and my oldest cousin--his oldest grandchild--is almost 40).
The Club (and clients):
The Prezziosos have decided to stop giving in Jenny's tantrums (which are played up more in this book than usual to make the point). Thank goodness. I've seen families that don't figure this out until years later and it's not pretty.
SMS:
It's summer vacation, although this is a school-sponsored trip (Dawn can come because they needed a minimum amount of people for the group discount). Several teachers and students have "cameos." There is one newly-mentioned student, Troy Parker.
SMS doesn't have a volleyball team? Really?
PSA Time:
There is no such thing as a seagull. They're just gulls. Or California gulls or herring gulls or glaucous wing gulls or [other name] gulls. No decent bird guide will list seagulls.
If you need to get a hot, spicy taste out of your mouth, milk and white bread are both better options than water. Water just moves the taste around your mouth while the others will work to neutralize it.
President Truman had only a middle initial, not a full middle name. His parents didn't want to pick between his two grandfather's names which both started with S (or one's first name and one's last name, something like that.) So it's Harry S Truman, not Harry S. Truman.
Misc:
I've never been to Hawaii, so I don't know how accurate the descriptions are. But the next Super Special is a road trip across the contiguous US, and I've been to all 48 of those. That will be fun.
Aww. One of the kids Mary Anne sits for is a toddler and "this" was one of his first words. "This" and "cat" are my toddler daughter's favorite words.
Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor? Well, Japan wanted to inflict damage on the US, and in an effort to demonstrate certain strategic weaknesses, a US general orchestrated a fake attack that basically showed Japan what to do: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Mitchell_(general). The weaknesses weren't really addressed.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 8
Halloweens in 8th grade: 5 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 2
Winter holidays in 8th grade (that BSC members celebrate, not just reference): Christmas-2, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-1
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 9
BSC Fights: 10
SMS Staff and Faculty: 56
Students (other than the BSC): 183: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 6 7th graders, 43 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: 119
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
Most of the BSC is on a school-sponsored trip to Hawaii (Mallory has other commitments and it's too expensive anyway; Kristy's family is going later in the summer already; Shannon's at summer camp).
Jessi spends so much time trying to capture memories for Mallory that she almost forgets to have a fun time herself.
Mary Anne and Logan are trying to spend more time with their friends and less time with each other, since their friends have been complaining about not seeing them. Mary Anne also ends up getting a sitting job, of course.
Claudia has a crisis of conscience when she visits Pearl Harbor and is overcome with guilt for being of Japanese descent. At Mary Anne's suggestion, she meets the family Mary Anne is sitting for. The grandfather was in World War II and he reassures Claudia that she needn't feel guilty for what other people have done. (There's also "Well, the a-bombs were evil" which massively oversimplifies things, but that's another story.)
Abby ends up cast in a TV commercial for sunscreen (she lies about her age to avoid needing her mom's permission, and a teacher agrees to hang out nearby to surreptiously supervise). The sunscreen isn't quite as advertised: she comes home with a sunburn.
Stacey is dealing with some concerns about how friendly Robert's being with other girls. She gains some perspective when the helicopter she's in (without Robert) crashes. She ends up in the hospital briefly after having a diabetic reaction following too much exertion and not enough food.
Dawn organizes a beach clean up with the locals.
On the home front, Mallory helps with a day camp at Mrs. Stone's farm and deals with Jenny Prezzioso, who is recently being introduced to discipline and more annoyingling, another mother at a park who thinks she knows better despite having never met Jenny (and of course Mallory's wearing a BSC shirt that day). Mallory takes her little sisters to the same park later and sees the woman struggling with her own son throwing a horrific tantrum. It's fun to see the mom get her comeuppance.
Kristy also helps with the day camp. She also gets a call from the irate mother in Mallory's story (before the second meeting) and does a good job of both sticking up for Mallory and reassuring Mallory that she did the right thing.
Robert also gets a brief chapter, detailing his confusion about Stacey's jealousy. In his mind, he's just being friendly. So does Logan, in which he and Mary Anne decide that taking time for their friends doesn't have to mean they ignore each other.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Mallomars
Kristy thinks Logan spends too much time with Mary Anne. Not "they spend too much time with each other" mind you; she places the blame on Logan.
I guess Abby eats dry cereal, since she pours herself some Chex despite her milk allergy. I'd probably go for eggs myself (Abby's not allergic to eggs), but I don't much like cereal anyway.
Their Families:
Mimi lived in Japan during World War II. But I doubt she was much older than a teenager; twenties at the oldest (my grandfather was in his twenties in World War II, and my oldest cousin--his oldest grandchild--is almost 40).
The Club (and clients):
The Prezziosos have decided to stop giving in Jenny's tantrums (which are played up more in this book than usual to make the point). Thank goodness. I've seen families that don't figure this out until years later and it's not pretty.
SMS:
It's summer vacation, although this is a school-sponsored trip (Dawn can come because they needed a minimum amount of people for the group discount). Several teachers and students have "cameos." There is one newly-mentioned student, Troy Parker.
SMS doesn't have a volleyball team? Really?
PSA Time:
There is no such thing as a seagull. They're just gulls. Or California gulls or herring gulls or glaucous wing gulls or [other name] gulls. No decent bird guide will list seagulls.
If you need to get a hot, spicy taste out of your mouth, milk and white bread are both better options than water. Water just moves the taste around your mouth while the others will work to neutralize it.
President Truman had only a middle initial, not a full middle name. His parents didn't want to pick between his two grandfather's names which both started with S (or one's first name and one's last name, something like that.) So it's Harry S Truman, not Harry S. Truman.
Misc:
I've never been to Hawaii, so I don't know how accurate the descriptions are. But the next Super Special is a road trip across the contiguous US, and I've been to all 48 of those. That will be fun.
Aww. One of the kids Mary Anne sits for is a toddler and "this" was one of his first words. "This" and "cat" are my toddler daughter's favorite words.
Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor? Well, Japan wanted to inflict damage on the US, and in an effort to demonstrate certain strategic weaknesses, a US general orchestrated a fake attack that basically showed Japan what to do: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Mitchell_(general). The weaknesses weren't really addressed.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 8
Halloweens in 8th grade: 5 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 2
Winter holidays in 8th grade (that BSC members celebrate, not just reference): Christmas-2, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-1
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 9
BSC Fights: 10
SMS Staff and Faculty: 56
Students (other than the BSC): 183: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 6 7th graders, 43 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: 119
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
9/30/12
Dawn and Too Many Sitters (RS#98)
Original Publication Date: 1996
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
Dawn is back in Stoneybrook for the summer, and for once Jeff is visiting too. He and the Pike triplets are itching to earn money, and ask to be made BSC members. They come along to some of the jobs with different members, and often cause more problems than they solve. Making things worse, most of the BSC is trying to raise money to earn a reserved spot on the SMS summer trip to Hawaii, and they're having to split their pay with the boys. Dawn's able to make it because the school needs at least 50 people so they're willing to take non-students after students sign up. The boys end up not enjoying sitting enough to join the club, but do learn enough about it that they're helpful around kids. And the sitters are able to earn enough cash to pay for the trip plus some spending money.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Twinkies in her closet, mini Snickers under her bed, Nestle Crunch bars, Heath bars, Milky Way bars, Mallomars, Milk Duds, Ring Dings, and pretzels
Mary Anne has pierced ears? She's also apparently shrunk, since she had previously grown taller than Kristy and Mallory, at five-foot-one, is taller than Kristy, yet Mary Anne is described as just over five feet tall.
Oh, Shannon. No one cares that you can't come to the next Super Special because of summer camp. You barely count.
Their Families:
Dawn describes Richard Spier as "my stepdad" rather than "Mary Anne's dad," which implies that she feels part of the same family.
On the other hand, maybe she's trying to distance herself from her stepmother Carol, who offers cold cereal served over juice (I'm pretty sure she's serious). I once accidentally poured water on my cereal instead of milk and it was gross. It also wasn't my fault: I was around 8 and Dad would set out a bowl of cereal, a cup of milk on the left, and a cup of water on the right. I wasn't really awake one morning when they were switched.
The Club (and clients):
So honorary BSC members(who get sitting jobs) don't have to pay dues, but Claudia owed them for her time in the hospital, physically incapable of baby-sitting, recovering from the broken leg directly caused by baby-sitting. Nice.
At a meeting: "'Sit!' Kristy barked." My daughter, who will be two in late November, orders us to "SIT!" like that. Mostly when she wants us to sit next to her under a blanket, or across the room to play catch, or occasionally at the library so she can run away while we're sitting.
SMS:
School is out for the summer...for the ninth time.
PSA Time:
When changing a diaper, put the clean one under the dirty one. If there are any leaks, the new diaper will catch them.
Misc:
This is Dawn's last book of the regular series.
This is the first book that I didn't read as a kid. I remember seeing the preview blurb for it at the back of Claudia and the World's Cutest Baby and noticing that it had the F word. No, not that one. Fart. I was appalled and losing interest anyway, so I never bothered to read it or any others until I was finishing college, about a decade later.
I always, always, every time, without fail, read the word "matinee" (an afternoon showing of a movie) as "manatee" (an aquatic mammal).
On page 110 the first-person narration briefly switches from Dawn's perspective to Stacey's. And on page 130, Mathew Hobart's name is spelled wrong, becoming the more common Matthew.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 8
Halloweens in 8th grade: 5 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 2
Winter holidays in 8th grade (that BSC members celebrate, not just reference): Christmas-2, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-1
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 9
BSC Fights: 10
SMS Staff and Faculty: 56
Students (other than the BSC): 183: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 6 7th graders, 43 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: 119
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
Dawn is back in Stoneybrook for the summer, and for once Jeff is visiting too. He and the Pike triplets are itching to earn money, and ask to be made BSC members. They come along to some of the jobs with different members, and often cause more problems than they solve. Making things worse, most of the BSC is trying to raise money to earn a reserved spot on the SMS summer trip to Hawaii, and they're having to split their pay with the boys. Dawn's able to make it because the school needs at least 50 people so they're willing to take non-students after students sign up. The boys end up not enjoying sitting enough to join the club, but do learn enough about it that they're helpful around kids. And the sitters are able to earn enough cash to pay for the trip plus some spending money.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: Twinkies in her closet, mini Snickers under her bed, Nestle Crunch bars, Heath bars, Milky Way bars, Mallomars, Milk Duds, Ring Dings, and pretzels
Mary Anne has pierced ears? She's also apparently shrunk, since she had previously grown taller than Kristy and Mallory, at five-foot-one, is taller than Kristy, yet Mary Anne is described as just over five feet tall.
Oh, Shannon. No one cares that you can't come to the next Super Special because of summer camp. You barely count.
Their Families:
Dawn describes Richard Spier as "my stepdad" rather than "Mary Anne's dad," which implies that she feels part of the same family.
On the other hand, maybe she's trying to distance herself from her stepmother Carol, who offers cold cereal served over juice (I'm pretty sure she's serious). I once accidentally poured water on my cereal instead of milk and it was gross. It also wasn't my fault: I was around 8 and Dad would set out a bowl of cereal, a cup of milk on the left, and a cup of water on the right. I wasn't really awake one morning when they were switched.
The Club (and clients):
So honorary BSC members(who get sitting jobs) don't have to pay dues, but Claudia owed them for her time in the hospital, physically incapable of baby-sitting, recovering from the broken leg directly caused by baby-sitting. Nice.
At a meeting: "'Sit!' Kristy barked." My daughter, who will be two in late November, orders us to "SIT!" like that. Mostly when she wants us to sit next to her under a blanket, or across the room to play catch, or occasionally at the library so she can run away while we're sitting.
SMS:
School is out for the summer...for the ninth time.
PSA Time:
When changing a diaper, put the clean one under the dirty one. If there are any leaks, the new diaper will catch them.
Misc:
This is Dawn's last book of the regular series.
This is the first book that I didn't read as a kid. I remember seeing the preview blurb for it at the back of Claudia and the World's Cutest Baby and noticing that it had the F word. No, not that one. Fart. I was appalled and losing interest anyway, so I never bothered to read it or any others until I was finishing college, about a decade later.
I always, always, every time, without fail, read the word "matinee" (an afternoon showing of a movie) as "manatee" (an aquatic mammal).
On page 110 the first-person narration briefly switches from Dawn's perspective to Stacey's. And on page 130, Mathew Hobart's name is spelled wrong, becoming the more common Matthew.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 8
Halloweens in 8th grade: 5 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 2
Winter holidays in 8th grade (that BSC members celebrate, not just reference): Christmas-2, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-1
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 9
BSC Fights: 10
SMS Staff and Faculty: 56
Students (other than the BSC): 183: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 6 7th graders, 43 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: 119
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
9/15/12
Kristy and the Middle School Vandal (M#25)
Original Publication Date: 1996
Ghostwriter? Yes, Nola Thacker
Synopsis:
Cary Retlin challenges the BSC to a mystery war: he will leave a trail of eight clues that the BSC has six days to solve. If he wins, he gets Kristy's watch. If the BSC wins, he'll stop bugging them. It's actually pretty fun to try to figure out the clues before the BSC does.
That's the not the real mystery, of course. The Michief Knights have moved beyond simple pranks; SMS is actually being vandalized. But the trademark MK is written in green, not red like it has been in the past. This all comes at an especially bad time: the teachers are trying to negotiate a new contract and the school board is using the vandalism as proof that the teachers don't deserve a new contract. There might even be a strike. Conveniently, the last bit of the BSC's challenge is to find out who the fake Mischief Knight is, and when they do, the members of the school board who were using the vandalism as an excuse to avoid negotiations back down. The strike is averted, and so is the threat of school extending into the summer.
Subplot (or third plot?): the BSC arranges a scavenger hunt for the kids.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: mint chocolate M&Ms, all-natural potato chips
Kristy outright tells us that her bossiness is a way to be sure people don't ignore her, something she thinks would happen since she's so short.
Their Families:
Kristy's the only short one in her immediate biological family.
The Brewer-Thomas household has hamsters? Since when? No mention of Emily Jr; maybe that was supposed to be a rat. Or it's something that happened in a Little Sister book.
The Club (and clients): nothing new.
SMS:
Kristy's still the shortest student in her grade.
Claudia seems to be having more trouble with school than usual.
Despite having finished about zero chapter books back in Mary Anne Misses Logan, Cokie knows the difference between principle and principal.
New-to-us student: Troy Parker (8th)
New-to-us SMS staff: Mr. Milhaus, a janitor
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
Page 86: "It's number is one sixty-nine." It's = it is; its = possesive. Bad editor, bad!
What sort of nonsense...? Kristy, describing things that go poorly together, uses the analogy of having both sugar and salt in a recipe. Hasn't she made cookies from scratch? Most baked goods have a few teaspoons of salt in them, and a few cups of sugar.
The book is only fourteen chapters long.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 8
Halloweens in 8th grade: 5 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 2
Winter holidays in 8th grade (that BSC members celebrate, not just reference): Christmas-2, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-1
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 8
BSC Fights: 10
SMS Staff and Faculty: 56
Students (other than the BSC): 183: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 6 7th graders, 43 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: 119
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? Yes, Nola Thacker
Synopsis:
Cary Retlin challenges the BSC to a mystery war: he will leave a trail of eight clues that the BSC has six days to solve. If he wins, he gets Kristy's watch. If the BSC wins, he'll stop bugging them. It's actually pretty fun to try to figure out the clues before the BSC does.
That's the not the real mystery, of course. The Michief Knights have moved beyond simple pranks; SMS is actually being vandalized. But the trademark MK is written in green, not red like it has been in the past. This all comes at an especially bad time: the teachers are trying to negotiate a new contract and the school board is using the vandalism as proof that the teachers don't deserve a new contract. There might even be a strike. Conveniently, the last bit of the BSC's challenge is to find out who the fake Mischief Knight is, and when they do, the members of the school board who were using the vandalism as an excuse to avoid negotiations back down. The strike is averted, and so is the threat of school extending into the summer.
Subplot (or third plot?): the BSC arranges a scavenger hunt for the kids.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: mint chocolate M&Ms, all-natural potato chips
Kristy outright tells us that her bossiness is a way to be sure people don't ignore her, something she thinks would happen since she's so short.
Their Families:
Kristy's the only short one in her immediate biological family.
The Brewer-Thomas household has hamsters? Since when? No mention of Emily Jr; maybe that was supposed to be a rat. Or it's something that happened in a Little Sister book.
The Club (and clients): nothing new.
SMS:
Kristy's still the shortest student in her grade.
Claudia seems to be having more trouble with school than usual.
Despite having finished about zero chapter books back in Mary Anne Misses Logan, Cokie knows the difference between principle and principal.
New-to-us student: Troy Parker (8th)
New-to-us SMS staff: Mr. Milhaus, a janitor
PSA Time: nothing stood out.
Misc:
Page 86: "It's number is one sixty-nine." It's = it is; its = possesive. Bad editor, bad!
What sort of nonsense...? Kristy, describing things that go poorly together, uses the analogy of having both sugar and salt in a recipe. Hasn't she made cookies from scratch? Most baked goods have a few teaspoons of salt in them, and a few cups of sugar.
The book is only fourteen chapters long.
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 8
Halloweens in 8th grade: 5 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 2
Winter holidays in 8th grade (that BSC members celebrate, not just reference): Christmas-2, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-1
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 8
BSC Fights: 10
SMS Staff and Faculty: 56
Students (other than the BSC): 183: 118 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 6 7th graders, 43 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: 119
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
9/8/12
Claudia and the World's Cutest Baby (RS#97)
Original Publication Date: 1996
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
Claudia's cousin is finally born! Her aunt and uncle, Peaches and Russ, name her Lynn for Claudia Lynn Kishi, and ask Claudia to be her godmother. Claudia is ecstatic about Lynn, and wants to spend time with her and help out however she can. Pretty quickly, she goes overboard. Peaches and Russ don't really know how to tell her that they need space. Tensions rise and all parties overreact. Conveniently, Claudia finds herself dealing with an overbearing classmate on a school trip to Philadelphia. Like in a sitcom, it helps her understand the situation and everyone gets along by the end of the book.
Subplot: Marilyn and Carolyn Arnold are getting terrified by illicitly watching horror movies, but are cured after seeing a making-of documentary and realizing it's fake.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: pretzels behind some shoe boxes in her closet
Shannon's on the debate team.
Claudia points out that while Logan teases Mary Anne for getting so emotional at movies, he actually likes it because the more she cries, the more she snuggles.
Stacey has injected herself with insulin in front of Claudia and Claudia says it's not gross. Good friend! The rest of the BSC is all "EW! Your necessary for living routines are disgusting!" Although, where does Stacey inject the insulin? I had a teacher with diabetes and he told us that the injections had to be in his backside (it was relevant).
Their Families:
Hmm...it's not entirely clear whether Lynn is breastfed, bottlefed, or a combination. And Claudia gives Peaches advice on feeding techniques.
The Club (and clients):
Quick way to convince eight-year-old kids a movie is fake (if that is indeed the only reason it scares them): ask if Jurassic Park was filmed with real dinosaurs. The end. And yes, the movie was out before this book was published.
SMS:
Ms. Bernhardt's a jerk. She calls on Claudia, who makes an honest attempt to answer the question, and LAUGHS at her when she gives the wrong answer. No wonder it's hard to motivate Claudia to try in school. Oh, and I mean "jerk" as in mean person, not as in fool like the BSC uses it.
New-to-us students: Melissa Banks and Lily Karp (8th)
PSA Time:
Any time you go to visit someone in the hospital, have a nurse check to see that the patient isn't asleep or having a procedure done or something. It's rude to just barge in.
If you or your significant other goes into labor and you don't want visitors, don't tell anyone. It's easier to keep people away when they don't know. It sounds obvious, but I made that mistake, and some people just won't understand "I don't want you there" because they think you're trying to accomodating of their schedules. On a related note, if someone you know is in labor and she says not to come, don't! You can meet the baby later when it's cleaned up and its mother isn't all tired and sweaty and stuff.
Lactose intolerance is more common in people (or peoples? Janine?) of Asian descent, so it wasn't totally unreasonable for Claudia to think of it. Just unreasonable of her to butt in so much.
Misc:
Claudia describes an ultrasound image of her cousin. It sounds like she might be describing a 3D ultrasound. The technology was developed in 1987, so maybe possible...
With my daughter, I had labor induced due to preeclampsia. It took a while for things to get started. I remember telling my parents at one point that it was fine if they headed home (no more than 10 minutes away) and my dad said, "But what if she's born right after we leave?" At this point, I had been at the hospital with a Pitocin drip for more than twelve hours. I told him, "Then go! If that's all that's holding her up."
A common question I've heard about this one is how Claudia can be a godmother so young. In the Catholic church, a godparent must be at least 16, not the child's parents, and a practicing Catholic. Also, godparents aren't also guardians in the case of the parents' deaths unless specified in the parents' wills. But the Kishis aren't Catholic, so whatever kind of church they attend (although this is the first time we've seen Claudia's family do so) obviously has different rules. Now, the real question: Lynn is baptized at a Congregational church. Anyone know their rules on godparents? Or if they even practice infant baptism?
Ms. Bernhardt, you jerk, the police probably WERE thrilled when you called back to say Claudia and Melissa had been found and were safe. Police tend to like it when missing people are safe and sound. (Page 127, she yells "I had just called the police! Then I had to call them back to say 'Never mind.' Do you think they appreciated that?")
Near the end of the book, Abby asks "Are we in Hawaii yet?" Foreshadowing!
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 8
Halloweens in 8th grade: 5 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 2
Winter holidays in 8th grade (that BSC members celebrate, not just reference): Christmas-2, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-1
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 8
BSC Fights: 10
SMS Staff and Faculty: 55
Students (other than the BSC): 182 117 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 6 7th graders, 43 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: 117
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
Ghostwriter? Yes, Peter Lerangis
Synopsis:
Claudia's cousin is finally born! Her aunt and uncle, Peaches and Russ, name her Lynn for Claudia Lynn Kishi, and ask Claudia to be her godmother. Claudia is ecstatic about Lynn, and wants to spend time with her and help out however she can. Pretty quickly, she goes overboard. Peaches and Russ don't really know how to tell her that they need space. Tensions rise and all parties overreact. Conveniently, Claudia finds herself dealing with an overbearing classmate on a school trip to Philadelphia. Like in a sitcom, it helps her understand the situation and everyone gets along by the end of the book.
Subplot: Marilyn and Carolyn Arnold are getting terrified by illicitly watching horror movies, but are cured after seeing a making-of documentary and realizing it's fake.
Established or continued in this book:
The Girls (and Logan):
Claudia candy: pretzels behind some shoe boxes in her closet
Shannon's on the debate team.
Claudia points out that while Logan teases Mary Anne for getting so emotional at movies, he actually likes it because the more she cries, the more she snuggles.
Stacey has injected herself with insulin in front of Claudia and Claudia says it's not gross. Good friend! The rest of the BSC is all "EW! Your necessary for living routines are disgusting!" Although, where does Stacey inject the insulin? I had a teacher with diabetes and he told us that the injections had to be in his backside (it was relevant).
Their Families:
Hmm...it's not entirely clear whether Lynn is breastfed, bottlefed, or a combination. And Claudia gives Peaches advice on feeding techniques.
The Club (and clients):
Quick way to convince eight-year-old kids a movie is fake (if that is indeed the only reason it scares them): ask if Jurassic Park was filmed with real dinosaurs. The end. And yes, the movie was out before this book was published.
SMS:
Ms. Bernhardt's a jerk. She calls on Claudia, who makes an honest attempt to answer the question, and LAUGHS at her when she gives the wrong answer. No wonder it's hard to motivate Claudia to try in school. Oh, and I mean "jerk" as in mean person, not as in fool like the BSC uses it.
New-to-us students: Melissa Banks and Lily Karp (8th)
PSA Time:
Any time you go to visit someone in the hospital, have a nurse check to see that the patient isn't asleep or having a procedure done or something. It's rude to just barge in.
If you or your significant other goes into labor and you don't want visitors, don't tell anyone. It's easier to keep people away when they don't know. It sounds obvious, but I made that mistake, and some people just won't understand "I don't want you there" because they think you're trying to accomodating of their schedules. On a related note, if someone you know is in labor and she says not to come, don't! You can meet the baby later when it's cleaned up and its mother isn't all tired and sweaty and stuff.
Lactose intolerance is more common in people (or peoples? Janine?) of Asian descent, so it wasn't totally unreasonable for Claudia to think of it. Just unreasonable of her to butt in so much.
Misc:
Claudia describes an ultrasound image of her cousin. It sounds like she might be describing a 3D ultrasound. The technology was developed in 1987, so maybe possible...
With my daughter, I had labor induced due to preeclampsia. It took a while for things to get started. I remember telling my parents at one point that it was fine if they headed home (no more than 10 minutes away) and my dad said, "But what if she's born right after we leave?" At this point, I had been at the hospital with a Pitocin drip for more than twelve hours. I told him, "Then go! If that's all that's holding her up."
A common question I've heard about this one is how Claudia can be a godmother so young. In the Catholic church, a godparent must be at least 16, not the child's parents, and a practicing Catholic. Also, godparents aren't also guardians in the case of the parents' deaths unless specified in the parents' wills. But the Kishis aren't Catholic, so whatever kind of church they attend (although this is the first time we've seen Claudia's family do so) obviously has different rules. Now, the real question: Lynn is baptized at a Congregational church. Anyone know their rules on godparents? Or if they even practice infant baptism?
Ms. Bernhardt, you jerk, the police probably WERE thrilled when you called back to say Claudia and Melissa had been found and were safe. Police tend to like it when missing people are safe and sound. (Page 127, she yells "I had just called the police! Then I had to call them back to say 'Never mind.' Do you think they appreciated that?")
Near the end of the book, Abby asks "Are we in Hawaii yet?" Foreshadowing!
The numbers:
Starting 8th grade: 8
Halloweens in 8th grade: 5 (plus one in seventh)
Thanksgivings in 8th grade: 2
Winter holidays in 8th grade (that BSC members celebrate, not just reference): Christmas-2, Hanukkah-1, Kwanzaa-1
Valentine's Days in 8th grade: 3
Summers after 8th grade: 8
BSC Fights: 10
SMS Staff and Faculty: 55
Students (other than the BSC): 182 117 8th graders (not including Amelia Freeman, who is deceased), 6 7th graders, 43 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: 117
Crushes:
Stacey-11
Claudia-9
Dawn-5
Jessi-3
Mallory-2
Mary Anne-2
Kristy-1
Abby-0
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