Girl of the Year 2023: It's Showtime, Kavi!

Author: Varsha Bajaj
Illustrator: Pavarti Pallai
Published: 2023

Summary

The book opens on the twelfth birthday of Kavika "Kavi" Sharma, who lives in a New Jersey suburb by New York City with her parents, younger brother Rishi, and Dadima (Hindi for paternal grandmother). She has plenty of reasons to be happy, including getting tickets to see Wicked on Broadway with her two best friends, Sophie and Pari. Even better, her school is going to host a talent show revue! Kavi just knows that she, Sophie, and Pari can impress everyone.

But that doesn't stop life from happening, especially now that her mom has re-entered the workforce. Kavi finds her self missing more and more details as she gets distracted by her passion for the stage. It's not long before Kavi feels overwhelmed and stuck. A lot of people offer help and support with varying success, but Kavi even considers quitting the revue. It's just too much. After a few days though, Kavi is able to overcome her worries and she dances with her best friends on stage, loving every minute. She even decides to try for the spring musical Annie and gets the part of one of the orphans. Pari is another, and Sophie is happy to be assigned to the stage crew.

That doesn't solve everything though. Kavi is still struggling with organization, focus, time blindness, executive function--does any of this sound familiar? It sounds like ADD or ADHD, and Kavi doesn't have any coping skills to manage it. And another fly in the ointment: a storm knocks a tree into the arts wing. There's no more stage to perform on; they might need to use the cafeteria. There is a community college with an auditorium, but the rental is expensive. Even with Kavi and the others coming up with fundraising ideas like selling cookies, shirts, and doing a car wash, they can't raise enough. Kavi asks if anyone has approached the community college to see if they can get a break on the rental given the situation. A quote from Meet Samantha comes to mind: "The worst she can say is 'no.'" 

It's a good thing Kavi suggested talking to the community college. The powers that be allow the group an extension: they have until the end of the school year to pay off the remainder of the fee and the show can go on. Kavi and her friends have an amazing time, and Kavi now feels confident that while she does need more than most to try to focus, she can do it.

Misc 

The author dedicates her book to "Karishma and all the amazing Desi girls."

Huh. My younger brother used to call me "Didi" because he couldn't pronounce my name (never mind that my name has neither Ds nor Is in it). We never figured out how he came up with it. The Hindi word for "big sister" is Didi. I'm not sure how it's pronounced; my brother said it like "dee-dee."

There's a scene of Kavi mixing the ingredients for cookies, and by the dialogue you can pretty easily get the recipe. But I don't know anyone who would expositionally declare, "Put in two cups of all-purpose flour!" Everyone I know would just say "flour." There's quite a bit of exposition dumped in, but this is the one that stands out the most.

The science teacher is named Mr. Proton. *eyeroll*

I thought this book was heading to Kavi getting an official diagnosis of ADD or other neurodiveregence. The scene with her dad helping her focus could have been worked in with him realizing through his daughter's diagnosis that maybe he has something going on, too. It seems like a missed opportunity.

This book moves at a break-neck speed. Kavi is an energetic, outgoing young woman, and the writing portrays it SO WELL.

Stacey's Mistake (GN#14)

 Publication Date: 2023

Ghostwriter? No, the text copyright is for Ann M. Martin.

Illustrator: Ellen Crenshaw, with color by Braden Lamb and Hank Jones

Synopsis:

The plot is, as expected, pretty much like the non-graphic version, although here the need for sitters is because of a fundraiser for a community theater rather than a meeting of the residents of Stacey's apartment building, and Mallory and Jessi are able to visit as well.

Established or continued in this book:

The Girls (and Logan):

Claudia candy: none mentioned

Reuniting in New York City

Their Families: 

Tigger!

The Club (and clients): 

When Stacey takes the club around to meet the families they'll be sitting, I was surprised to see Stacey call the first mother by her first name. I do NOT like being called Mrs. LastName, and encourage everyone regardless of age to just call me by my first name. I know that the BSC books were written a little while ago when it was more common for children to default to Mr. and Mrs. LastName for adults, so I figured this was an update. Then I realized that Stacey was greeting the nanny, not the mother--so she calls The Help by their first names, but not other adults...?

SMS: nothing new

PSA Time: nothing stood out

Misc:

Martin dedicates this book to her new godson, Andrew Cleveland Gordon.

Crenshaw dedicates it to "Chris and Erin, my first--and best--baby-sitters. May our fledgling film series, The Average Family, live forever in legend and infamy."

Laine

Stacey's party

The man with the long beard, tricycle, and cats in the wagon!
I remember him distinctly from the original book.

Adventures with Claudie

 Author: Brit Bennett

Illustrator: Laura Freeman

Publication Date: 2023

Plot

Excited as she is for the road trip down to Georgia and to meet her mother's family, Claudie finds herself missing Harlem pretty quickly. The two are traveling down with her mother's cousin Sidney, who tells Claudie about the family she'll be meeting on the Georgia farm, including eleven-year-old twin cousins and Claudie's maternal grandmother. 

He and Mama also warn Claudie about dangers they might face. Sidney never goes even a mile over the speed limit, for fear of giving a racist highway patrol office a reason to pull him over. They skip some gas stations, because they're in sundown towns. The three must be on their best behavior, and not draw attention to themselves. 

Once at the family farm, Claudie feels more at ease. She's welcomed with open arms and Southern hospitality (and, having been spoiled by not only my grandmother but also her two sisters in Atlanta, I can tell you it's awesome). Her cousins teach her to climb trees, and her grandmother tells her stories about the family and also folk stories that Claudie's never heard before. 

But the unfairness of Jim Crow laws, segregation, and racist hatred can't be ignored. A nearby farm, also owned by a Black family, is torched by an arsonist. Claudie's grandmother says that trying to find out who did it will just cause more problems, but Claudie knows that Mama can't leave the story alone. She and her cousins follow Mama when she goes to investigate the burnt property at night, and end up having to hide from the local sheriff who threateningly tells Mama to leave. Back at the family farm, Claudie accuses Mama of ignoring the desires of the people who live there and just wanting fame. In the morning, Claudie apologizes for her outburst, and Mama apologizes for her deception. She tells Claudie that as a young girl, she witnessed a lynching, and it motivated her to leave her childhood home and to tell the world about what was happening to inspire people to change the world for the better. Change like how Claudie's trying to save the boarding house. She also tells Claudie that she doesn't have to write about the way things are--she can write about the way she hopes things will be.

Back home in Harlem, Claudie and the rest of the boarders finalize plans for the variety show. The morning of, Claudie is thrilled to learn they've sold enough tickets to pay the back rent. Now they can perform the show with that weight gone!

The story Claudie tells is a version of one her grandmother told her, "The People Who Could Fly," which is about the people taken from Africa as slaves. In the story, they originally had wings, but lost them crossing the Atlantic. They still possessed the magic though, and one day, a man who knew the magic told the other slaves, and they sprouted wings and flew back their homes in Africa. In Claudie's version, they fly to Harlem.

Inside Claudie's World

This time, this section explains in more detail the overt racism that was prevalent in the pre-Civil Rights South, and present but less blatant in other parts of the country. It also talks about the rich tradition and history of story-telling among African Americans in the South.

Misc

Bennett dedicates the book to her family.

The same group of people advised this book as did Meet Claudie. 

At one point, Mama tells Claudie stories about Br'er Rabbit. I recently read Who's Afraid of the Song of the South, an interesting book about controversial Disney publications. Among other things, I learned that Br'er is short for "Brother" and not a version of "briar" as I'd previously thought.

"Claudie could hear owls swooping overhead." No, she couldn't. Owls have specialized flight feathers; they are silent when they fly. I've had large owls fly just feet from me (I live by a greenbelt; there are barred owls) and you can't hear a thing even though you can nearly touch them. The hooting, yes; the flying, no. It makes me very glad I'm not a prey animal to owls because I wouldn't stand a chance.

Claudie's books are, of course, primarily to teach about the historical facts of a Black girl's experience in the 1920s, and to impress upon the reader the importance of anti-racism. But there's also a persistent thread of responsible journalism and making sure the facts are accurate, which is important as well.

Claudie meets Langston Hughes! He sweetly encourages her that if she's written a sketch, she doesn't just want to be a writer: she already is a writer.

I really liked Claudie's books, but they feel incomplete. Yes, we know what happens with the boarding house, but there are other loose ends like the news stories Mama was working on and the family in Georgia. What happens next? I don't know if there are plans to publish any more books about her story. I hope we get more than two not-even-eighty-page books. I know the last historical character (Courtney) had shorter books too, but her story felt complete.

Meet Claudie

Author: Brit Bennett

Illustrator: Laura Freeman

Publication Date: 2022

Plot

Nine-year-old Claudie Wells loves living in 1920s Harlem, New York, but she feels out of place. It seems everyone else has some sort of artistic talent, from dance to painting to poetry to the culinary arts. Claudie hasn't found her talent yet. Her father, a veteran of the Great War in the Harlem Hellfighters, reassures her that when started baking, his creations both looked and tasted terrible, but he practiced and now his beautiful cakes are famous in the neighborhood. But Claudie still feels like she doesn't belong, especially after her mother, a reporter for the Amderstam News, doesn't want Claudie coming on a trip to her mother's childhood home in Georgia. Claudie figures her mother views Claudie as a bother.

Still, Claudie is determined that this summer will be summer she finds a talent. She talks to many artists she knows in the neighborhood, learning about what fuels their passions and why they've followed the paths they have. And while she is enjoying learning about everyone, there's sometimes an unsettling undercurrent. People talk about leaving places where they weren't welcome due to the color of their skin, her father has nightmares about his time in the war and also laments the racism he and other veterans received upon returning home to America, her mother is writing an article about a lynching, the woman who runs the boarding house where her family lives is facing eviction... Suddenly, there are bigger problems than Claudie wanting to find her talent.

Pondering the problems one night, Claudie hits on the idea to coordinate a variety show and charge money for tickets. The money will make up the back rent the boarding house owes, and let Claudie and everyone else stay. Just as I was thinking Claudie's talent was going to be organizing things like Samantha, one of the other tenants says she'll only help if Claudie performs too--why not a puppet show like Claudie puts on for her little brother? But what to write about...

It's in talking to her mother that Claudie figures it out: she's going to accompany her on the trip to Georgia and find something to inspire her.

Inside Claudie's World

The historical retrospective talks about the Harlem Renaissance, and how it happened against the backdrop of numerous racist atrocities like lynchings. Harlem was, for some, a refuge from the danger that lurked in other parts of the country. But even there, there was segregation--Claudie and her brother attend a baseball game, but this is well before Jackie Robinson's time, so the league are separated by race. The progress in Harlem helped people believe more progress was possible. 

Misc

Bennett dedicates the book to all her "teachers who encouraged me to love books." There's also a forward that details how Bennett grew up loving reading, including the Addy books, and how she looked up to the author, Connie Porter, and even got to speak with Porter over the phone.

Advisors for the book include Keisha N. Blain, an author who teaches at the University of Pittsburgh (the field isn't specified); Marcia Chatelain, author and professor of history and African American studies at Georgetown University; Spencer R. Crew, the Clarence J. Robinson Professor of History at George Mason University, president of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, and director of the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian; Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, an author and the Victor S. Thomas Processor of History and of African and African American students at Harvard; and Shannon King, author and associate professor of history at Fairfield University.

Just before the first page of the book, there's a note that the dialogue is period-accurate and thus uses now-outdated terms like "colored" and "Negro" to refer to Black people, and explains that while they wouldn't be used in most places today, they would have been used in Claudie's time and location.

It's 1922, and the narration implies that people are already calling the Great War "World War I." That didn't happen for a bit, until World War II, outside of a memoir by English soldier Charles a Court Repington.

I like this sentiment: "[Claudie] knew that a friend offering to teach you something she loved was offering you a special gift."

The Complete Guide to the Baby-sitters Club

Published in 1996, around the same time as Kristy's Worst Idea

Ghostwriter? Yes, David Levithan. Kim Dooley, Janet Vultee, Veronia Ambrose, Olivia Ford, and Charles Agvent also help fact-check.

The 347-page book is divided into fact-filled sections on the club, the club members, their family members, their clients, other people in Stoneybrook, the city itself, different kid-related things specific to the series, and people and other things encounter by the club outside of Stoneybrook. I'm going to skim through them and see how they compare to what I gleaned from my re-read of the series that I began over a decade ago when I started this blog! The book is FAR more detailed, so I'll mention things that stand out.

The sections on the club and its clients includes details about individual items different members have in their Kid-Kits. It also has information on different events the club has organized, such as the fundraiser for the Zuni children in Dawn and the Big Sleepover. The Guide includes client families that I didn't: ones they won't work with again like the Gardellas who accused Stacey of stealing a diamond ring in Stacey and the Missing Ring or one-off families. There's a TON of information on each family! I counted BSC families, like the Pikes, while the Guide doesn't. I also included the Ohdners, who are mentioned but never featured in the books.

Kristy's section includes her full name, Kristin Amanda Thomas, and birthday (August 20 at 4:00am). According to the Guide, her mom wanted to have another biological child, but she and Watson opted for adoption due to her age. Ben Brewer (yes, the ghost) has an entire paragraph and Karen and Andrew's mother Lisa has a long one, but their stepfather Seth only has seven words in two sentence fragments.

Claudia's section includes her full name, Claudia Lynn Kishi, and birthday (July 11 at 4:36am). The Guide was published just before Claudia gets sent back to seventh grade.

Stacey's section includes her full name, Anastasia Elizabeth McGill, and birthday (April 3 at 2:22am). Strangely, her quitting and rejoining the BSC is omitted.

Mary Anne's section includes her September 22 birthday, but not a time. There's no acknowledgement of her mother's name changing from Abigail to Alma.

Dawn's section includes her full name, Dawn Read Schafer, and her February 5 birthday, but not a time. The Guide was published before her baby sister was born.

Abby's section is titled Abigail (Abby) Stevenson, with no middle name specified. It includes her October 15 birthday, but not a time.

Jessi's section includes her full name, Jessica Davis Ramsey, and her June 30 birthday, but not a time. There's no mention of her parents' fertility struggles and two late miscarriages/early stillbirths. It does include a list of ballet terminology.

Mallory's section makes no mention of a middle name. Her birthday is May 2. Her hair is described as chestnut brown, and it often is in the books, but it's always depicted as red in the illustrations and on TV and film. Even in this book, about fifty pages after her hair is first described as chestnut brown, Mallory is mentioned as the Pike with hair that's more reddish than anyone else's. The once-mentioned cat Sarge has a brief entry, and is confirmed to be deceased.

Logan's section makes no mention of a middle name. His birthday is January 10.

Shannon's sections includes her full name, Shannon Louisa Kilbourne, and her birthday is March 17. Her parents' strained marriage is omitted.

None of the baby-sitters were born in the same month as another, and none were born in November (I was, though!). The entries include their addresses, and their adult family members are listed very formally (e.g.; Dawn's stepmother is Ms. Carol Olson). The sections on the club members' family include extended family members if they were mentioned in the books.

The entry on Stoneybrooke Middle School lists a few teachers I missed: Mr. Bailey (English), Mr. Bellafatto (substitute), Mr. Drubek (helped with the school production of Peter Pan), Ms. Flood (unspecified), and Mr. Leavitt and Mr. Mills (track and field coach and football coach, respectively--although you don't need to be staff or faculty to coach, so maybe?).

I also missed these students: Jennifer Abrams, Roger Bucknell, Madeline Carver, Franklin Enell, Jason Henderson, Bobby Henson, Andrea Kirkland, Francie Ledbetter, Beverly McManiman, Terry Morgan, Darcy Morgan,  Rodge Somerset, Amelia White, Correen ?, Danni?, Sean?, and Tallie ?. It seems I missed students and teachers mostly in Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation, Starring the Baby-sitters Club!, and Kristy and the Copycat.

Mariah and Miranda Shillaber have a combined entry.

After the information on the faculty, staff, and students at SMS, the Guide lists other middle-school-aged characters the BSC comes across in the books, like the students in Jessi's ballet class. It then moves on to other Stoneybrook area residents. It does NOT list information about the school itself that I did, like its start and stop times and that Mallory and Jessi met on the playground which mysteriously disappears in later books. The next section has some more details about SMS but not those ones.

Next is a section about Stoneybrook itself, including locations. The back of the book folds out into a map!

The next section is a listing of basically the rest of the miscellaneous things not yet mentioned, including Kristy's Krushers and the Baby-sitters Agency. There's even a list of books, most with one-sentence synopses, that are mentioned in the series. Even the fictional ones--although those are specified as being "only available in Stoneybrook."

Finally, there's a section for all the people, places, things, and ideas mentioned in the series outside of Stoneybrook, including what shows up in Dawn's California books (not including the California Diaries, which hadn't started yet--interestingly, nothing is said of Jill Henderson being less mature than Dawn's other CA friends). It's divided into California, Hawaii, Kentucky (only mentions two kids who Logan baby-sat), Maynard, IA; New York City; Camp Mohawk, NY; Oakley, NJ; the Ocean Princess cruise ship; Sea City, NJ; Pine Island, ME; Reese, ME; Shadow Lake, MA; and Leicester Lodge, VT.

Absolutely tons of information in this book! Being published when it was, it doesn't include the last 31 regular series books, the last two Super Specials, mysteries from #27 on, about half the Portrait Collections, half the Super Mysteries, or any of the California Diaries or Friends Forever books. But it's still an interesting and thorough resource.

But there's no list of the types of candy in Claudia's room.

The Baby-sitters Club Notebook

Written by Sonia Black and Pat Brigandi, designed by Ira Hechtlinger, Published in 1987, around the same time as Dawn and the Impossible Three, Kristy's Big Day, Claudia and Mean Janine, and Boy-Crazy Stacey.

This is a pretty much a rough draft of last month's Guide to Baby-sitting. It's only 62 pages long instead of 128, and was published six years and dozens of books earlier. 

While the Guide to Baby-sitting is much more fleshed out, this one includes some silly jokes for young kids and more snack recipes. Half the slim book is fill-in-the-blank guides for various record-keeping like client information.

The Baby-sitters Club Guide to Baby-sitting

Original Publication Date: 1993 (around the time of Get Well Soon, Mallory! and  Dawn and the Surfer Ghost)

Ghostwriter? Yes and no--Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner, ghostwriting team of several books, are directly credited on the title page, but the spine of the book still lists the author's last name as Martin.

Synopsis

The book opens with a forward from Ann M. Martin, who reminds the readers that although baby-sitting can be unpredictable, knowing what to do in emergencies and in likely scenarios (e.g.; a child crying when the parents leave) will help you feel more confident and keep calm. 

This is followed by a sentence or two from each of the then-current baby-sitters (Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, Stacey, Dawn, Mallory, Logan, Jessi, and Shannon) explaining what they think makes a good baby-sitter.

From there, the book is divided into five sections: Baby-sitting (the basics of what to expect, how to advertise, and ideas of what do with your charges), Baby-sitting Clubs (ideas of how to run one and information on some real clubs across the US), Dear Ann (letters from BSC readers), Household and Medical Emergencies and First Aid (from bumps and bruises to loss of conscious and trouble breathing, including when to call for an adult or a medical professional), and My Baby-sitting Record Book (a fill-in-the-blank sample of what a baby-sitter might want to keep a log of).

Part I: Baby-sitting

The book does a good job of providing a variety of ways to learn about baby-sitting. I also like that it recommends checking the local going rate for baby-sitters, so that you can set your prices accordingly, and suggests considering charging more for late hours. It has a lot of good advice to help a new baby-sitter not get in too deep, and be prepared. There are tips geared for different age levels, too, including safety concerns (e.g.; if you're watching an infant, don't pack choking hazards in your Kid- Kit). It really covers everything, including how to handle parents who can't pay (write them a bill, give them a week to remember, then call) and what to do if the parents seem under the influence and you're not comfortable with them driving you home (call your own parents or another trusted licensed driver for a ride and be firm in refusing a ride from the parents).

Part II: Baby-sitting Clubs

There's basic information you might want to set up your own club, and advice from four real clubs in the US.

Part III: Dear Ann

Most of the letters seem pretty run-of-the-mill ("What's a good activity for a wide age range?" "Art!"). One deals with a client who routinely ends up watching eight children at once when only expecting two, which Martin calls out as unsafe even by daycare ratio standards, and encourages the letter-writer to speak up, perhaps with a parent's help.

Part IV: Household and Medical Emergencies and First Aid

There's some really solid advice here. The books goes into different scenarios, some of which can be handled by a baby-sitters (power outage, lightning storm) and some of which require professionals. There's even a part about what to expect when calling 9-1-1. It's a valuable read for any age, really.

Part V: My Baby-sitting Record Book

This has a client directory with spaces for specific information on each charge, such as allergies and favorite toys. There's also a blank calendar to fill in, a spreadsheet to keep track of earnings, and lined paper to serve as a notebook. I bought this book second-hand; it was previously owned by a Krystle Sword, but nothing is filled out.

Misc

Special thanks is given to Dr, Mark Sorenson, MD, and Beth Sorenson, P-AC, for their help with the first aid and emergency sections.

While Hodges Soileau is credited for the cover art as usual, Tony Talarico illustrated the medical and first aid pictures and Nancy Didion illustrated the other interior pictures.

The book has tidbits of advice "from" the members of the BSC sprinkled in, all in their own handwriting. In her first note Claudia thanks Mary Anne for helping her with spelling, and her entries are without their usual grammatical and spelling errors.

Karen's Birthday (LSGN#6)

Publication date: 2023

Ghostwriter? No, the text copyright is for Ann M. Martin

Illustrators: Katy Farina, with color by Braden Lamb

Synopsis:

Karen is about to turn seven, and all she wants for her birthday is for everyone in her family to be together. 

That is, her mom and stepdad AND her dad and stepmom AND Andrew and her other siblings and Nannie. Her mom and dad don't talk much anymore, and the rare conversations tend to devolve into fights. What if... could Karen find a way to get her mom and dad talking, and maybe they could get married again?

Karen knows the fastest way to get her mom and dad to talk is for them to come together over a problem. So she makes problems: when she gets hurt at school, she secretly calls her dad to pick her up while the school nurse calls her mom. She pretends to be a selfish monster over her birthday, forcing her parents to call each other.

Of course, it's not going to work. With help from Nannie and Seth (her stepdad), Karen is finally able to tell her mom and dad what's bothering her. They don't give her any false hope, but do acknowledge that at least as long as they're raising Karen and Andrew together, they need to communicate effectively. And they need to remember that Karen and Andrew are only seven and four--they're going to need help navigating the divorce and remarriages and complicated (though loving) families. When Karen's mom and stepdad arrive to pick her and Andrew up from her dad's house, they actually come inside and chat a little. It's not the party Karen wanted, but for a few minutes, her WHOLE family is under one roof.

Continuity related to BSC books:

Emily Junior, the rat, is now part of the (Little House) family.

Misc:

Martin dedicates this book to "the Fultons--Pam and Jim, Andrew and Patrick." Farina dedicates it to "my grandma, who gives the best hugs and makes the best pasta."

Instead of the party Karen was hoping for, she gets a fancy dinner at her mom's house, and a day at the circus with the Big House family and some friends, plus cupcakes at school. She does have fun, but it's so understandable that she'd want her family to be able to all be together.

It will never not be weird to see a smartphone in BSC media.

Andrew, with Seth's help, makes Karen a rat maze for Emily Junior. It's a very thoughtful present, and Karen's favorite of the ones she gets.

I distinctly remember the whole scene with Karen peeking at her presents. I've done it, too!

Of all the Little Sister books I remember (I didn't read all of them), this one made me feel for Karen the most. She and Andrew are the only links between two families, and they want to have the people they love together--but those two families don't exist in the same circles. Karen can certainly be annoying, but in this book I just want to comfort her.