Karen's Haircut

Baby-Sitters Little Sister #8

by Ann M. Martin

Karen feels like an ugly duckling. Her baby teeth are all falling out, and she has to wear glasses, too! Karen needs a new haircut to make her look glamorous.

But the beauty parlor lady cuts Karen's hair all wrong. Now she's uglier than ever! What will all the kids at school say?

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade, Contemporary, Juvenile, Realistic Fiction, Drama

102 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1990

About the author

Ann Matthews Martin was born on August 12, 1955. She grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, with her parents and her younger sister, Jane. After graduating from Smith College, Ann became a teacher and then an editor of children's books. She's now a full-time writer.

Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.

Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.

Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.

After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...

Reviews

[FIND ME ON STORYGRAPH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seriously, the premise of this book is that Karen accidentally gets a mullet and her life is ruined. What's not to love?

[Chloe (Always Booked) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't my favorite. It's emphasis on physical beauty is strong and there is the underlying message that beauty outside is not what matters but it just didn't hammer that home enough. The kids are terrible to each other because of how they look and I hate reading about that- even if it is reality.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

In which Karen gets a mullet.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun book, and I do love reading this series with my kindergartner. However, this book is too focused on Karen’s looks, in my opinion.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hannie was the worst. First of all, she planned to pretend marry Scott, a boy she hardly knew. I disliked the pretend marriage plot in this book (and in subsequent books). Secondly, she criticized Karen's appearance and rescinded her offer to let Karen be one of her bridesmaids. ". . . 'But your hair and your teeth are still the same?' asked Hannie. 'Yes,' I admitted. 'Then you can’t be in my wedding,' Hannie told me. 'No way! I only want a beautiful, perfect bridesmaid in my wedding. You are not perfect.'" I was glad when Hannie changed her mind about appearances and let Karen be her bridesmaid after all.

I liked Karen's attempts to become more 'glamorous' by changing her name, wearing a ton of jewelry (including eight rings she got from the dentist's office), and applying her mother's makeup. "I smeared the lipstick all over my mouth. I did not look exactly the way Mommy does when she wears lipstick, but I looked pretty interesting. Maybe glamorous. One thing was for sure: I was the only second-grader wearing lipstick. And an ankle bracelet."

[Jaclyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is kinda sweet and sad. Poor Karen feels ugly coz of her glasses, rabbit teeth, and gaps from fallen-out baby teeth. So she gets a fancy new haircut to feel better but it turns out terrible.

I feel for Karen seeing the hair disaster coming but being too shy to speak up in the salon. And also for her body image issues.

Boo on Hannie for being a bridezilla at like 7, and telling Karen she can't be her bridesmaid at her wedding to Scott coz Karen's haircut is so terrible. Boo, Hannie!

But also lol karma when Hannie loses a couple teeth and is no longer perfect either.

And awww Scott for saying he's marrying Hannie, not her looks. What a mature little boy. He'll make a sweet boyfriend and husband someday.

[Jayde Meng · Rating 1 out of 5]

My honest opinion? Horrible. Karen whines a lot about the most trifle things. She also brags a lot. All in all, not a very likable character. And no matter her mistakes, she never learns or changes. No offense to lovers.

[Ginger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the babysitter's club, but sometimes Karen can be spoiled. First of all, she got her nails done and got her hair cut. Gloriana was mean to cut Karen's hair the way she (Gloriana) wanted it. Upsetting!!! :(

[AllyP Reads Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book after reading the graphic novel version and wanting to know if the situation in the salon was handled better. It wasn't. I can pretty much just copy and paste my review of that book here with some changes:
Book was okay but serious issues. Karen wants a haircut and gives the stylist a picture of what she wants. The stylist does something completely different that looks ridiculous, but nothing happens. Her mom doesn't say anything. WTH? If someone did that to my six-year-old, they would feel my wrath. I would absolutely go ape shit on that bitch about how could someone ignore what a child asked for and reduce them to tears. Very disappointing. Karen probably wouldn't have felt so bad about the haircut if she had a story to tell about how her mom stood up to the stylist and reduced HER to tears right in the middle of her salon.
It's also utter nonsense that the fifth grade girls would find Karen's stupid-looking haircut so great they would get it themselves. It's a mullet!
The wedding is also extremely bizarre. I don't find it offensive as others do, but I don't get what the point is. If this were something impromptu, that would make sense, but I don't understand a pretend wedding that goes through weeks of preparation and planning.

[Sayo -bibliotequeish-]

Karen gets a mullet.

When you were too old for childrens books, but too young for The Baby Sitters Club.
Ann M. Martin really is a genius to piggy back on the success of The Baby Sitters Club.

After reading the little sisters series I remember feeling like a real adult opening up that first BSC book.

[Elise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Karen is feeling bad about her looks, especially after she lost two teeth. She goes to the salon to get her nails done and hair cut, but the hairdresser gave her a mullet she didn't ask for. Hannie treated her really badly as a result, and Karen was trying to put flowers in her hair and wear makeup to school to deal with the changes.

[Brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fast read to see if it’s appropriate for a student I tutor and the answer is no.

To be fair it was written in 1990 but holy patriarchy

7 year olds playing brides. Kids making fun of other kids for not looking perfect and more

Perhaps if it’s re written for 2022 as the graphic novel I will do that with my student but as is it’s going back to the library

Hard pass for 2022.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first Stoneybrook-related story I ever read; I got this book and a few other Karen books for my eighth birthday, which started my lifelong obsession with all things BSC. So Karen's Haircut will always hold a special spot in my heart because of that.

[Andrew Dittmar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 62nd book I've read in The Babysitter's Club universe. As a 28-year-old guy who was in just second grade when the series' initial publishing run concluded, I find myself enjoying them more than I would have thought but rarely anything I relate to.

This one, I related to.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually read the reissued version of this book, but I vastly prefer this older cover, where Karen is sporting what appears to be a mullet.

I'm not sure if anything changed between this one and the reissue, but either way it was fun to revisit.

[Christina Mages · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book when I was a young girl. But I love reading them now as an adult. I love the lessons they teack

[Eliana · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a disaster! Karen's hair gets cut wrong, her two front teeth are missing, and she has to wear glasses too! Stay tuned for how things turn around! I hope you like this book.

[Alice E · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was funny when Karen saw her haircut. She was so surprised! I wanted ice cream when she got it.

[Kaprisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved it
.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

A children's book in which a hair stylist gets the inexplicable idea that a seven-year-old girl would want a mullet. Somehow she stays in business for a long time afterward, even though Karen's haircut becomes common lore for the BSC characters of where not to go for a haircut.

The chapters about Karen at the salon were written in an understandably frightening way, when Karen is calling for her mother (who had stepped out for a moment for something minor). Even an outgoing girl like Karen is scared to tell a stranger something basic like "I don't like this" or "Please stop. I want my mom." She doesn't want to be rude, so she stays mostly quiet until Gloriana finishes.

Nonetheless, Karen handled the unfortunate haircut a lot better at age seven than I would have when I was twice her age. She is horrified at first, but most of her friends and family support her. Hannie doesn't, and it seemed a little out of character. I like that Karen started to dress up her hair with (fake) flowers. Good for her for taking charge of her appearance in a positive way.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought Glorina was mean to not cut Karen's hair the way she wanted. She said it was the new style of the year but it was not cute. Karen was too afraid to tell her to stop cutting it that way. I was wondering what the kids at Karens school would say about her haircut. They called her the Bride of Frankenstein. I liked how her friend Hannie still let her be a bridesmaid at her wedding.

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked that she had a really weird haircut

[Savannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was amazing! I liked it because it had surprises on every turn!

[Shannon]

SPOILER ALERT!!! SHE GOT A MULLET!!!

[Emilie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved these books so much when I was little! :)

[Melenia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loved these books as a child

[Ipalleylawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

i have not read it

[christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

read for S.S.R. time in 5th grade, I was a baby sitter's club fiend!

[Rose 'I Have Too Many Books To Read And No More Room' Barrientos · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really a fan of Karen books at all....but man was it good to see Karen finally having karma bite her in the ass.

[Sally · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bad haircut to match bad glasses! Totally made me too scared to have my hair cut for like a year.