What do you think?
Rate this book
The Baby-Sitters Club #5
Dawn and the Impossible Three
The hit series returns to charm and inspire another generation of baby-sitters!
As the newest member of the BSC, Dawn is eager to prove herself. So when a big job comes along, she jumps at the chance to show everyone what she's made of.
The Barretts are even more challenging than Dawn expected. The house is a mess, Mrs. Barrett is unreliable, and the kids are out of control. Dawn knows she's a great baby-sitter, but this is impossible! She only knows one thing for sure--a member of the BSC never gives up!
The best friends you'll ever have--with classic BSC covers and a letter from Ann M. Martin!
As the newest member of the BSC, Dawn is eager to prove herself. So when a big job comes along, she jumps at the chance to show everyone what she's made of.
The Barretts are even more challenging than Dawn expected. The house is a mess, Mrs. Barrett is unreliable, and the kids are out of control. Dawn knows she's a great baby-sitter, but this is impossible! She only knows one thing for sure--a member of the BSC never gives up!
The best friends you'll ever have--with classic BSC covers and a letter from Ann M. Martin!
178 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 1987
320 people are currently reading
1977 people want to read
About the author
Ann M. Martin
1,036 books3,028 followersAnn 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...
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...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 326 reviews
July 15, 2020
Dawn was always my least favourite of the Babysitters Club. There was always something about her self righteous healthy eating hippy vibe that I hated as a kid. I can confirm that rereading as an adult, she's still my least favourite.
In this installment we are introduced to newly divorced Mrs Barrett and her three kids Buddy, Susie and Marnie. Not going to lie, aside from the comments about Mrs Barrett being unbelievably chic and gorgeous, I could relate. Give the woman a break. Her ex-husband is clearly a jerk who won't pay his child support and she's having to juggle twenty things at a time. Adulting is hard. She doesn't need any judgy comments about her dirty house Dawn.
I did chuckle at the conversation between Dawn and her mother about buying premade potato salad at the grocery store. Sharon is amazed that you could even get that kind of thing in a shop and she doesn't have to make stuff for the BBQ. Revolutionary.
In this installment we are introduced to newly divorced Mrs Barrett and her three kids Buddy, Susie and Marnie. Not going to lie, aside from the comments about Mrs Barrett being unbelievably chic and gorgeous, I could relate. Give the woman a break. Her ex-husband is clearly a jerk who won't pay his child support and she's having to juggle twenty things at a time. Adulting is hard. She doesn't need any judgy comments about her dirty house Dawn.
I did chuckle at the conversation between Dawn and her mother about buying premade potato salad at the grocery store. Sharon is amazed that you could even get that kind of thing in a shop and she doesn't have to make stuff for the BBQ. Revolutionary.
January 24, 2021
It’s our California girl’s first BSC book! Dawn, whose hair I wanted when I was growing up and whose potentially haunted 1795 farmhouse I still want to live in, or at least have a chance to explore, is the BSC’s Alternate Officer.
So, what’s an Alternate Officer? Well, basically Dawn’s the understudy for all of the other roles and she’s ready to jump right in there and fill in if any of the other members can’t perform her duty for whatever reason. Or you could say that Dawn’s mother moved her and her brother to Stoneybrook a few months too late for her to get a real job title and now Kristy’s struggling to come up with a name that sounds super important but on most days means diddly-squat.
I connected with Dawn when I was growing up because I spent a great deal of my childhood soaking up the sun at the beach as well. Come to think of it, though, that’s about all we have in common. She’s neat; I’m messy. She loves tofu; I’m more interested in raiding Claudia’s junk food stash. Dawn and I do both enjoy ghost stories but we don’t know that about Dawn yet.
When I was a kid I truly believed the Barrett kids were impossible. Why? Because the title and blurb told me they were. Now that I am an adult and can actually think for myself, they seem like pretty ordinary kids. Sure, they’re upset about their parents’ divorce (Dawn bonds with them over that) but that’s to be expected. If there’s anything a little odd about them, it’s that Dawn could so easily convince them that cleaning the house is a fun game. It is not!
In this book, we babysit for all eight of the Pike kids, Jenny (our angel) Prezzioso, Jamie (Hi-hi!) Newton, Karen and Andrew Brewer, Buddy, Suzi and Marnie (who makes the ham face when she’s happy) Barrett, David Michael Thomas, Charlotte Johansenn and Jeff Schafer (Dawn’s younger brother).
We meet and babysit the Barrett kids and Jeff Schafer for the first time, and we play ‘Let’s All Come In’ with Hannie Papadakis, one of Karen Brewer’s friends. Dawn’s California best friend, Sunny Winslow, is also mentioned.
The green eyed monster is hanging out with Kristy who, until book #4, was Mary Anne’s only best friend. Now Mary Anne has two best friends and Kristy isn’t keen on sharing.
We get to explore the Dawn’s new-old home’s barn but we don’t find out anything more exciting about the house. Yet. Creepy, quirky stuff is coming soon. Please be as creepy and quirky as I remember …
Dawn misses a BSC meeting but, unlike Kristy’s dummy spit related no-show in book #4, Dawn can’t get away from a babysitting job because Mrs Barrett is late. Again.
We’re introduced to the Pike kids’ Bizzer Sign. I can’t believe I’d forgotten all about this.
Random thoughts:
The Pike family have eight kids. At one point the triplets are at ice hockey practice and Vanessa is at a violin lesson. Another time Jordan, one of the triplets, is at a piano lesson. How can these parents afford to feed and clothe eight kids plus pay for them to do activities? Is everyone in Stoneybrook millionaires?
I called Dawn’s home her ‘new-old’ one in my review of book #4, forgetting that that’s what Mallory Pike calls it in book #5. Did this series become part of my DNA or something? Also, what really important information has my brain discarded to hold onto BSC trivia?
The Pike family have Band-Aids with dinosaurs on them! Is this why I am incapable of buying a Band-Aid that doesn’t have a fun design on it?
Dating Dawn’s mother really agrees with Mary Anne’s father. She’s allowed to wear jeans now, for the first time in her twelve years. I’m hoping this means Mr Spier’s rule that says Mary Anne isn’t allowed to wear pants to school might not be set in stone anymore. Mary Anne also gets to redecorate her pink room.
When I read this book as a kid I had no idea what Doritos were. I also had never heard of tofu, granola, Pop Tarts, saltwater taffy or Ho-Hos. There were so many BSC foods I didn’t encounter in Australia as a kid. I’ll never forget the day I first saw a Hershey’s bar in real life (actually, I haven’t tried one yet). I still don’t know what Ho-Hos are but if junk food addict Claudia likes them, there’s a pretty good chance I will too.
When I was a kid I read lots of words I’d never heard of before. I thought Connecticut was pronounced ‘connect-e-cut’. Why am I telling you embarrassing childhood memories?
Watson’s mansion has nine bedrooms! I would not want to clean that house! Maybe the Barrett kids would do it for me …
As a kid I thought the babysitters were really mature at twelve years old. Perhaps, overall, they are. But these girls you’re trusting your kids with are the same girls who have been convinced (by a six year old, no less) that Watson’s next door neighbour is a scary witch.
Stoneybrook Central Time: Dawn and her family moved to Stoneybrook in book #4. Mary Anne met her the day after the big BSC barney; that was Dawn’s second day at school and fourth day living in Stoneybrook. In the beginning of this book Dawn has lived in Stoneybrook for a few months.
Best insult: Dawn calls the weatherman on the radio a “cheesebrain”. I’m going to try to find a good time to use that one.
Up next: Do you hear wedding bells?
Blog - https://schizanthusnerd.com
So, what’s an Alternate Officer? Well, basically Dawn’s the understudy for all of the other roles and she’s ready to jump right in there and fill in if any of the other members can’t perform her duty for whatever reason. Or you could say that Dawn’s mother moved her and her brother to Stoneybrook a few months too late for her to get a real job title and now Kristy’s struggling to come up with a name that sounds super important but on most days means diddly-squat.
I connected with Dawn when I was growing up because I spent a great deal of my childhood soaking up the sun at the beach as well. Come to think of it, though, that’s about all we have in common. She’s neat; I’m messy. She loves tofu; I’m more interested in raiding Claudia’s junk food stash. Dawn and I do both enjoy ghost stories but we don’t know that about Dawn yet.
When I was a kid I truly believed the Barrett kids were impossible. Why? Because the title and blurb told me they were. Now that I am an adult and can actually think for myself, they seem like pretty ordinary kids. Sure, they’re upset about their parents’ divorce (Dawn bonds with them over that) but that’s to be expected. If there’s anything a little odd about them, it’s that Dawn could so easily convince them that cleaning the house is a fun game. It is not!
In this book, we babysit for all eight of the Pike kids, Jenny (our angel) Prezzioso, Jamie (Hi-hi!) Newton, Karen and Andrew Brewer, Buddy, Suzi and Marnie (who makes the ham face when she’s happy) Barrett, David Michael Thomas, Charlotte Johansenn and Jeff Schafer (Dawn’s younger brother).
We meet and babysit the Barrett kids and Jeff Schafer for the first time, and we play ‘Let’s All Come In’ with Hannie Papadakis, one of Karen Brewer’s friends. Dawn’s California best friend, Sunny Winslow, is also mentioned.
The green eyed monster is hanging out with Kristy who, until book #4, was Mary Anne’s only best friend. Now Mary Anne has two best friends and Kristy isn’t keen on sharing.
We get to explore the Dawn’s new-old home’s barn but we don’t find out anything more exciting about the house. Yet. Creepy, quirky stuff is coming soon. Please be as creepy and quirky as I remember …
Dawn misses a BSC meeting but, unlike Kristy’s dummy spit related no-show in book #4, Dawn can’t get away from a babysitting job because Mrs Barrett is late. Again.
We’re introduced to the Pike kids’ Bizzer Sign. I can’t believe I’d forgotten all about this.
Bzzz.Dawn predicts Mallory’s BSC membership.
Random thoughts:
The Pike family have eight kids. At one point the triplets are at ice hockey practice and Vanessa is at a violin lesson. Another time Jordan, one of the triplets, is at a piano lesson. How can these parents afford to feed and clothe eight kids plus pay for them to do activities? Is everyone in Stoneybrook millionaires?
I called Dawn’s home her ‘new-old’ one in my review of book #4, forgetting that that’s what Mallory Pike calls it in book #5. Did this series become part of my DNA or something? Also, what really important information has my brain discarded to hold onto BSC trivia?
The Pike family have Band-Aids with dinosaurs on them! Is this why I am incapable of buying a Band-Aid that doesn’t have a fun design on it?
Dating Dawn’s mother really agrees with Mary Anne’s father. She’s allowed to wear jeans now, for the first time in her twelve years. I’m hoping this means Mr Spier’s rule that says Mary Anne isn’t allowed to wear pants to school might not be set in stone anymore. Mary Anne also gets to redecorate her pink room.
When I read this book as a kid I had no idea what Doritos were. I also had never heard of tofu, granola, Pop Tarts, saltwater taffy or Ho-Hos. There were so many BSC foods I didn’t encounter in Australia as a kid. I’ll never forget the day I first saw a Hershey’s bar in real life (actually, I haven’t tried one yet). I still don’t know what Ho-Hos are but if junk food addict Claudia likes them, there’s a pretty good chance I will too.
When I was a kid I read lots of words I’d never heard of before. I thought Connecticut was pronounced ‘connect-e-cut’. Why am I telling you embarrassing childhood memories?
Watson’s mansion has nine bedrooms! I would not want to clean that house! Maybe the Barrett kids would do it for me …
As a kid I thought the babysitters were really mature at twelve years old. Perhaps, overall, they are. But these girls you’re trusting your kids with are the same girls who have been convinced (by a six year old, no less) that Watson’s next door neighbour is a scary witch.
Stoneybrook Central Time: Dawn and her family moved to Stoneybrook in book #4. Mary Anne met her the day after the big BSC barney; that was Dawn’s second day at school and fourth day living in Stoneybrook. In the beginning of this book Dawn has lived in Stoneybrook for a few months.
Best insult: Dawn calls the weatherman on the radio a “cheesebrain”. I’m going to try to find a good time to use that one.
Up next: Do you hear wedding bells?
Blog - https://schizanthusnerd.com
January 31, 2023
The one where we meet the Barrett family, and Dawn learns all about the importance of boundaries!
Also, how cute is it that little Marnie Barrett’s happy face is called her “ham face”?
And speaking of ham faces, is anyone else now reminded of Rum Ham from It’s Always Sunny in PA?
No? Oh, okay, so I guess just me, then.
Also, how cute is it that little Marnie Barrett’s happy face is called her “ham face”?
And speaking of ham faces, is anyone else now reminded of Rum Ham from It’s Always Sunny in PA?
No? Oh, okay, so I guess just me, then.
March 4, 2019
Missing Children, Missing Parents
In 2013, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency, a subdivision of the U.S. Department of Justice, did their third National Incidence Study of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children, otherwise known as NISMART-3. The survey portion of this study estimated that approximately 230,600 American households experienced a family abduction event in the 12 months prior to the survey. This is close to the rate reported in NISMART-2 in 1999.
A family abduction is when a family member or someone working on their behalf takes or fails to return a child in violation of custodial rights and conceals the child, takes the child out of state to deny contact, or intends to deprive the caretakers of custody.
Missing children statistics are vastly misunderstood, in part due to sensationalized reporting and our collective love of assuming all children are under threat at all times. The NISMART-3 survey reports 413,000 cases of runaway/throwaway children and 139,900 cases of children missing for benign reasons. Meanwhile, the same study estimates stereotypical kidnappings in 2011 at 105 cases, an incredibly low number. But irresponsible sources would have you believe children are being snatched left and right, not to mention the countless other psychological and sociological factors that reinforce the collective perception that children are at greater risk than ever even though crime statistics report the opposite.
The point I'm trying to make here is that children are far more at risk because of their own idiot family than any threat from without, and this has never been more aptly illustrated than in Dawn and the Impossible Three.
"The Impossible Three" refers to the three Barrett children Dawn starts to baby-sit regularly, and this title makes no sense because even though the kids are energetic, they're actually pretty good. What are impossible are the kids' "scatterbrained" (read: incompetent, self-absorbed, and unfit) mother and arrogant father.
Mr. and Mrs. Barrett are divorced. Mrs. Barrett has sole custody with Mr. Barrett receiving court-sanctioned visitation every other weekend. (Ann Martin was vague on this, but it is what I could extrapolate from the text.) Dawn's employ is secured by Mrs. Barrett who needs Dawn a few times a week for a couple of hours in the afternoon and rarely in the later evening.
Every time Dawn arrives at the house, it is uninhabitably filthy. Not only is there junk piled up everywhere but also food waste. Half the time the baby is sitting in a diaper filled with her own excrement, of which Mrs. Barrett seems unaware. Mrs. Barrett, on the other hand, is always meticulously groomed. Martin (via Dawn) gives repeated nods to Mrs. Barrett's appearance, subtly articulating that the situation at home is more than a case of an overwhelmed single mom.
Mrs. Barrett forgets to give Dawn emergency numbers. When she does give Dawn numbers, one of them is wrong, forcing Dawn to fend for herself getting Suzy Barrett, suffering a high fever, to the hospital. Mrs. Barrett tells Dawn to under no circumstances let the children talk to their father on the phone, unfairly putting her in the middle of their domestic nonsense. Mrs. Barrett is completely unable to do the slightest for her children.
The father, on the other hand, is not any help to the situation. Although it is revealed that Mrs. Barrett has frequently missed Mr. Barrett's visitations, and I fully sympathize with his frustration at being denied his children, he has ample legal and practical recourse to correct this problem. Aside from contacting his lawyer and reporting her breach of his rights, he could have insisted on picking them up from home so the schedule could be better kept. Instead, he takes out his frustration on Dawn when she respects Mrs. Barrett's demand not to put the kids on the phone.
But his greatest offense is the climax of the book. Dawn is babysitting for the children during what should be Mr. Barrett's weekend visitation time. Dawn, of course, doesn't know this. She leaves the oldest, Buddy, on the front lawn playing for a couple of minutes while the younger girls are getting ready to go for a walk. Mr. Barrett comes to the house during this time, and siezes the opportunity to take Buddy away in his car. Dawn is terrified when Buddy turns up missing and organizes the entire neighborhood in a search, remaining calm enough to get the other kids to a neighbor's so they would not be unduly panicked.
When Mr. Barrett returns Buddy hours later, he says he feels awful because he didn't know they were with a babysitter. He was just trying to give Mrs. Barrett a scare to teach her a lesson for missing his visitations. Why? Because he is a giant cock. Even if his ex-wife were home, does he not think taking Buddy would scare the other kids? This kind of retributive behavior is borderline sociopathic, and while I don't have direct evidence, I can't help but theorize that this is rooted in misogyny.
Dawn, being the FIERCE DOMESTIC GODDESS THAT SHE IS (we will talk about how I love Dawn), handles the situation exceedingly well. She handles the hospital incident. She handles the kidnapping. She is responsible enough to realize that when Buddy starts calling her on the phone to talk about his day despite his mother being around, she needs to extricate herself from the situation lest Mrs. Barrett's emotional absence stress her children even more.
There's only one thing Mrs. Barrett said in this book that I agree with: "Dawn, you are a wonder!" The Barrett parents made one of their children into a statistic and will certainly do it again if they don't get their house in order. It's people like this that scare me more than the Gacy's of the world. Why? Because they're everywhere.
*************************
Homework:
Cosmo quiz! Observe your children and answer the following questions:
1) Is your daughter sitting in a puddle if her own vomit eating rat poop out of a ventilation duct? You might be a Mrs. Barrett.
2) Is your son bound and screaming from the trunk of your car while you're filling up at a gas station across state lines? You're definitely a Mr. Barrett.
References:
United States. U.S. Department of Justice. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Child Victims of Stereotypical Kidnappings Known to Law Enforcement in 2011. By Janis Wolak, David Finkelhor, and Andrea J. Sedlak. Rockville, MD: National Criminal Justice Reference Service, June 2016. (Juvenile Justice Bulletin). (NCJ 249249). Available at: https://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/249249.pdf.
———. National Estimates of Missing Children: Updated Findings From a Survey of Parents and Other Primary Caretakers. By Andrea J. Sedlak, David Finkelhor, and J. M. Brick. Rockville, MD: National Criminal Justice Reference Service, June 2017. (Juvenile Justice Bulletin). (NCJ 250089). Available at: https://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/250089.pdf.
<< #4: Mary Anne Saves the Day
#6: Kristy's Big Day >>
In 2013, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency, a subdivision of the U.S. Department of Justice, did their third National Incidence Study of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children, otherwise known as NISMART-3. The survey portion of this study estimated that approximately 230,600 American households experienced a family abduction event in the 12 months prior to the survey. This is close to the rate reported in NISMART-2 in 1999.
A family abduction is when a family member or someone working on their behalf takes or fails to return a child in violation of custodial rights and conceals the child, takes the child out of state to deny contact, or intends to deprive the caretakers of custody.
Missing children statistics are vastly misunderstood, in part due to sensationalized reporting and our collective love of assuming all children are under threat at all times. The NISMART-3 survey reports 413,000 cases of runaway/throwaway children and 139,900 cases of children missing for benign reasons. Meanwhile, the same study estimates stereotypical kidnappings in 2011 at 105 cases, an incredibly low number. But irresponsible sources would have you believe children are being snatched left and right, not to mention the countless other psychological and sociological factors that reinforce the collective perception that children are at greater risk than ever even though crime statistics report the opposite.
The point I'm trying to make here is that children are far more at risk because of their own idiot family than any threat from without, and this has never been more aptly illustrated than in Dawn and the Impossible Three.
"The Impossible Three" refers to the three Barrett children Dawn starts to baby-sit regularly, and this title makes no sense because even though the kids are energetic, they're actually pretty good. What are impossible are the kids' "scatterbrained" (read: incompetent, self-absorbed, and unfit) mother and arrogant father.
Mr. and Mrs. Barrett are divorced. Mrs. Barrett has sole custody with Mr. Barrett receiving court-sanctioned visitation every other weekend. (Ann Martin was vague on this, but it is what I could extrapolate from the text.) Dawn's employ is secured by Mrs. Barrett who needs Dawn a few times a week for a couple of hours in the afternoon and rarely in the later evening.
Every time Dawn arrives at the house, it is uninhabitably filthy. Not only is there junk piled up everywhere but also food waste. Half the time the baby is sitting in a diaper filled with her own excrement, of which Mrs. Barrett seems unaware. Mrs. Barrett, on the other hand, is always meticulously groomed. Martin (via Dawn) gives repeated nods to Mrs. Barrett's appearance, subtly articulating that the situation at home is more than a case of an overwhelmed single mom.
Mrs. Barrett forgets to give Dawn emergency numbers. When she does give Dawn numbers, one of them is wrong, forcing Dawn to fend for herself getting Suzy Barrett, suffering a high fever, to the hospital. Mrs. Barrett tells Dawn to under no circumstances let the children talk to their father on the phone, unfairly putting her in the middle of their domestic nonsense. Mrs. Barrett is completely unable to do the slightest for her children.
The father, on the other hand, is not any help to the situation. Although it is revealed that Mrs. Barrett has frequently missed Mr. Barrett's visitations, and I fully sympathize with his frustration at being denied his children, he has ample legal and practical recourse to correct this problem. Aside from contacting his lawyer and reporting her breach of his rights, he could have insisted on picking them up from home so the schedule could be better kept. Instead, he takes out his frustration on Dawn when she respects Mrs. Barrett's demand not to put the kids on the phone.
But his greatest offense is the climax of the book. Dawn is babysitting for the children during what should be Mr. Barrett's weekend visitation time. Dawn, of course, doesn't know this. She leaves the oldest, Buddy, on the front lawn playing for a couple of minutes while the younger girls are getting ready to go for a walk. Mr. Barrett comes to the house during this time, and siezes the opportunity to take Buddy away in his car. Dawn is terrified when Buddy turns up missing and organizes the entire neighborhood in a search, remaining calm enough to get the other kids to a neighbor's so they would not be unduly panicked.
When Mr. Barrett returns Buddy hours later, he says he feels awful because he didn't know they were with a babysitter. He was just trying to give Mrs. Barrett a scare to teach her a lesson for missing his visitations. Why? Because he is a giant cock. Even if his ex-wife were home, does he not think taking Buddy would scare the other kids? This kind of retributive behavior is borderline sociopathic, and while I don't have direct evidence, I can't help but theorize that this is rooted in misogyny.
Dawn, being the FIERCE DOMESTIC GODDESS THAT SHE IS (we will talk about how I love Dawn), handles the situation exceedingly well. She handles the hospital incident. She handles the kidnapping. She is responsible enough to realize that when Buddy starts calling her on the phone to talk about his day despite his mother being around, she needs to extricate herself from the situation lest Mrs. Barrett's emotional absence stress her children even more.
There's only one thing Mrs. Barrett said in this book that I agree with: "Dawn, you are a wonder!" The Barrett parents made one of their children into a statistic and will certainly do it again if they don't get their house in order. It's people like this that scare me more than the Gacy's of the world. Why? Because they're everywhere.
*************************
Homework:
Cosmo quiz! Observe your children and answer the following questions:
1) Is your daughter sitting in a puddle if her own vomit eating rat poop out of a ventilation duct? You might be a Mrs. Barrett.
2) Is your son bound and screaming from the trunk of your car while you're filling up at a gas station across state lines? You're definitely a Mr. Barrett.
References:
United States. U.S. Department of Justice. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Child Victims of Stereotypical Kidnappings Known to Law Enforcement in 2011. By Janis Wolak, David Finkelhor, and Andrea J. Sedlak. Rockville, MD: National Criminal Justice Reference Service, June 2016. (Juvenile Justice Bulletin). (NCJ 249249). Available at: https://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/249249.pdf.
———. National Estimates of Missing Children: Updated Findings From a Survey of Parents and Other Primary Caretakers. By Andrea J. Sedlak, David Finkelhor, and J. M. Brick. Rockville, MD: National Criminal Justice Reference Service, June 2017. (Juvenile Justice Bulletin). (NCJ 250089). Available at: https://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/250089.pdf.
<< #4: Mary Anne Saves the Day
#6: Kristy's Big Day >>
October 2, 2025
3,5/5
El libro comienza con Dawn, quien, al ser la miembro más reciente del club de las niñeras, está ansiosa por demostrarles a las demás chicas que puede ser una gran niñera.
Entonces, se presenta un trabajo importante para el club: cuidar a los Barrett, que, como bien lo dice el título de este libro, son un trío imposible. Y no solo esto, sino que su mamá es un poco... ¿peculiar? (Yo diría irresponsable.) Esto desemboca en un caos y un desafío tanto físico como emocional para Dawn.
No es de mis favoritos, pero creo que toca temas muy importantes, como el impacto de un divorcio en los niños y la irresponsabilidad parental. Es muy fuerte el hecho de que en este libro te plantean la idea: ¿cuándo deja una niñera de ser de ayuda a convertirse en un sustituto del padre o la madre? Esto refleja negligencia parental a través de un suceso de crisis, y es que a Dawn se le pierde uno de estos niños. Resulta que se lo llevó su papá, lo que involucra desde vecinos hasta la policía. Es un libro valioso para la trama principal ya que nos muestran otro lado de Dawn y de su familia.
Dawn no me cae muy bien, pero fue bastante entretenido. La trama fue buena, y creo que los temas están bien manejados a comparación de otros que ya hemos visto y abordado.
Terminado el 22 de septiembre del 2025
El libro comienza con Dawn, quien, al ser la miembro más reciente del club de las niñeras, está ansiosa por demostrarles a las demás chicas que puede ser una gran niñera.
Entonces, se presenta un trabajo importante para el club: cuidar a los Barrett, que, como bien lo dice el título de este libro, son un trío imposible. Y no solo esto, sino que su mamá es un poco... ¿peculiar? (Yo diría irresponsable.) Esto desemboca en un caos y un desafío tanto físico como emocional para Dawn.
No es de mis favoritos, pero creo que toca temas muy importantes, como el impacto de un divorcio en los niños y la irresponsabilidad parental. Es muy fuerte el hecho de que en este libro te plantean la idea: ¿cuándo deja una niñera de ser de ayuda a convertirse en un sustituto del padre o la madre? Esto refleja negligencia parental a través de un suceso de crisis, y es que a Dawn se le pierde uno de estos niños. Resulta que se lo llevó su papá, lo que involucra desde vecinos hasta la policía. Es un libro valioso para la trama principal ya que nos muestran otro lado de Dawn y de su familia.
Dawn no me cae muy bien, pero fue bastante entretenido. La trama fue buena, y creo que los temas están bien manejados a comparación de otros que ya hemos visto y abordado.
Terminado el 22 de septiembre del 2025
January 21, 2010
this is the first dawn book of the series, in which she becomes the regular sitter for the barrett family. buddy, suzi, & marnie are being raised by a single mom who recently went through a pretty acrimonious divorce. the kids seem to be coping well enough, but their mom is struggling to find steady employment & isn't managing the demands of childrearing, job seeking, & housework very well. dawn often comes by to babysit, only to find the kids still in their pajamas, without breakfast, in a disaster area of a house. mrs. barrett rushes off to job interviews & temp positions without leaving proper instructions & emergency contact info. dawn invents a game to get the kids excited about cleaning up the house, & mrs. barrett starts to rely on dawn too much. the kids also start to over-rely on dawn--when buddy does well on a class assignment, he stops by dawn's house to tell her about it, instead of sharing the news with his mom.
one day while dawn is sitting, buddy disappears from the front yard while dawn is getting the girls dressed to go outside. jordan pike saw buddy get into a car. dawn panics & calls the police. the neighbors fan out to search the neighborhood. dawn can't read mrs. barrett, who is in the next town over, running errands. finally buddy calls & says he's on his way home. it turned out that the man who picked him up was his dad, & it was his regular day to have the kids, but flaky mrs. barrett forgot (though it seems like if she wanted a personal day to shop & run errands, she'd be counting down the moments until her ex had visitation so she wouldn't have to pay a sitter...anyway). when hamilton came by to pick the kids up & found only buddy, he decided to just take him to freak mrs. barrett out. considering the prevalence of exes kidnapping their own children, & how the courts can be pretty strict about visitation & custody issues, this seems like a pretty bad idea if hamilton wants to hang on to his partial custody rights, but there were no consequences for him here aside from a talking-to from the cops.
after this goes down, dawn has a talk with mrs. barrett & says she can't sit for her anymore unless mrs. barrett makes more of an effort to keep dawn in the loop, leave contact phone numbers, etc. mrs. barrett is understanding & agreeable & everyone lives happily ever after.
i liked the fact that this book showcased a less-than-perfect family. with the stepford perkinses on their way in just a couple of books, it's nice to be reminded that sometimes teenage babysitters end up biting off more than they can chew in dealing with familial dramas in real life. i didn't like the egregious continuity error on the book: at one point while dawn is teaching the kids how to clean the house, marnie sits on the floor & eats M&Ms (she's really too young to understand or help with housework). maybe twenty pages later, the barretts are at a picnic at the pikes' house & dawn gives marnie a brownie. mallory pike snatches the brownie away & tells dawn that marnie is allergic to chocolate. the allergy reveal is supposed to illustrate the dangerousness of mrs. barrett leaving dawn in charge without giving her proper instructions. but why was she just eating M&Ms two seconds ago with no ill effects? plus, as early as book two, the babysitters make a big fuss about asking about things like allergies before taking on new clients (there's a scene where claudia gets allergy info from mrs. marshall before agreeing to sit for eleanor & nina). so...WTF?
but i still love reading these early books. take me right back to being seven years old again.
one day while dawn is sitting, buddy disappears from the front yard while dawn is getting the girls dressed to go outside. jordan pike saw buddy get into a car. dawn panics & calls the police. the neighbors fan out to search the neighborhood. dawn can't read mrs. barrett, who is in the next town over, running errands. finally buddy calls & says he's on his way home. it turned out that the man who picked him up was his dad, & it was his regular day to have the kids, but flaky mrs. barrett forgot (though it seems like if she wanted a personal day to shop & run errands, she'd be counting down the moments until her ex had visitation so she wouldn't have to pay a sitter...anyway). when hamilton came by to pick the kids up & found only buddy, he decided to just take him to freak mrs. barrett out. considering the prevalence of exes kidnapping their own children, & how the courts can be pretty strict about visitation & custody issues, this seems like a pretty bad idea if hamilton wants to hang on to his partial custody rights, but there were no consequences for him here aside from a talking-to from the cops.
after this goes down, dawn has a talk with mrs. barrett & says she can't sit for her anymore unless mrs. barrett makes more of an effort to keep dawn in the loop, leave contact phone numbers, etc. mrs. barrett is understanding & agreeable & everyone lives happily ever after.
i liked the fact that this book showcased a less-than-perfect family. with the stepford perkinses on their way in just a couple of books, it's nice to be reminded that sometimes teenage babysitters end up biting off more than they can chew in dealing with familial dramas in real life. i didn't like the egregious continuity error on the book: at one point while dawn is teaching the kids how to clean the house, marnie sits on the floor & eats M&Ms (she's really too young to understand or help with housework). maybe twenty pages later, the barretts are at a picnic at the pikes' house & dawn gives marnie a brownie. mallory pike snatches the brownie away & tells dawn that marnie is allergic to chocolate. the allergy reveal is supposed to illustrate the dangerousness of mrs. barrett leaving dawn in charge without giving her proper instructions. but why was she just eating M&Ms two seconds ago with no ill effects? plus, as early as book two, the babysitters make a big fuss about asking about things like allergies before taking on new clients (there's a scene where claudia gets allergy info from mrs. marshall before agreeing to sit for eleanor & nina). so...WTF?
but i still love reading these early books. take me right back to being seven years old again.
July 24, 2025
Cali girls bring the drama!!!
While the Impossible Three's antics feel less impossible and more toddlers gonna toddle, Dawn's sunny disposition somehow survives.
While the Impossible Three's antics feel less impossible and more toddlers gonna toddle, Dawn's sunny disposition somehow survives.
January 10, 2016
dawn, the newest member of the bsc, takes on new clients the barretts. mrs. barrett is recently divorced and has been having trouble adulting. dawn picks up the slack and basically becomes the barrett kids' real mom until she finally develops a sense of boundaries and stands up for herself. this plot is well written but it is so painful to read, so I kind of hate this book.
highlights:
-finally, cover art hodges soileau! he always makes them look older than they should look, but at least he knows how to draw a japanese girl who actually looks japanese.
-the chapter where dawn and kristy become friends and swing on the rope swing in the barn and talk about how divorce sucks. that's really a perfect chapter independent of the rest of the book.
-introduction of the bizzer sign, the pike kids' way of arbitrarily pissing each other off
-introduction of the ghost of ben brewer who haunts the 3rd floor at watson's house (for hilarity, please see the ghost of ben brewer twitter here)
-dawn is, like, totally profound or something: 'this may be how a war gets started. one day, a world leader pokes another world leader in the ribs and says, "nyah, nyah, nyah." the second world leader begins to cry, and suddenly their countries are fighting each other.'
shira's nitpicks:
-as we dramatically discover later in the book, marnie is allergic to chocolate. earlier in the book she eats m&ms. inconsistency, ann m!
-dawn is complaining that it's cold out and says that at her mom's memorial day picnic people will be wearing down jackets, because it is SEVENTY DEGREES OUTSIDE. I grew up in california too, and I know she's full of shit -- it is usually in the seventies in may in southern california! the point of southern california isn't that it's warm all the time, it's that it's temperate all the time!
-also the memorial day party is for dawn's "parents and grandparents" -- but by parents she really just means mom. why does she say parents? ann m, you're slipping!
zero claudia outfits. two good non-claudia outfits, though:
hannie papadakis (while playing Let's All Come In, karen brewer's fancy hotel game) -- Hannie was wearing a skirt that reached to the floor; large, sparkly high heels with no toes; a fur stole; and a hat with a veil. In one hand, she carried a pair of spectacles attached to a diamond-studded stick.
stacey -- She was wearing a simple pink T-shirt under a baggy jumpsuit with big pink and red flowers all over it.
five snacks in claudia's room:
-saltwater taffy from her aunt and uncle who visited atlantic city nj (it's not specified where in her room it's hidden)
-ho-ho's (it's not specified where in her room they're hidden)
-ding-dongs (it's not specified where in her room they're hidden)
-m&ms (it's not specified where in her room they're hidden)
-gummi worms in a pencil case in her desk drawer
no kid kit descriptions. you'd think kid kits would be the first thing dawn and the others thought of to appease the "impossible" barrett kids.
highlights:
-finally, cover art hodges soileau! he always makes them look older than they should look, but at least he knows how to draw a japanese girl who actually looks japanese.
-the chapter where dawn and kristy become friends and swing on the rope swing in the barn and talk about how divorce sucks. that's really a perfect chapter independent of the rest of the book.
-introduction of the bizzer sign, the pike kids' way of arbitrarily pissing each other off
-introduction of the ghost of ben brewer who haunts the 3rd floor at watson's house (for hilarity, please see the ghost of ben brewer twitter here)
-dawn is, like, totally profound or something: 'this may be how a war gets started. one day, a world leader pokes another world leader in the ribs and says, "nyah, nyah, nyah." the second world leader begins to cry, and suddenly their countries are fighting each other.'
shira's nitpicks:
-as we dramatically discover later in the book, marnie is allergic to chocolate. earlier in the book she eats m&ms. inconsistency, ann m!
-dawn is complaining that it's cold out and says that at her mom's memorial day picnic people will be wearing down jackets, because it is SEVENTY DEGREES OUTSIDE. I grew up in california too, and I know she's full of shit -- it is usually in the seventies in may in southern california! the point of southern california isn't that it's warm all the time, it's that it's temperate all the time!
-also the memorial day party is for dawn's "parents and grandparents" -- but by parents she really just means mom. why does she say parents? ann m, you're slipping!
zero claudia outfits. two good non-claudia outfits, though:
hannie papadakis (while playing Let's All Come In, karen brewer's fancy hotel game) -- Hannie was wearing a skirt that reached to the floor; large, sparkly high heels with no toes; a fur stole; and a hat with a veil. In one hand, she carried a pair of spectacles attached to a diamond-studded stick.
stacey -- She was wearing a simple pink T-shirt under a baggy jumpsuit with big pink and red flowers all over it.
five snacks in claudia's room:
-saltwater taffy from her aunt and uncle who visited atlantic city nj (it's not specified where in her room it's hidden)
-ho-ho's (it's not specified where in her room they're hidden)
-ding-dongs (it's not specified where in her room they're hidden)
-m&ms (it's not specified where in her room they're hidden)
-gummi worms in a pencil case in her desk drawer
no kid kit descriptions. you'd think kid kits would be the first thing dawn and the others thought of to appease the "impossible" barrett kids.
May 18, 2022
A great first Dawn book! She is a great character, so empathetic and good natured. I love how she recognizes that Kristy is jealous of her friendship with Mary Anne and invites Kristy over to get to know her on her own terms. And she is so mature handling the Barrett kids and their disorganized mom. Good for you Dawn, setting a boundary and refusing to keep doing Mrs Barrett's emotional labour and housework!
October 18, 2018
Californian Dawn Schaefer joins the babysitters club adventures. I always loved her stories as much as Stacey and Mary Anne's. Dawn, her younger brother, Jeff, and her mother have moved back to their mother's hometown of Stoneybrook, Connecticut. Dawn and Mary Anne have become fast friends and also discovered their parents were once high school sweethearts. Dawn's Mom( Sharon) and Mary Anne's Dad( Richard) start dating in this one and there is a cute scene where Dawn's Mom decides to have a Memorial Day BBQ and we learn that Dawn's grandparents weren't always huge fans of Mary Anne's father. Believe it or not, Mary Anne's straitlaced lawyer father was once a boy from the other side of town.
But a few things that I loved about Dawn's role as main protagonist- Watson( Kristy's stepfather) gets a last name- Watson Brewer. Dawn is the first to give us the names of all eight Pike children( Mallory, Byron, Adam, Jordan, Vanessa, Nicky, Clara, Margo). Dawn attempts to deal with Kristy's jealousy in regards to Mary Anne in a very mature manner. Also, the introduction of the Barrett children proves that the BSC cannot handle all their babysiting charges or more specifically, all scatterbrained parents.
Hands down, book 5 is a clear winner for me even after all these years!
But a few things that I loved about Dawn's role as main protagonist- Watson( Kristy's stepfather) gets a last name- Watson Brewer. Dawn is the first to give us the names of all eight Pike children( Mallory, Byron, Adam, Jordan, Vanessa, Nicky, Clara, Margo). Dawn attempts to deal with Kristy's jealousy in regards to Mary Anne in a very mature manner. Also, the introduction of the Barrett children proves that the BSC cannot handle all their babysiting charges or more specifically, all scatterbrained parents.
Hands down, book 5 is a clear winner for me even after all these years!
September 3, 2022
I've read this at least twice since having kids, and wow have my perspectives changed.
I mean, yes, Mrs. Barrett leans too hard on Dawn, and there are obviously some crossed boundaries, but Dawn doesn't really stand up for herself until the end.
However, Dawn's absolute disdain for the Barrett's home always makes me feel a bit seen. I had a nanny briefly when my kids were first born and I spent every day she came worried about what she thought of me and what my house looked like BECAUSE OF THIS BOOK. It's just ingrained in my brain the way Dawn notices everything like the dishes in the sink and the crumbs (CRUMBS DAWN!) on the table and how the small children have tangled hair and jelly on their faces (THIS IS LIFE) and is all judgy about the family because of it.
Anyways, it's gotta be tough to be a single parent with a volatile relationship with your ex and raising 3 kids on your own while trying to find a job; AND, it's gotta be hard to be a 13-year-old girl thrust into this situation, not having the agency to stand up for yourself while also just trying to be a great babysitter. Whew.
Oh, and Dawn is annoying af about the weather. Like CHILL OUT, 70 degrees isn’t time to break out the fleece and whine about how freezing it is. Even Sharon has had it with her.
I mean, yes, Mrs. Barrett leans too hard on Dawn, and there are obviously some crossed boundaries, but Dawn doesn't really stand up for herself until the end.
However, Dawn's absolute disdain for the Barrett's home always makes me feel a bit seen. I had a nanny briefly when my kids were first born and I spent every day she came worried about what she thought of me and what my house looked like BECAUSE OF THIS BOOK. It's just ingrained in my brain the way Dawn notices everything like the dishes in the sink and the crumbs (CRUMBS DAWN!) on the table and how the small children have tangled hair and jelly on their faces (THIS IS LIFE) and is all judgy about the family because of it.
Anyways, it's gotta be tough to be a single parent with a volatile relationship with your ex and raising 3 kids on your own while trying to find a job; AND, it's gotta be hard to be a 13-year-old girl thrust into this situation, not having the agency to stand up for yourself while also just trying to be a great babysitter. Whew.
Oh, and Dawn is annoying af about the weather. Like CHILL OUT, 70 degrees isn’t time to break out the fleece and whine about how freezing it is. Even Sharon has had it with her.
August 22, 2022
3.5 stars
I’m kinda glad I never read this series as a kid because the Baby-Sitters Club would’ve been my entire personality in elementary school. 😅 Read via audio (narrated by Elle Fanning).
I’m kinda glad I never read this series as a kid because the Baby-Sitters Club would’ve been my entire personality in elementary school. 😅 Read via audio (narrated by Elle Fanning).
November 15, 2021
Before I get to my actual review, a quick disclaimer: Ever since I learned that Netflix was reimagining one of my favorite childhood book series, I had decided that I would be embarking on a re-read of this series, reliving a series of books that helped to shape me into a voracious reader. I am so excited to embark on this travel back in time. I don't expect to be mentally stimulated -- I mean, I'm not exactly a pre-teen middle-schooler these days -- but I make no apology for choosing to enjoy this series from the perspective of adulthood. Don't expect me to have any sort of psychoanalyst or feminist sermonizing on the appropriateness of the situations or the effects on a young girl reading these books; there's plenty of that to go around already. I'm here for the nostalgia and the meander down memory lane.
**********
I remember when I first encountered Dawn in this series. It was so odd for me because I had literally never met someone else with my name, fictional or otherwise. I couldn't decide if it was weird or cool, but I would get opportunity to navigate it since with book five, she was officially a member of the club and would have a voice as one of the narrators of the series.
What I liked about Dawn and the Impossible Three:
The dynamic of Kristy having to let someone else into Mary Anne's close circle - This is handled in a way that felt extremely relatable to me, especially when your circle of friends is pretty small and you don't yet have the maturity to understand that there's room for someone new without jettisoning someone to make that room. Mary Anne is, in fact, capable of having room for both her old best friend and her new one, but I like that it falls more on Dawn to recognize Kristy's uncertainty, include her, and forge a peace.
The jolt of understanding larger scale implications - When the BSC was formed, Kristy, Mary Anne, and Claudia can all see one another's houses from their own. Stacey and Dawn are just a short distance away. Now, with her mom's impending marriage, Kristy isn't going to be nearby anymore (which obviously doesn't help her situation in my previous point) and what does this logistically mean for a middle-schooler's continued participation, as often as the BSC meets? I like that they are given real-world issues to figure out. I recall reading this as a child who was utterly dependent on the adults in my life if I wanted to go somewhere beyond the confines of my bubble. This is a big deal and it was executed with believable anxiety on the part of the girls.
Continuing to see the effects this series had on who I am as an adult - Still, every time I see a turn of phrase that I use to this day, directly or in some variation, it cracks me up. You don't think that what you read has profound effect on you...until you return to something from your formative years and see that it really did shape some of your personality. (Let that sink in for a minute!)
What I didn't care for:
The Buddy situation - This really stressed me out when I read it as a kid. I mean, a kid goes missing while you're sitting?? I can't even. As an adult, though, I was a little taken aback that Dawn wasn't more freaked out. Because I would have lost it, if I had been Dawn. (That's a really strange sentence for me to say, by the way. Ha.)
Felt bereft of humor - One of my favorite aspects of the other books I've re-read so far is that there is almost always humor injected. While there was that one scene at Watson's house during "Let's All Come In" (dang, Karen has an impressive imagination!) that I found mildly amusing, mostly it fell flat on that front. I don't know if Dawn's mom's scatterbrained behavior was supposed to fill this void, but it didn't for me.
What left me conflicted:
Dawn - It turns out that Dawn is pretty much my least favorite character. She's judgy and a bit of a snob, sometimes. Headstrong, but in a different way from Kristy; Kristy is more driven by specific goals, while Dawn just thinks her way is the best mostly across the board. Unlike Claudia and Stacey, with whom I just had nothing in common but I thought they were still likable, I really wanted to at least like Dawn (I mean, same name!!), but most of the time, she just rubbed me the wrong way. I did find it interesting that quiet Mary Anne was drawn toward best friends that were far more assertive; yep, Mary Anne is my girl! (If you met most of the important people in my life, you'd get the impact of this statement.) I also find it amusing that Dawn frequently has strong feelings about the weather. Now that is something with which I can identify! Although she whines when it's not warm enough and I whine when it's too warm (our situations were reversed: I grew up in Connecticut and moved to Florida).
Mrs Barrett - Mrs Barrett really stressed me out as well. Good gracious, lady, get it together at least a little bit! But I also could not fathom, as a twelve-year-old, having the ability to confront her on her shortcomings. I can barely do that as an adult, without some consternation. It had to be done, but I almost felt like it would have been more appropriate coming from Dawn's mom! Then again, given Mrs Schafer's own flakiness, maybe I shouldn't be shocked that Dawn is able to identify the issues and deal with them self-sufficiently.
Worth noting:
I don't know what the Bizzer Sign is supposed to accomplish or why it makes everyone on the receiving end cry, but it effectively makes my left eye twitch.
Once again, my memories of this book held true -- which isn't all that unexpected for me, as I probably read these early books in the series at least a dozen times as a child whilst impatiently waiting for newer installments to be released, and I recall them pretty clearly, especially how I felt while reading reading them. Three-star rating stands; Dawn still aggravates me, at least at this point. (Did this shift over time? We'll see as I further jog my memory down BSC lane...)
**********
I remember when I first encountered Dawn in this series. It was so odd for me because I had literally never met someone else with my name, fictional or otherwise. I couldn't decide if it was weird or cool, but I would get opportunity to navigate it since with book five, she was officially a member of the club and would have a voice as one of the narrators of the series.
What I liked about Dawn and the Impossible Three:
The dynamic of Kristy having to let someone else into Mary Anne's close circle - This is handled in a way that felt extremely relatable to me, especially when your circle of friends is pretty small and you don't yet have the maturity to understand that there's room for someone new without jettisoning someone to make that room. Mary Anne is, in fact, capable of having room for both her old best friend and her new one, but I like that it falls more on Dawn to recognize Kristy's uncertainty, include her, and forge a peace.
The jolt of understanding larger scale implications - When the BSC was formed, Kristy, Mary Anne, and Claudia can all see one another's houses from their own. Stacey and Dawn are just a short distance away. Now, with her mom's impending marriage, Kristy isn't going to be nearby anymore (which obviously doesn't help her situation in my previous point) and what does this logistically mean for a middle-schooler's continued participation, as often as the BSC meets? I like that they are given real-world issues to figure out. I recall reading this as a child who was utterly dependent on the adults in my life if I wanted to go somewhere beyond the confines of my bubble. This is a big deal and it was executed with believable anxiety on the part of the girls.
Continuing to see the effects this series had on who I am as an adult - Still, every time I see a turn of phrase that I use to this day, directly or in some variation, it cracks me up. You don't think that what you read has profound effect on you...until you return to something from your formative years and see that it really did shape some of your personality. (Let that sink in for a minute!)
What I didn't care for:
The Buddy situation - This really stressed me out when I read it as a kid. I mean, a kid goes missing while you're sitting?? I can't even. As an adult, though, I was a little taken aback that Dawn wasn't more freaked out. Because I would have lost it, if I had been Dawn. (That's a really strange sentence for me to say, by the way. Ha.)
Felt bereft of humor - One of my favorite aspects of the other books I've re-read so far is that there is almost always humor injected. While there was that one scene at Watson's house during "Let's All Come In" (dang, Karen has an impressive imagination!) that I found mildly amusing, mostly it fell flat on that front. I don't know if Dawn's mom's scatterbrained behavior was supposed to fill this void, but it didn't for me.
What left me conflicted:
Dawn - It turns out that Dawn is pretty much my least favorite character. She's judgy and a bit of a snob, sometimes. Headstrong, but in a different way from Kristy; Kristy is more driven by specific goals, while Dawn just thinks her way is the best mostly across the board. Unlike Claudia and Stacey, with whom I just had nothing in common but I thought they were still likable, I really wanted to at least like Dawn (I mean, same name!!), but most of the time, she just rubbed me the wrong way. I did find it interesting that quiet Mary Anne was drawn toward best friends that were far more assertive; yep, Mary Anne is my girl! (If you met most of the important people in my life, you'd get the impact of this statement.) I also find it amusing that Dawn frequently has strong feelings about the weather. Now that is something with which I can identify! Although she whines when it's not warm enough and I whine when it's too warm (our situations were reversed: I grew up in Connecticut and moved to Florida).
Mrs Barrett - Mrs Barrett really stressed me out as well. Good gracious, lady, get it together at least a little bit! But I also could not fathom, as a twelve-year-old, having the ability to confront her on her shortcomings. I can barely do that as an adult, without some consternation. It had to be done, but I almost felt like it would have been more appropriate coming from Dawn's mom! Then again, given Mrs Schafer's own flakiness, maybe I shouldn't be shocked that Dawn is able to identify the issues and deal with them self-sufficiently.
Worth noting:
I don't know what the Bizzer Sign is supposed to accomplish or why it makes everyone on the receiving end cry, but it effectively makes my left eye twitch.
Once again, my memories of this book held true -- which isn't all that unexpected for me, as I probably read these early books in the series at least a dozen times as a child whilst impatiently waiting for newer installments to be released, and I recall them pretty clearly, especially how I felt while reading reading them. Three-star rating stands; Dawn still aggravates me, at least at this point. (Did this shift over time? We'll see as I further jog my memory down BSC lane...)
July 11, 2020
Whoops, accidentally did start crying at the end of this book because I love the BSC so much.
I’m trying to decide if the girls act so much older than 12, or whether I just wasn’t as responsible as they are at that age. One of the things I love the most about these books is how we see all the same people in them. So even though the books are about Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, Stacey and Dawn, I also feel like I know so much about all their charges and about their families. It just makes me so happy!!!
I’m trying to decide if the girls act so much older than 12, or whether I just wasn’t as responsible as they are at that age. One of the things I love the most about these books is how we see all the same people in them. So even though the books are about Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, Stacey and Dawn, I also feel like I know so much about all their charges and about their families. It just makes me so happy!!!
September 18, 2021
Okay, I actually loved this book! I think it tackled some issues in an age appropriate way and wasn’t nearly as cringy as Logan Likes Mary Anne! I’m glad I gave the series another chance. I don’t think I want to read any Stacey books, because she’s a little too boy crazy for my reading tastes, but Dawn was fun.
February 6, 2017
**Rated by my daughter**
December 19, 2019
I am on a quest to revisit my childhood reading favorites. When I was a child, I loved the Babysitters Club books. I devoured them. I read those, along with the Super Specials, Mysteries, Little Sister books, etc. In fact, I still have all of them to this day in paperback. They were such a big part of my love of reading, I could not part with them. So now that they have come out on Audiobook, I had to check them out. As it turns out, I am not too old to enjoy The Baby-sitters Club. It kind of feels like going home again.
Dawn and the Impossible 3 is book 5 in the Baby-sitters Club series. In this book, Dawn is the newest member of The Baby-sitters Club. Dawn immediately gets a regular client but it may prove to be too much for her. The client is mother who is in the process of a divorce and has 3 kids. The mom is stressed out, scatterbrained, and disorganized. Her house is an absolute mess every time Dawn goes to babysit. The mom forgets to mention important information as she is running out the door and she leaves incorrect phone numbers to reach her. In addition to all of that, the mom has drama with the kids' father that puts the BSC in bad situations. All in all, it is a recipe for disaster. Can Dawn handle it? Read it and find out.
This book is a quick listen and is only 3 hours and 6 minutes. The narrator does a good job.
I still love the nostalgia and am ready to listen to book 6!
Dawn and the Impossible 3 is book 5 in the Baby-sitters Club series. In this book, Dawn is the newest member of The Baby-sitters Club. Dawn immediately gets a regular client but it may prove to be too much for her. The client is mother who is in the process of a divorce and has 3 kids. The mom is stressed out, scatterbrained, and disorganized. Her house is an absolute mess every time Dawn goes to babysit. The mom forgets to mention important information as she is running out the door and she leaves incorrect phone numbers to reach her. In addition to all of that, the mom has drama with the kids' father that puts the BSC in bad situations. All in all, it is a recipe for disaster. Can Dawn handle it? Read it and find out.
This book is a quick listen and is only 3 hours and 6 minutes. The narrator does a good job.
I still love the nostalgia and am ready to listen to book 6!
October 4, 2021
Not my favorite in the series. But a 3.5 overall.
But I do really like Dawn as a main character and member of the series.
I will always agree that the lessons of these books are really important and do reign true nowadays just like when they were originally published.
When someone asks you to babysit they are leaving their children in your hands so you should know everything you need to know and also have numbers to reach the parents.
The lost child part is also important. She handled it well with knowing that you need to ask for help and call the authorities because she couldn’t find him.
I love how the new adaptation that Netflix did is ringing true with these beginning books in the series.
But I do really like Dawn as a main character and member of the series.
I will always agree that the lessons of these books are really important and do reign true nowadays just like when they were originally published.
When someone asks you to babysit they are leaving their children in your hands so you should know everything you need to know and also have numbers to reach the parents.
The lost child part is also important. She handled it well with knowing that you need to ask for help and call the authorities because she couldn’t find him.
I love how the new adaptation that Netflix did is ringing true with these beginning books in the series.
August 27, 2018
New member of the babysitters club (Dawn) has her hands full when she takes on a new client. A divorced mother of 3 hires her....what happens when Dawn starts to get overwhelmed though...why is she constantly the only babysitter that this mother wants and why is she always having to clean up the house when that’s a mother’s job? Dawn may need to sit down and have a talk with her but is she brave enough?
October 14, 2021
Is it hypocritical that I can't stand Stacey because of her NYC humble bragging but I love Dawn, whose ONLY personality trait is being from California? Well, I guess the other part of her personality is acting like a 34-year-single mom--which she basically is for like multiple families. I don't care, I just want all of her outfits on these covers.
November 30, 2020
This was pretty exciting and intense for a Baby-Sitters Club book! It was an interesting read, but I cannot get past the awful, misleading title. There is no "impossible three"!
August 30, 2024
I realized that I might want to get back into reading these books for fun again because my inner tween loved getting back into the world of the babysitters club.
I originally picked this book to read to meet a requirement for a reading challenge, but I realized I am happy I got to jump into this story because it was a feeling of nostalgia that made me feel good.
I will say that even though I know the girls in the babysitter's club are in middle school, with the way they behave and the experiences that some of them have, it is hard to see them as middle school-age. It is giving high schools, at times, the thought processing they have.
I love this story of Dawn and really like her character. I love how open-minded and progressive she is in her thinking of things and how kind she redirects mindsets of specific gender norms. For example, Buddy Barrett said that boys don't wear aprons. The kind correction was nice to see. Also, the storyline of the friendship development between Kristy and Dawn and the understanding of the difficulties of divorce not only on the adults but the children involved.
This is a middle-grade book, so its themes are not complex, but it is a fun and light-hearted read.
I originally picked this book to read to meet a requirement for a reading challenge, but I realized I am happy I got to jump into this story because it was a feeling of nostalgia that made me feel good.
I will say that even though I know the girls in the babysitter's club are in middle school, with the way they behave and the experiences that some of them have, it is hard to see them as middle school-age. It is giving high schools, at times, the thought processing they have.
I love this story of Dawn and really like her character. I love how open-minded and progressive she is in her thinking of things and how kind she redirects mindsets of specific gender norms. For example, Buddy Barrett said that boys don't wear aprons. The kind correction was nice to see. Also, the storyline of the friendship development between Kristy and Dawn and the understanding of the difficulties of divorce not only on the adults but the children involved.
This is a middle-grade book, so its themes are not complex, but it is a fun and light-hearted read.
July 28, 2020
Although not my favorite installment in the series, this re-read continues to be delightful and the gift that keeps on giving in my 2020!
July 7, 2020
While I actually started reading around age 3 (thank you, my Granny's Dick and Jane books!), this series is what I remember most about loving to read during my childhood. My sister and I drank these books up like they were oxygen. I truly think we owned just about every single one from every one of the series. We even got the privilege of meeting Ann M. Martin at a book signing, but of course little starstruck me froze and could not speak a word to my biggest hero at that time. Once in awhile if I come across these at a yard sale, I will pick them up for a couple hour trip down memory lane, and I declare nearly nothing centers and relaxes me more!
January 21, 2021
I feel like I've read this one before, but that might just be because all of these books have similar themes. I was surprised that this dealt with a more serious topic (parental neglect/kidnapping) but I think they were done pretty well. It's also easy to keep up with the characters, even though there are many (and will be many more to come).
Read
January 1, 2017Did I pick this up on Dec. 30th only to ensure I could finish my 75 books in 2016 challenge? Sure did. And it worked.
February 1, 2020
4 stars. So much fun. I love Dawn and think she's a great addition to the club. It is impossible to dislike these books, no matter how old I am.
November 18, 2021
Good book for pre-teens.
February 1, 2023
babysitter
July 16, 2023
Jess' 2023 BSC Re-Read
Plot: In Dawn's intro book, she's thrust into one of the more difficult jobs yet--the unorganized and rambunctious Barrett kids. Soon, the harried Mrs. Barrett starts to rely too heavily on Dawn for round-the-clock childcare and housework, forcing Dawn to stand up for herself. She also faces an emergency when one day Buddy, the oldest Barrett, goes missing while she's babysitting (in a fake-out parental kidnapping plot that just skirts on the edge of too mature for these books).
Mains
Kristy: Kristy and Dawn's bonding and blossoming friendship was one of my favorite parts of this book. I love how their rivalry for Mary Anne's best-friendship was quickly overpowered by their shared sense of adventure (playing in the hayloft). They have a great dynamic. Kristy also had a silly-cute subplot of make-believe with Karen and Andrew that I sort of skimmed.
Mary Anne: Mary Anne and Dawn continue to actively ship their parents and push them together at every turn. They are already planning to be sisters! They also reintroduce Richard Spier to Dawn's family, which goes better than expected.
Claudia: Practically non-existent.
Stacey: Besides sitting for David Michael and talking about the Thomas' upcoming move to the Brewers', Stacey is mostly absent.
Dawn: Dawn's first POV book. She was always the coolest of the BSC members in my opinion. She gets a little Flanderized in future books, with her crunchy Cali chill vibes, but I really liked her in this. She seems more mature than the other girls, more independent. And her house is by far the coolest.
Side Characters: New clients the Barretts--Buddy, Suzi, Marnie, and their scatterbrained mom. I really felt for Mrs. Barrett, maybe moreso than the book did at the time. She was obviously hurt and reeling from her divorce, and her overreliance on a trustworthy, kind, responsible babysitter seems to be a wishful replacement for an absent partner. Dawn and the other girls handled it very well, and I like how they all stood up for themselves when an adult was asking too much of them. We also get a glimpse of Karen's friend Hannie Papadakis, who is a larger character in the Little Sister books.
And finally, we get a soft intro to all eight of the Pike kids, including Mallory, a future BSC member. It isn't much more than a backyard picnic, but we get to the see the hectic family in action, along with all their little sibling quirks.
Overall: Another classic BSC plot and a good read. Dawn is a great character and I always enjoy her. I'm looking forward to spending more time in her house and with her family.
Plot: In Dawn's intro book, she's thrust into one of the more difficult jobs yet--the unorganized and rambunctious Barrett kids. Soon, the harried Mrs. Barrett starts to rely too heavily on Dawn for round-the-clock childcare and housework, forcing Dawn to stand up for herself. She also faces an emergency when one day Buddy, the oldest Barrett, goes missing while she's babysitting (in a fake-out parental kidnapping plot that just skirts on the edge of too mature for these books).
Mains
Kristy: Kristy and Dawn's bonding and blossoming friendship was one of my favorite parts of this book. I love how their rivalry for Mary Anne's best-friendship was quickly overpowered by their shared sense of adventure (playing in the hayloft). They have a great dynamic. Kristy also had a silly-cute subplot of make-believe with Karen and Andrew that I sort of skimmed.
Mary Anne: Mary Anne and Dawn continue to actively ship their parents and push them together at every turn. They are already planning to be sisters! They also reintroduce Richard Spier to Dawn's family, which goes better than expected.
Claudia: Practically non-existent.
Stacey: Besides sitting for David Michael and talking about the Thomas' upcoming move to the Brewers', Stacey is mostly absent.
Dawn: Dawn's first POV book. She was always the coolest of the BSC members in my opinion. She gets a little Flanderized in future books, with her crunchy Cali chill vibes, but I really liked her in this. She seems more mature than the other girls, more independent. And her house is by far the coolest.
Side Characters: New clients the Barretts--Buddy, Suzi, Marnie, and their scatterbrained mom. I really felt for Mrs. Barrett, maybe moreso than the book did at the time. She was obviously hurt and reeling from her divorce, and her overreliance on a trustworthy, kind, responsible babysitter seems to be a wishful replacement for an absent partner. Dawn and the other girls handled it very well, and I like how they all stood up for themselves when an adult was asking too much of them. We also get a glimpse of Karen's friend Hannie Papadakis, who is a larger character in the Little Sister books.
And finally, we get a soft intro to all eight of the Pike kids, including Mallory, a future BSC member. It isn't much more than a backyard picnic, but we get to the see the hectic family in action, along with all their little sibling quirks.
Overall: Another classic BSC plot and a good read. Dawn is a great character and I always enjoy her. I'm looking forward to spending more time in her house and with her family.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 326 reviews