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Fabulous Five #23
Mall Mania
Christie's always been known as the brains of The Fabulous Five, but lately she's been skipping assignments and breaking curfew. As the rest of The Fabulous Five struggles to get used to the new Christie, the big bombshell drops: Christie's father has been transferred to London! How will they ever say goodbye to Christie?
128 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1991
31 people want to read
About the author
Betsy Haynes
123 books109 followersABOUT ME
Maybe it's because my feisty grandma chased tarantulas around with a broom when we lived on an oil lease property when I was a baby that made me love danger and adventure. And maybe it was my father's spending nights as a trombonist with the bands of his day and his days spent drawing sketches that sparked my artistic side. Do you suppose that because my mother stood only four feet ten inches tall that I feel like a giant at five feet? And I'm sure my FBI (Full Blooded Italian) step-father, his seven brothers and sisters and their families are responsible for my LOVE of Italian food. That's who I am. Who are you?
My First Book, Peppy The Frog That I Wrote In The 2nd Grade
I'll always be a child at heart. Whenever I close my eyes, wonderful, funny, awful, embarrassing memories of middle school/junior high come flooding back to fill the pages of my contemporary novels. My childhood friendships and rivalries with old enemies all find their way into my books. I've even spied on my own kids for story ideas.
Unlike most kids who can't wait to grow up, I've gotten younger--at least my stories have. I've stepped into the world of 7 to 10 year olds.
I and my husband, Jim, live in Texas on Lake Lewisville north of Dallas. We are owned by our greyhound, Miller. Our favorite things to do are traveling the world and boating.
Maybe it's because my feisty grandma chased tarantulas around with a broom when we lived on an oil lease property when I was a baby that made me love danger and adventure. And maybe it was my father's spending nights as a trombonist with the bands of his day and his days spent drawing sketches that sparked my artistic side. Do you suppose that because my mother stood only four feet ten inches tall that I feel like a giant at five feet? And I'm sure my FBI (Full Blooded Italian) step-father, his seven brothers and sisters and their families are responsible for my LOVE of Italian food. That's who I am. Who are you?
My First Book, Peppy The Frog That I Wrote In The 2nd Grade
I'll always be a child at heart. Whenever I close my eyes, wonderful, funny, awful, embarrassing memories of middle school/junior high come flooding back to fill the pages of my contemporary novels. My childhood friendships and rivalries with old enemies all find their way into my books. I've even spied on my own kids for story ideas.
Unlike most kids who can't wait to grow up, I've gotten younger--at least my stories have. I've stepped into the world of 7 to 10 year olds.
I and my husband, Jim, live in Texas on Lake Lewisville north of Dallas. We are owned by our greyhound, Miller. Our favorite things to do are traveling the world and boating.
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June 7, 2024Mall Mania
Beth tells the Fabulous Five the media group she’s in might be doing something that will actually get them on television. Beth then heads to the first meeting of the media club. Mr. Levine says the rumors are true. They’ll be putting on a fifteen-minute show on Saturday mornings. They’ll be recording on school events, sports, and what’s on the school menu. There will also be an ecology segment. Mr. Levine says the name of the show will be “The Wakeman Bulletin Board”. He then rotates jobs. They’ll rotate on camera and off camera jobs. Beth and Shawnie get to be co-anchors first. Paul is given the assignment of ecology reporter. John voluntters to be the camera person for the first month. The director will be Funny. Shane and Tim will collect information to use on the show. The first show will be this week and they’ll shoot Friday. They choose the main media center to shoot. John says he knows some guys at the TV station that can come out and give suggestions about lighting.
Shawnie asks Beth what she’s going to wear and suggest they coordinate. Beth realizes all her clothes are wrong for being on television so she asks her mother for an advance on her allowance. Her mother says she’s paying on house stuff and her brothers braces and suggests she get a job babysitting. So, she has to tell Shawnie she can’t go shopping. Shawnie says she’ll just have to come by and they can go through her closet and pick something that’s not to wild.
The next day, Shawnie says Beth can just charge a new outfit on her credit card and then she can pay her back before the bill comes. Since her parents are away a lot they tend to spoil Shawnie so she always has new clothes. They find Beth a black dress with a red belt and some inexpensive earrings. Beth tells her mom she’s just “borrowing” the dress from Shawnie. Things go well at the meeting. Everyone is on top of their assignments. They learn about charrons and production music. Tim and Shane are put in charge of putting up oosters to advertise the show. Beth thinks of Keith and thinks she’ll practice and practice and make the best anchor she can. At the mall, Beth finds the perfect pair of shoes. Shawnie finds a red dress. They also find a tea pot and tea cups that would look elegant on the table in front of them.
The Fabulous Five are concerned about Beths mom finding out but she says if she can pay itt off soon she’ll just tell her mom she earned it. The taping goes extremely well. The lightning looks great and Beth gets all her lines right. When Beth gets home, she tells her mom about how good everything went. Her mom tells her she got a babysitting job from Mrs. Martin. But she’s already made plans with the Fabulous Five. So, she tells her she can’t. The Fabulous Five are supposed to come over in the morning so they can all watch Beth’s television debut.
The Fabulous Five and Beth’s family all watch the show together. Beth looks great! She comes off poised and professional. Ketih calls afterward to complement her. After it’s over, Melanie asks what she’s going to wear for the next taping. Melanie says they should all go to the mall. Beth knows she doesn’t have any money but there’s nothing wrong with looking. Right?
In a store called “Whitleys” (Gilbert?) Beth encounters a snobby sales lady. She sees a scarf she likes but even on sale it’s a little too expensive but to prove a point to the sales person she buys it with the help of Jana, Christy, Katie, and Melanie. Beth gets tons of compliments at school for her performance. Shawnie says they have to coordinate their outfits again. So, Beth agrees to go with Shawnie to the mall and find something on sale after their meeting with the media club.
At the meeting, Paul says he needs help coming up with a topic for the next show. Shane won’t be able to make a poster this week so john volunteers. Beth finds a blue blazer to wear instead of the scarf. She promises Shawnie this is the last time. Shawnie just shrugs it off. Beth later creates a pair of earrings from one of her dad’s fishing lines and some buttons of her mom’s.
Beth gets lots of compliments on her earrings from the kids at school. But at lunch, Shawnie comes up to her and tells her (her) parents weren’t happy with letting her use her card. They’ll meet 30 percent for the first payment by Friday. If not they’ll tel her mother. Jana offers to help her but Beth says no. Borrowing is what got her in this mess in the first place.
Beth tells her parents and comes up with the solution of returning some of the clothes. Her parents tell her they’ll pay Shawnie’s parents back, but then she’ll have to pay them back. Every cent of her baby sitting money and allowance will go to them. They then go over Beth’s expenses with her and tell her she’ll have to start putting half into a savings account, Beth isn’t happy about this because she won’t have anything to spend on herself. So, they tell her she’ll get a raise in her allowance, but she has to be more careful how she spends her money.
On her next show, Beth shows how to create jewelry out of junk. The earrings in the show she gives to her friends. The pair with the keys she gives to Melanie. The pair with the bus tokens she gives to Christie. The ones with the paper clips she gives to Katie. Beth’s friend’s tell her even though she won’t be going anywhere for a while they still have her. Then they go inside to watch the show. (Jana’s earrings btw have buttons). As they watch the show, Beth realizes it’s not her clothes that made the show a success. After the show, Whitney Larkin commissions Beth to make her a pair of earrings. Then a ninth grader (Jennifer Perkins) calls and wants to buy some of her earrings. Then another girl Casey calls. By lunch the next day she’s taken orders from 10 girls in her class. Now she’ll be able to pay her mother back quickly.
After a month, the media club has a celebration. It’s decided the next month, Funny and Shane will be in front of the camera. Paul and Shawnie will be reporters. Beth will be the director and John will do the ecology segment.
My Thoughts
This is definitely the first I’ve heard of a 12 year old with a credit card. It kinda reminded me of the Saved By The Bell episode where Lisa Turtle bought that new outfit and maxed up her Dad’s credit card. Then she had to sell her clothes and get a job working at the Max. When she told him about it was like “Oh well.” Then he told her to keep the job when she couldn’t believe he brushed it off as easily as he did. The junk jewelry idea was cute tho. Back in the day there were “Junk” necklaces and bracelets. Only they were made out of charms. Not quite sure why they called them junk. Come to think of it, there was also a Saved By The Bell episode I wanna say where the students at Bayside also had a news program. So, this brought back memories!
Rating: 6
Beth tells the Fabulous Five the media group she’s in might be doing something that will actually get them on television. Beth then heads to the first meeting of the media club. Mr. Levine says the rumors are true. They’ll be putting on a fifteen-minute show on Saturday mornings. They’ll be recording on school events, sports, and what’s on the school menu. There will also be an ecology segment. Mr. Levine says the name of the show will be “The Wakeman Bulletin Board”. He then rotates jobs. They’ll rotate on camera and off camera jobs. Beth and Shawnie get to be co-anchors first. Paul is given the assignment of ecology reporter. John voluntters to be the camera person for the first month. The director will be Funny. Shane and Tim will collect information to use on the show. The first show will be this week and they’ll shoot Friday. They choose the main media center to shoot. John says he knows some guys at the TV station that can come out and give suggestions about lighting.
Shawnie asks Beth what she’s going to wear and suggest they coordinate. Beth realizes all her clothes are wrong for being on television so she asks her mother for an advance on her allowance. Her mother says she’s paying on house stuff and her brothers braces and suggests she get a job babysitting. So, she has to tell Shawnie she can’t go shopping. Shawnie says she’ll just have to come by and they can go through her closet and pick something that’s not to wild.
The next day, Shawnie says Beth can just charge a new outfit on her credit card and then she can pay her back before the bill comes. Since her parents are away a lot they tend to spoil Shawnie so she always has new clothes. They find Beth a black dress with a red belt and some inexpensive earrings. Beth tells her mom she’s just “borrowing” the dress from Shawnie. Things go well at the meeting. Everyone is on top of their assignments. They learn about charrons and production music. Tim and Shane are put in charge of putting up oosters to advertise the show. Beth thinks of Keith and thinks she’ll practice and practice and make the best anchor she can. At the mall, Beth finds the perfect pair of shoes. Shawnie finds a red dress. They also find a tea pot and tea cups that would look elegant on the table in front of them.
The Fabulous Five are concerned about Beths mom finding out but she says if she can pay itt off soon she’ll just tell her mom she earned it. The taping goes extremely well. The lightning looks great and Beth gets all her lines right. When Beth gets home, she tells her mom about how good everything went. Her mom tells her she got a babysitting job from Mrs. Martin. But she’s already made plans with the Fabulous Five. So, she tells her she can’t. The Fabulous Five are supposed to come over in the morning so they can all watch Beth’s television debut.
The Fabulous Five and Beth’s family all watch the show together. Beth looks great! She comes off poised and professional. Ketih calls afterward to complement her. After it’s over, Melanie asks what she’s going to wear for the next taping. Melanie says they should all go to the mall. Beth knows she doesn’t have any money but there’s nothing wrong with looking. Right?
In a store called “Whitleys” (Gilbert?) Beth encounters a snobby sales lady. She sees a scarf she likes but even on sale it’s a little too expensive but to prove a point to the sales person she buys it with the help of Jana, Christy, Katie, and Melanie. Beth gets tons of compliments at school for her performance. Shawnie says they have to coordinate their outfits again. So, Beth agrees to go with Shawnie to the mall and find something on sale after their meeting with the media club.
At the meeting, Paul says he needs help coming up with a topic for the next show. Shane won’t be able to make a poster this week so john volunteers. Beth finds a blue blazer to wear instead of the scarf. She promises Shawnie this is the last time. Shawnie just shrugs it off. Beth later creates a pair of earrings from one of her dad’s fishing lines and some buttons of her mom’s.
Beth gets lots of compliments on her earrings from the kids at school. But at lunch, Shawnie comes up to her and tells her (her) parents weren’t happy with letting her use her card. They’ll meet 30 percent for the first payment by Friday. If not they’ll tel her mother. Jana offers to help her but Beth says no. Borrowing is what got her in this mess in the first place.
Beth tells her parents and comes up with the solution of returning some of the clothes. Her parents tell her they’ll pay Shawnie’s parents back, but then she’ll have to pay them back. Every cent of her baby sitting money and allowance will go to them. They then go over Beth’s expenses with her and tell her she’ll have to start putting half into a savings account, Beth isn’t happy about this because she won’t have anything to spend on herself. So, they tell her she’ll get a raise in her allowance, but she has to be more careful how she spends her money.
On her next show, Beth shows how to create jewelry out of junk. The earrings in the show she gives to her friends. The pair with the keys she gives to Melanie. The pair with the bus tokens she gives to Christie. The ones with the paper clips she gives to Katie. Beth’s friend’s tell her even though she won’t be going anywhere for a while they still have her. Then they go inside to watch the show. (Jana’s earrings btw have buttons). As they watch the show, Beth realizes it’s not her clothes that made the show a success. After the show, Whitney Larkin commissions Beth to make her a pair of earrings. Then a ninth grader (Jennifer Perkins) calls and wants to buy some of her earrings. Then another girl Casey calls. By lunch the next day she’s taken orders from 10 girls in her class. Now she’ll be able to pay her mother back quickly.
After a month, the media club has a celebration. It’s decided the next month, Funny and Shane will be in front of the camera. Paul and Shawnie will be reporters. Beth will be the director and John will do the ecology segment.
My Thoughts
This is definitely the first I’ve heard of a 12 year old with a credit card. It kinda reminded me of the Saved By The Bell episode where Lisa Turtle bought that new outfit and maxed up her Dad’s credit card. Then she had to sell her clothes and get a job working at the Max. When she told him about it was like “Oh well.” Then he told her to keep the job when she couldn’t believe he brushed it off as easily as he did. The junk jewelry idea was cute tho. Back in the day there were “Junk” necklaces and bracelets. Only they were made out of charms. Not quite sure why they called them junk. Come to think of it, there was also a Saved By The Bell episode I wanna say where the students at Bayside also had a news program. So, this brought back memories!
Rating: 6
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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July 29, 2020As a kid every Saturday we went to Kmart, and every Saturday my mom would let me buy one thing, and it was ALWAYS a fabulous five book. (The cover looks like a spiral notebook cover... I thought that was very clever)
I also managed to track down all the Taffy Sinclair books at a thrift store.
I wonder if this series is still at my parents I would definitely read them again.
I remember in the Taffy books Melanie was chubby and it make references to her eating brownies and then one day she was like NO i don't want the brownie... and then she got skinny.
This is a very vague memory... so don't quote me on this one, what you CAN quote me on is that Taffy had a crooked bicuspid, and Jana ate cream cheese and jam sandwiches,... which I tried because of her and they were DIS-GUS-TING, and I never trusted her again.
I also managed to track down all the Taffy Sinclair books at a thrift store.
I wonder if this series is still at my parents I would definitely read them again.
I remember in the Taffy books Melanie was chubby and it make references to her eating brownies and then one day she was like NO i don't want the brownie... and then she got skinny.
This is a very vague memory... so don't quote me on this one, what you CAN quote me on is that Taffy had a crooked bicuspid, and Jana ate cream cheese and jam sandwiches,... which I tried because of her and they were DIS-GUS-TING, and I never trusted her again.
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