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The Baby-Sitters Club #49
Claudia and the Genius of Elm Street
Little Rosie Wilder is perfect at everything. She can sing and dance, she plays several musical instruments, and her I.Q. is so high it's off the scale. So how did Claudia "C-" Kishi get stuck baby-sitting for Rosie the genius?
It's because Rosie is so obnoxious that no one gets along with her--not even Claudia's sister, who's a genius, too. The Baby-sitters think that Rosie needs to be taught a good lesson. But maybe what Rosie really needs is a good friend . . . like Claudia.
It's because Rosie is so obnoxious that no one gets along with her--not even Claudia's sister, who's a genius, too. The Baby-sitters think that Rosie needs to be taught a good lesson. But maybe what Rosie really needs is a good friend . . . like Claudia.
109 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 1991
66 people are currently reading
812 people want to read
About the author
Ann M. Martin
1,120 books3,073 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...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
May 10, 2016
this is my first time reading this book!
in this Peter Lerangis-ghostwritten book, claudia starts regularly sitting for new client rosie wilder. rosie is perfect at pretty much every school thing, creative thing, or performance thing she tries. her parents are awful helicopters who expect her to do all of these things all the time. claudia finally sees that she isn't trying to be arrogant and is actually just miserable with her parents overscheduling her and not letting her be a kid. this is a better one of the books that have clueless parents who don't see that their kids are unhappy and need the babysitter to intervene (like Dawn and the Impossible Three or Mallory and the Trouble With Twins).
highlights:
-claudia says the first time she heard janine talk about calculus she thought she was talking about a roman emperor. is this based on caligula? claudius? I don't know, but either way, I definitely laughed out loud.
-kristy's kristyish idea in this book is to have a gallery showing of claudia's art, which is super kristy but also really nice. claudia has been working on a series of warhol-inspired paintings of junk food, which she calls "disposable comestibles" (the joke being that it sounds douchey and fancy but is really just paintings of twinkies and such).
-rosie is on uncle dandy's show -- uncle dandy is apparently a central connecticut minor celebrity, who has talented kids on his show, sort of akin to britain's got talent. uncle dandy has a toupee that is helmet-head style, especially considering his overuse of hairspray. I wish they had described his patterned blazer, because you KNOW he had one.
-when claudia says to alan gray that he is so funny she forgot to laugh, she narrates "what a dumb expression, but alan's the kind of guy you say things like that to." this is actually really good writing. when I was 13 I feel like I kept saying stupid expressions like that and would rationalize it like claudia does.
-when claudia and rosie play hangman they find biggest words in the dictionary for it so they can make elaborate hangmen with toes, fingers, warts, glasses, backpacks, etc. so cute!
lowlights/nitpicks:
-since claudia called janine to help rosie with her homework earlier in the book, jessi calls janine to help rosie with her crossword puzzle practice (for a crossword competition). she doesn't even listen to see if rosie wants help in the first place. rosie clearly just wants someone to talk to. jessi, for someone who is usually so annoyingly perfect and in tune with everyone's feelings all the time, you are kind of an idiot here.
-when someone on uncle dandy's set tries to talk to rosie, she barely responds. she tells claudia, "it's important not to make small talk on the set. that kind of thing can destroy your concentration, especially before a performance." this is such a bummer. her parents clearly don't want her to have friends and have forced her to memorize this speech.
claudia outfit:
-"That afternoon, for instance, I was wearing a man's paisley vest I'd found at a yard sale, over a striped button-down shirt with tuxedo-stripe black Spandex stirrup pants, held up with pink-flecked black suspenders. My hair was pulled straight back with a paisley comb, and I was wearing electric-pink ankle boots."
mary anne outfit:
-"That afternoon, for example, she wore a loose-fitting open shirt over a teal turtleneck with off-white chinos and white sneakers."
snacks in claudia's room:
-chunky bar (n.s.)
-milky ways (n.s.)
-m&ms (n.s.)
-pretzels (n.s.)
-kit-kat in her nightstand drawer
in this Peter Lerangis-ghostwritten book, claudia starts regularly sitting for new client rosie wilder. rosie is perfect at pretty much every school thing, creative thing, or performance thing she tries. her parents are awful helicopters who expect her to do all of these things all the time. claudia finally sees that she isn't trying to be arrogant and is actually just miserable with her parents overscheduling her and not letting her be a kid. this is a better one of the books that have clueless parents who don't see that their kids are unhappy and need the babysitter to intervene (like Dawn and the Impossible Three or Mallory and the Trouble With Twins).
highlights:
-claudia says the first time she heard janine talk about calculus she thought she was talking about a roman emperor. is this based on caligula? claudius? I don't know, but either way, I definitely laughed out loud.
-kristy's kristyish idea in this book is to have a gallery showing of claudia's art, which is super kristy but also really nice. claudia has been working on a series of warhol-inspired paintings of junk food, which she calls "disposable comestibles" (the joke being that it sounds douchey and fancy but is really just paintings of twinkies and such).
-rosie is on uncle dandy's show -- uncle dandy is apparently a central connecticut minor celebrity, who has talented kids on his show, sort of akin to britain's got talent. uncle dandy has a toupee that is helmet-head style, especially considering his overuse of hairspray. I wish they had described his patterned blazer, because you KNOW he had one.
-when claudia says to alan gray that he is so funny she forgot to laugh, she narrates "what a dumb expression, but alan's the kind of guy you say things like that to." this is actually really good writing. when I was 13 I feel like I kept saying stupid expressions like that and would rationalize it like claudia does.
-when claudia and rosie play hangman they find biggest words in the dictionary for it so they can make elaborate hangmen with toes, fingers, warts, glasses, backpacks, etc. so cute!
lowlights/nitpicks:
-since claudia called janine to help rosie with her homework earlier in the book, jessi calls janine to help rosie with her crossword puzzle practice (for a crossword competition). she doesn't even listen to see if rosie wants help in the first place. rosie clearly just wants someone to talk to. jessi, for someone who is usually so annoyingly perfect and in tune with everyone's feelings all the time, you are kind of an idiot here.
-when someone on uncle dandy's set tries to talk to rosie, she barely responds. she tells claudia, "it's important not to make small talk on the set. that kind of thing can destroy your concentration, especially before a performance." this is such a bummer. her parents clearly don't want her to have friends and have forced her to memorize this speech.
claudia outfit:
-"That afternoon, for instance, I was wearing a man's paisley vest I'd found at a yard sale, over a striped button-down shirt with tuxedo-stripe black Spandex stirrup pants, held up with pink-flecked black suspenders. My hair was pulled straight back with a paisley comb, and I was wearing electric-pink ankle boots."
mary anne outfit:
-"That afternoon, for example, she wore a loose-fitting open shirt over a teal turtleneck with off-white chinos and white sneakers."
snacks in claudia's room:
-chunky bar (n.s.)
-milky ways (n.s.)
-m&ms (n.s.)
-pretzels (n.s.)
-kit-kat in her nightstand drawer
November 4, 2010
claudia, for reasons that i don't recall, lands a egular job with new clients--the wilders. they have an eight-year-old daughter named rosie. claudia thinks rosie looks vaguely familiar--& then she realizes, rosie is a child star & claudia has seen her in TV commercials. rosie acts, tap dances, plays the violin, sings, you name it. she takes lessons & attends extra-curricular activities every day of the week & managing her career is a full-time job for her parents. which begs the question of why exactly they needed a sitter, since it seems like rosie is always with teachers & tutors, even when claudia is sitting for her.
rosie is pretty chilly to claudia. claudia tries to ask about rosie's various talents & accomplishments. but rosie freezes her out or treats her like she's dumb. she asks claudia for help with her homework, & when claudia doesn't know the answers, rosie is really impatient. claudia calls janine over to help, & rosie seems to like janine a little more than she likes claudia, but she's still not very friendly. claudia doesn't know what she's doing wrong, but she knows she doesn't like to sit for rosie.
so she amuses herself during her jobs by working on her newest art project. she is drawing pictures of junk food & then painting them. her two great passions, together at last. if only it had occurred to her to place the junk food in scenes from various nancy drew books. kristy compliments claudia's drawings & then gets the bright idea for claudia to stage an art opening in her garage. all the sitters volunteer to help clean out the space, hang the art, & advertise. claudia is at first embarrassed by the idea of inviting the whole town to look at her paintings of rollos spilled on the floor...but the excitement of having her very own art show takes over & she starts working even harder on her paintings.
a few of the other sitters (stacey & jessi) end up having jobs with rosie as well, & rosie is just as cold to them. jessi tries to ask rosie about her ballet dancing, but rosie just storms upstairs to do homework. stacey is sitting for rosie while rosie has an audition for a kids' variety TV show, & embarrasses herself by using the wrong terminology & then getting drafted into helping with rosie with her monologue.
just as an aside...i have actor friends, & a monologue is actually supposed to be a monologue. as in, you're not responding to someone else's lines, even if they're a non-actor just filling in the blanks. so WTF, rosie?
anyway. after a while, rosie starts drawing junk food with claudia during sitting jobs. she confesses that drawing is what she really likes to do with her time, but she's scared to tell her parents because she thinks they'll turn it into just another marketable talent & suck all the joy out of it for her. claudia encourages rosie to talk to her parents & admit that she doesn't like all the activities they're making her do. rosie does so, & tells them that she likes to draw. she shows them some of her drawings of claudia's junk food & they are impressed. they start plotting to enroll rosie in an art class with the fancy dude claudia studied with in new york, mckenzie clark. claudia steps in & suggests that rosie show some of her drawings in the junk food garage art show, "disposable comestibles" (janine came up with the name). they like this idea, & so does rosie. the show is a big hit, the wilders let rosie drop out of some of her activities, & they agree to let rosie direct her own interest in art, with claudia as a guide.
& that is pretty much the last we hear of rosie wilder. i wasn't wild about this book, mostly because i didn't understand why any of the characters acted the way they were acting. it was unclear why rosie was so mean to claudia. because she was unhappy with her activities? why wasn't she being bratty with her parents or teachers, then? jessi went to such lengths to learn how to treat derek masters like a regular little kid in book #27, but she can't figure out why rosie doesn't want to talk about ballet in this book? & sophisticated stacey from new york city doesn't understand what an audition is or how to read a script? i just felt like everyone was acting out of character because it was convenient to the plot, but none of it rang true. even claudia adopting "disposable comestibles" was off-base. doesn't claudia usually just get mad when janine uses big words? but now she thinks it's funny?
there's also a weird continuity error. when kristy comes up with the junk food art show idea, everyone is throwing out suggestions, & kristy suggests that the girls serve junk food as refreshments. everyone thinks this is genius. but when claudia is getting ready for the show, she says, "we're even serving junk food as refreshments. (this was my idea.)" uh...five chapters ago, it was kristy's idea, so WTF?
rosie is pretty chilly to claudia. claudia tries to ask about rosie's various talents & accomplishments. but rosie freezes her out or treats her like she's dumb. she asks claudia for help with her homework, & when claudia doesn't know the answers, rosie is really impatient. claudia calls janine over to help, & rosie seems to like janine a little more than she likes claudia, but she's still not very friendly. claudia doesn't know what she's doing wrong, but she knows she doesn't like to sit for rosie.
so she amuses herself during her jobs by working on her newest art project. she is drawing pictures of junk food & then painting them. her two great passions, together at last. if only it had occurred to her to place the junk food in scenes from various nancy drew books. kristy compliments claudia's drawings & then gets the bright idea for claudia to stage an art opening in her garage. all the sitters volunteer to help clean out the space, hang the art, & advertise. claudia is at first embarrassed by the idea of inviting the whole town to look at her paintings of rollos spilled on the floor...but the excitement of having her very own art show takes over & she starts working even harder on her paintings.
a few of the other sitters (stacey & jessi) end up having jobs with rosie as well, & rosie is just as cold to them. jessi tries to ask rosie about her ballet dancing, but rosie just storms upstairs to do homework. stacey is sitting for rosie while rosie has an audition for a kids' variety TV show, & embarrasses herself by using the wrong terminology & then getting drafted into helping with rosie with her monologue.
just as an aside...i have actor friends, & a monologue is actually supposed to be a monologue. as in, you're not responding to someone else's lines, even if they're a non-actor just filling in the blanks. so WTF, rosie?
anyway. after a while, rosie starts drawing junk food with claudia during sitting jobs. she confesses that drawing is what she really likes to do with her time, but she's scared to tell her parents because she thinks they'll turn it into just another marketable talent & suck all the joy out of it for her. claudia encourages rosie to talk to her parents & admit that she doesn't like all the activities they're making her do. rosie does so, & tells them that she likes to draw. she shows them some of her drawings of claudia's junk food & they are impressed. they start plotting to enroll rosie in an art class with the fancy dude claudia studied with in new york, mckenzie clark. claudia steps in & suggests that rosie show some of her drawings in the junk food garage art show, "disposable comestibles" (janine came up with the name). they like this idea, & so does rosie. the show is a big hit, the wilders let rosie drop out of some of her activities, & they agree to let rosie direct her own interest in art, with claudia as a guide.
& that is pretty much the last we hear of rosie wilder. i wasn't wild about this book, mostly because i didn't understand why any of the characters acted the way they were acting. it was unclear why rosie was so mean to claudia. because she was unhappy with her activities? why wasn't she being bratty with her parents or teachers, then? jessi went to such lengths to learn how to treat derek masters like a regular little kid in book #27, but she can't figure out why rosie doesn't want to talk about ballet in this book? & sophisticated stacey from new york city doesn't understand what an audition is or how to read a script? i just felt like everyone was acting out of character because it was convenient to the plot, but none of it rang true. even claudia adopting "disposable comestibles" was off-base. doesn't claudia usually just get mad when janine uses big words? but now she thinks it's funny?
there's also a weird continuity error. when kristy comes up with the junk food art show idea, everyone is throwing out suggestions, & kristy suggests that the girls serve junk food as refreshments. everyone thinks this is genius. but when claudia is getting ready for the show, she says, "we're even serving junk food as refreshments. (this was my idea.)" uh...five chapters ago, it was kristy's idea, so WTF?
March 18, 2020
When the BSC receives a phone call from a new client , they get excited! It’s for a 7 year old girl named Rosie.
Claudia gets the full time job. The only problem is... Rosie is talented and a genius at EVERYTHING! Claudia can’t help with homework or any of her extracurricular activities.
Claudia has never felt so dumb in her life. How can a 7 year old be smarter than her.
Rosie has a secret though, just because she is smart and talented at so many things...doesn’t mean she likes doing them. She has her heart set on something else, but will her parents understand?
Claudia gets the full time job. The only problem is... Rosie is talented and a genius at EVERYTHING! Claudia can’t help with homework or any of her extracurricular activities.
Claudia has never felt so dumb in her life. How can a 7 year old be smarter than her.
Rosie has a secret though, just because she is smart and talented at so many things...doesn’t mean she likes doing them. She has her heart set on something else, but will her parents understand?
March 27, 2020
The best thing about Claudia books is that you don't have to try to decipher her handwriting.
December 17, 2025
Not sure why the streak of really good BSC books lately but I really liked this one as well. Claudia wasn't quite as annoying as usual - though being jealous of a 7 year old in the beginning was silly. The book is about a little girl who is over scheduled and gets fed up with all her activities. Claudia helps her realize what she likes - drawing - and the courage to speak up (at 7 years old lol). She ends up reducing her activities and being much happier. It's a pretty cute story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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September 5, 2024Claudia and the Genius on Elm Street
As the book opens Claudia is watching a documentary on Andy Warhol. She gets inspired by his pop art to do her own series (which she names “Junk Food Fantasy”). It’ll also be done in the pop art style. Claudia has been bored and looking for a new project so she jumps right into it and starts making sketches. (Already I like the sound of it).
At the meeting they get a new client (Ginger Wilder) refered by the Barett’s. She need a regular sister because her mother’s become ill. She tripped broke her ankle, and now has shingles. She needs a sitter for Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays for her daughter Rosie. She has teachers that come to her house. Claudia gets the job. Mrs. Wilder asks if she has any interest in dance, math, or science. Claudia tells her she’s an artist. Mrs. Wilder tells her that Rosie *does* have some interest in art. She tells the others Mrs. Wilder also said something that managing Rosie’s career. Claudia gets a strange feeling about the job but doesn’t know what brought it on.
Tueday Claudia goes to the Wilder’s the first time. She gets a good first impression of Mrs. Wilder. Rosie however is so engrossed in her piano playing that she doesn’t hear her mother calling her and when she does she answers “What?” (to which I would have looked at her like you don’t answer me what). She simply says “I know” when she’s told Claudia is her sitter. She shakes Claud’s hand but doesn’t look excited about her being there. Claudia is told she was supposed to have a lesson but the teacher couldn’t come because of the fly. Wednesday is her ballet and violin lesson. On Thursday she has tap and voice lessons.
They’re working together because Roise has a dinner theatre audition coming up. Friday she has science clubso Claud doesn’t have to be there until a quarter after five. She has math club on Monday and an Advanced Reader’s group every other Saturday. Not to mention commercial auditions, modeling calls, and agent meetings. Roise already knows what she has to do (pratice, snack, homework) and pretty much tells Claudia she doesn’t need her. So, Claudia plans to start her homework, but can’t help feeling dumb surrounded by the Wilder’s “push your kid to success” books. She accidently drops a pack of Milk Duds then gets inspired and starts to draw. She’s interrupted by Rosie So they have a snack.
Claudia offers her some Milk Dudds and she says she doesn’t think they go with grapes. It’s right about then Claudia starts to think this kid Is getting on my nerves but she decides she should try to be patient. Claudia gives her a compliment and then starts to talk about the auditon for “Meet Me In Saint Louis”. Rosie then does her tap routine for her. Something about her smile seems fake but Claudia realizes she’s got talent. After the tap routine, she shows Claudia her ballet moves and her violin playing. Then she starts on her homework. She asks her if foxes hibernate and when Claudia says she doesn’t know, Rosie looks at her like she’s stupid. After this they take a walk but they just don’t connect. Rosie even corrects the note (Claudia) leaves for her mother. Claudia thinks never again but of course, she goes back.
On Thursday, Claudia comes up with a plan. 1 Keep herself in a good mood. 2 Finish two sketches 3 Call Janine if Rosie needs help with her homework. Rosie gets dropped off and explains to Claudia the difference between rehearsing and auditiong. She says she has to rehearse. Her mother leaves a note that says there’s tuna fish. When Claudia tells Rosie this she says she can read. She takes out her sheet music and starts to hum. Claudia tells her she sounded great the other day. She doesn’t even know why she has to rehearse. Rosie explains to her about all the competition she’s up against. Claudia tells a joke “How do you get to Carnagie Hall? You practice” and when Rosie smiles she realizes she’s the girl from the commercial -that I didn’t mention at the beginning of the review-. It features a girl that spills chocolate milk on a white rug and then demons come out of a spary can to “eat up” the spill. Rosie says its her college money and explains every time the commercial is played she gets a check. Which does nothing for Claudia’s self-esteem. Rosie asks Claudia to help her with her science homework so she calls Janine.
After their done, she has tap lessons and voice lessons. Claudia tries to sketch but is distracted by the sounds from the lessons. She does get a little work done but the dancing and singing get louder. The teachers don’t seem to think she’s doing good. They leave shortly after. Claudia asks how it went and she says it went fine. She then asks to see Claud’s sketches. She says the Ring Dings are the better ones. Then she says she likes to draw sometimes . Then she says she’s going to change and work on a project. Claudia invites her to work on her project with her but she says that’s ok.
Thursday, Claudia can’t sit for Rosie so Stacey gets the job. She picks her out from SES and she’s with four other girls talking about Disney World. She’s telling them about a cat commercial she shot and they’re teasing her saying they bet she’s never even been. She says she’s too busy anyway and they tell her she’s just jealous.They say goodbye when Stacey tells her who she is and the other girls walk away (on the other side of the street) Stacey feels bad for the other girls because this kid isn’t likeable. Stacey compliments her on her talents and Rosie tells her about a crossword puzzle contest at school she’s entered. Stacey volunteers to help but she says “Uncle Dandy” is coming over. He’s looking for someone to be on his talent show on tv and her agent told her about him.
She’ll tap, play her violin, play the piano, and do a scene from a soap. When they get there Stacey makes herself scarce. She starts to study. Rosie goes to practice. Before he comes, Stacey starts to get anxious. Uncle Dan and the agent show up. Uncle Dan seems to really enjoy Rosie’s audition. For the scene read, Rosie has to get Stacey to help her since she doesn’t have a monologue prepared. Stacey definitely isn’t an actress, She stumbles over her lines and rips her script but they get through it. Uncle Dan tho says Rosie will be on his show but just doesn’t know yet in what capacity. After this Rosie is in tears and says she has something to do in her room.
Monday, Claudia works on her painting “Milk Dudds Spilled”. She’s already finished “Twinkie Unwrapped”. Kristy says they make her feel good. Then they start the meeting. Mrs. Wilder will need them for another week. Claudia is free Tuesday and Friday but she has Charlotte Thursday. Stacey and Kristy are free but neither of them want it. Maryanne says she’s not a monster. She’s human. Claudia says she’s talented but she acts like a machine and she looks grim. She doesn’t think she likes what she’s doing. Maryanne says maybe she’s being pushed. They all say maybe they can take her somewhere fun. Jessi says she’ll take the Thursday job. Maybe because she dances they’ll have something in common.
Kristy says Claudia should have an art show. She says she should turn her garage into an exhibit. Why should her paintings just sit up in her room. All seven members agree to help her clean the garage. They decide to sent invitations and serve junk food. Rosie calls after the meeting and says Claudia won’t have to come the next day because she has a commercial audition in the city. It’s for the phone company. She sounds a little disappointed when Claudia tells her she’ll have another sitter but Claudia is happy she won’t have to sit for her for two days.
When Jessi tries to talk to her about her commercial, she’s blasé about it. She says she’s already done five others. She then shows Jessi all of them. Jessi says she was great. Then she brings up dancing and Rosie says she studied with a guy that danced with the American Ballet Theatre and Jessi is impressed and wants to talk more about dance. However, Rosie asks her to help her practice for the Crossword Competition. Jessi is wondering why she doesn’t want to talk about dance if she’s so good at it. Jessi’s no good at crosswords so she calls Janine.
Even tho Janine knows a lot of the answers, Rosie makes her feel bad about the ones she doesn’t know. WOW! Janine leaves abruptly and says Rosie doesn’t need her anymore. Rosie comes down and says she only wants Claudia to sit for her. Jessi says she’ll bring it up at the next meeting and asks her why. Rosie says she likes her best and then starts to cry and runs up to her room.
On Saturday, Claudia works on a new series “Gummy Bears” and “Gummy Worms”, The others debate over invitations. They settle on a list of about 40 clients and family. Some of them work on the garage. No one is happy about this and they all kind of bitch about it. Claudia gets annoyed and tells them if they don’t want to do it then why did they offer it. Maryanne says they’re doing it because they have to. Stacey says you don’t have to like everything. This makes Claudia think of Rosie. Maybe she does all those things because she *has* to and no one really knows her.
On the next job with Rosie, they’re doing crossword puzzles again. Rosie is still tormenting Claud. Claudia finally gets fed up and tells her ENOUGH! She’s tired of answering questions and she has other things to do. Rosie always knows the answer so why is she asking her. Rosie just nods. Claudia starts to work on sketches of a lollipop, a Mounds Bar, a bag of Doritos, and a marshmallow. Rosie takes one of the pages in Claudia’s notebook and tears it out. She keeps looking at Claudia and pausing. When Claudia looks she sees she’s drawn the Mounds Bar with a crumpled wrapper and SHE’S GOOD! Claudia can’t help but compliment her. She says it’s what she really likes to do. Claudia realizes she only wants her to sit her because she’s been watching her draw. She asks her if all the times she’s gone up to her room she’s drawing. She’s about to answer (yes) but her Dad comes home. She crumples up the drawing and pretends to be working on the crossword puzzle.
Rosie invites Claudia to the tv station. Claudia is wondering why she has to hide the thing she likes best. It’s for a taping of the Uncle Dandy show. Rosie is going to be last. She’ll sing and play the piano. Rosie does great and doesn’t make one mistake. Claudia and her parents are proud of her! A man named Mr. Mendez comes up to her and asks if she has an agent. Rosie says she’s already got an agent but her parents hop in and tell her it’s best to keep her options open. (Even tho she’s good with who she’s got). Claudia tries to congratulate her but she’s already over it. She wants to stop by the ice cream place but they tell her she has a rehersal in the morning. Rosie then trhows a tantrum and says she doesn’t care about any of it. She just wants to be “a normal kid”The Wilders ignore her. Claudia feels bad for Rosie.
Claudia and Maryanne (and some of the other kids) go to the Crossword thing to give Rosie support. Her mother won’t be able to go bc her grandmother is sick. Rosie gets teased by some of the boys but she finishes first and wins the competition. She gets a trophy and a hug. After it’s over, she asks Maryanne and Claudia why the kids tease her. She’s not doing anything to them. She just does her best. Claudia tells her she understands what it’s like to be different. She can never be Janine. Rosie asks don’t her parents know how talented she is in art and Claudia says now they do but it took them a minute. When Claudia asks what she wants to do she says draw. She’s been working on a Life Saver and a Doritor’s bag. Claudia gives her some tips. They have a good laugh over some of the sketches. Her parents come home and aren’t amused she’s not working. Rosie shows her parents her trophy and they say their proud of her, but then they see her drawings and ask her if she doesn’t have something better to do with her time. Then they drill her about her other activities. They tell her they aren’t spending their hard earned money so she can waste it. They say they don’t need a repeat of what happened after the Mr. Dandy show. She says she hates Mr. Dandy and if he asks her back she’s saying no. They tell her they knew she was in another league but now that it’s over she can’t let up. She says she hates her life all she ever does is work and the only time she has fun is when Claudia is there. She says she’s DONE and stomps up to her room. The Wilder’s don’t know what to do with this. Claudia feels like it’s her fault.
Claudia speaks in favor of her art and shows them her sketches. She tells them she studied with McKenize Clark and not many seven year olds have her skill. So, they say maybe they can take her to some of his classes when their in NY. Claudia then realizes they’ll turn this into another opportunity to put pressure on her. Claudia invites them to her exhibit and offers to showcase her work. Her parents say it’s ok as long as it doesn’t interfer with anything else. Rosie is excited about the show but Claudia tells her she should talk to her parents and tell them what she likes and doesn’t like. Claudia changes the name to "Disposable Comestibles. Alan tries to ruin the show by putting up a picture of a dead cat and a homeless man and putting gum all over the floor. But Claudia sells two of her paintings.
The next time she sits for Rosie, Rosie tells Claud she didn’t get the commercial. They wanted someone darker (as in hair coloring). She’s happy about it tho. She tells Claudia she talked to her parents and she’ll only take the lessons she likes (art, violin, and ). Claudia tells her Janine bought “Milk Dudds” and they spend the rest of the last day drawing and doing mash up cut outs (from magazines) and taking a walk.
My Thoughts:
This kid rubbed me the wrong way as soon as we meet her and she answers her mother “What!” Again we get a brat that we’re supposed to take pity on because of circumstances that -in this case- she can control by OPENING HER MOUTH (which if we see she has NO PROBLEM with doing at the END of the book. And yes, I get it even as an adult. Sometimes it IS hard to speak your mind to people in your family. A lot of times you *will* find yourself going along with things that you REALLY woud rather not do. TRUST ME I GET IT! This is a skil that I do not posses very well. So, I will say that communication *can* be hard when people have certain expectations for you that go against what you want.
A lot this book reminded me also of an episode of “”The Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire”. It might have been the second one where Aunt Viv and Phillip have all these things scheduled for Ashley (tennis lessons, violin, etc) and Will wants her to play the drums. Then in the end she tells them she didn’t want to disappoint her father and Will. Her mother tells her to just continue with the lessons she likes best.
Rating: 6 I really liked Claudia’s idea for a junk food series and exhibit! It had me wishing I could actually see her paintings! That was definitely the best part of the book in my opinion.
As the book opens Claudia is watching a documentary on Andy Warhol. She gets inspired by his pop art to do her own series (which she names “Junk Food Fantasy”). It’ll also be done in the pop art style. Claudia has been bored and looking for a new project so she jumps right into it and starts making sketches. (Already I like the sound of it).
At the meeting they get a new client (Ginger Wilder) refered by the Barett’s. She need a regular sister because her mother’s become ill. She tripped broke her ankle, and now has shingles. She needs a sitter for Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays for her daughter Rosie. She has teachers that come to her house. Claudia gets the job. Mrs. Wilder asks if she has any interest in dance, math, or science. Claudia tells her she’s an artist. Mrs. Wilder tells her that Rosie *does* have some interest in art. She tells the others Mrs. Wilder also said something that managing Rosie’s career. Claudia gets a strange feeling about the job but doesn’t know what brought it on.
Tueday Claudia goes to the Wilder’s the first time. She gets a good first impression of Mrs. Wilder. Rosie however is so engrossed in her piano playing that she doesn’t hear her mother calling her and when she does she answers “What?” (to which I would have looked at her like you don’t answer me what). She simply says “I know” when she’s told Claudia is her sitter. She shakes Claud’s hand but doesn’t look excited about her being there. Claudia is told she was supposed to have a lesson but the teacher couldn’t come because of the fly. Wednesday is her ballet and violin lesson. On Thursday she has tap and voice lessons.
They’re working together because Roise has a dinner theatre audition coming up. Friday she has science clubso Claud doesn’t have to be there until a quarter after five. She has math club on Monday and an Advanced Reader’s group every other Saturday. Not to mention commercial auditions, modeling calls, and agent meetings. Roise already knows what she has to do (pratice, snack, homework) and pretty much tells Claudia she doesn’t need her. So, Claudia plans to start her homework, but can’t help feeling dumb surrounded by the Wilder’s “push your kid to success” books. She accidently drops a pack of Milk Duds then gets inspired and starts to draw. She’s interrupted by Rosie So they have a snack.
Claudia offers her some Milk Dudds and she says she doesn’t think they go with grapes. It’s right about then Claudia starts to think this kid Is getting on my nerves but she decides she should try to be patient. Claudia gives her a compliment and then starts to talk about the auditon for “Meet Me In Saint Louis”. Rosie then does her tap routine for her. Something about her smile seems fake but Claudia realizes she’s got talent. After the tap routine, she shows Claudia her ballet moves and her violin playing. Then she starts on her homework. She asks her if foxes hibernate and when Claudia says she doesn’t know, Rosie looks at her like she’s stupid. After this they take a walk but they just don’t connect. Rosie even corrects the note (Claudia) leaves for her mother. Claudia thinks never again but of course, she goes back.
On Thursday, Claudia comes up with a plan. 1 Keep herself in a good mood. 2 Finish two sketches 3 Call Janine if Rosie needs help with her homework. Rosie gets dropped off and explains to Claudia the difference between rehearsing and auditiong. She says she has to rehearse. Her mother leaves a note that says there’s tuna fish. When Claudia tells Rosie this she says she can read. She takes out her sheet music and starts to hum. Claudia tells her she sounded great the other day. She doesn’t even know why she has to rehearse. Rosie explains to her about all the competition she’s up against. Claudia tells a joke “How do you get to Carnagie Hall? You practice” and when Rosie smiles she realizes she’s the girl from the commercial -that I didn’t mention at the beginning of the review-. It features a girl that spills chocolate milk on a white rug and then demons come out of a spary can to “eat up” the spill. Rosie says its her college money and explains every time the commercial is played she gets a check. Which does nothing for Claudia’s self-esteem. Rosie asks Claudia to help her with her science homework so she calls Janine.
After their done, she has tap lessons and voice lessons. Claudia tries to sketch but is distracted by the sounds from the lessons. She does get a little work done but the dancing and singing get louder. The teachers don’t seem to think she’s doing good. They leave shortly after. Claudia asks how it went and she says it went fine. She then asks to see Claud’s sketches. She says the Ring Dings are the better ones. Then she says she likes to draw sometimes . Then she says she’s going to change and work on a project. Claudia invites her to work on her project with her but she says that’s ok.
Thursday, Claudia can’t sit for Rosie so Stacey gets the job. She picks her out from SES and she’s with four other girls talking about Disney World. She’s telling them about a cat commercial she shot and they’re teasing her saying they bet she’s never even been. She says she’s too busy anyway and they tell her she’s just jealous.They say goodbye when Stacey tells her who she is and the other girls walk away (on the other side of the street) Stacey feels bad for the other girls because this kid isn’t likeable. Stacey compliments her on her talents and Rosie tells her about a crossword puzzle contest at school she’s entered. Stacey volunteers to help but she says “Uncle Dandy” is coming over. He’s looking for someone to be on his talent show on tv and her agent told her about him.
She’ll tap, play her violin, play the piano, and do a scene from a soap. When they get there Stacey makes herself scarce. She starts to study. Rosie goes to practice. Before he comes, Stacey starts to get anxious. Uncle Dan and the agent show up. Uncle Dan seems to really enjoy Rosie’s audition. For the scene read, Rosie has to get Stacey to help her since she doesn’t have a monologue prepared. Stacey definitely isn’t an actress, She stumbles over her lines and rips her script but they get through it. Uncle Dan tho says Rosie will be on his show but just doesn’t know yet in what capacity. After this Rosie is in tears and says she has something to do in her room.
Monday, Claudia works on her painting “Milk Dudds Spilled”. She’s already finished “Twinkie Unwrapped”. Kristy says they make her feel good. Then they start the meeting. Mrs. Wilder will need them for another week. Claudia is free Tuesday and Friday but she has Charlotte Thursday. Stacey and Kristy are free but neither of them want it. Maryanne says she’s not a monster. She’s human. Claudia says she’s talented but she acts like a machine and she looks grim. She doesn’t think she likes what she’s doing. Maryanne says maybe she’s being pushed. They all say maybe they can take her somewhere fun. Jessi says she’ll take the Thursday job. Maybe because she dances they’ll have something in common.
Kristy says Claudia should have an art show. She says she should turn her garage into an exhibit. Why should her paintings just sit up in her room. All seven members agree to help her clean the garage. They decide to sent invitations and serve junk food. Rosie calls after the meeting and says Claudia won’t have to come the next day because she has a commercial audition in the city. It’s for the phone company. She sounds a little disappointed when Claudia tells her she’ll have another sitter but Claudia is happy she won’t have to sit for her for two days.
When Jessi tries to talk to her about her commercial, she’s blasé about it. She says she’s already done five others. She then shows Jessi all of them. Jessi says she was great. Then she brings up dancing and Rosie says she studied with a guy that danced with the American Ballet Theatre and Jessi is impressed and wants to talk more about dance. However, Rosie asks her to help her practice for the Crossword Competition. Jessi is wondering why she doesn’t want to talk about dance if she’s so good at it. Jessi’s no good at crosswords so she calls Janine.
Even tho Janine knows a lot of the answers, Rosie makes her feel bad about the ones she doesn’t know. WOW! Janine leaves abruptly and says Rosie doesn’t need her anymore. Rosie comes down and says she only wants Claudia to sit for her. Jessi says she’ll bring it up at the next meeting and asks her why. Rosie says she likes her best and then starts to cry and runs up to her room.
On Saturday, Claudia works on a new series “Gummy Bears” and “Gummy Worms”, The others debate over invitations. They settle on a list of about 40 clients and family. Some of them work on the garage. No one is happy about this and they all kind of bitch about it. Claudia gets annoyed and tells them if they don’t want to do it then why did they offer it. Maryanne says they’re doing it because they have to. Stacey says you don’t have to like everything. This makes Claudia think of Rosie. Maybe she does all those things because she *has* to and no one really knows her.
On the next job with Rosie, they’re doing crossword puzzles again. Rosie is still tormenting Claud. Claudia finally gets fed up and tells her ENOUGH! She’s tired of answering questions and she has other things to do. Rosie always knows the answer so why is she asking her. Rosie just nods. Claudia starts to work on sketches of a lollipop, a Mounds Bar, a bag of Doritos, and a marshmallow. Rosie takes one of the pages in Claudia’s notebook and tears it out. She keeps looking at Claudia and pausing. When Claudia looks she sees she’s drawn the Mounds Bar with a crumpled wrapper and SHE’S GOOD! Claudia can’t help but compliment her. She says it’s what she really likes to do. Claudia realizes she only wants her to sit her because she’s been watching her draw. She asks her if all the times she’s gone up to her room she’s drawing. She’s about to answer (yes) but her Dad comes home. She crumples up the drawing and pretends to be working on the crossword puzzle.
Rosie invites Claudia to the tv station. Claudia is wondering why she has to hide the thing she likes best. It’s for a taping of the Uncle Dandy show. Rosie is going to be last. She’ll sing and play the piano. Rosie does great and doesn’t make one mistake. Claudia and her parents are proud of her! A man named Mr. Mendez comes up to her and asks if she has an agent. Rosie says she’s already got an agent but her parents hop in and tell her it’s best to keep her options open. (Even tho she’s good with who she’s got). Claudia tries to congratulate her but she’s already over it. She wants to stop by the ice cream place but they tell her she has a rehersal in the morning. Rosie then trhows a tantrum and says she doesn’t care about any of it. She just wants to be “a normal kid”The Wilders ignore her. Claudia feels bad for Rosie.
Claudia and Maryanne (and some of the other kids) go to the Crossword thing to give Rosie support. Her mother won’t be able to go bc her grandmother is sick. Rosie gets teased by some of the boys but she finishes first and wins the competition. She gets a trophy and a hug. After it’s over, she asks Maryanne and Claudia why the kids tease her. She’s not doing anything to them. She just does her best. Claudia tells her she understands what it’s like to be different. She can never be Janine. Rosie asks don’t her parents know how talented she is in art and Claudia says now they do but it took them a minute. When Claudia asks what she wants to do she says draw. She’s been working on a Life Saver and a Doritor’s bag. Claudia gives her some tips. They have a good laugh over some of the sketches. Her parents come home and aren’t amused she’s not working. Rosie shows her parents her trophy and they say their proud of her, but then they see her drawings and ask her if she doesn’t have something better to do with her time. Then they drill her about her other activities. They tell her they aren’t spending their hard earned money so she can waste it. They say they don’t need a repeat of what happened after the Mr. Dandy show. She says she hates Mr. Dandy and if he asks her back she’s saying no. They tell her they knew she was in another league but now that it’s over she can’t let up. She says she hates her life all she ever does is work and the only time she has fun is when Claudia is there. She says she’s DONE and stomps up to her room. The Wilder’s don’t know what to do with this. Claudia feels like it’s her fault.
Claudia speaks in favor of her art and shows them her sketches. She tells them she studied with McKenize Clark and not many seven year olds have her skill. So, they say maybe they can take her to some of his classes when their in NY. Claudia then realizes they’ll turn this into another opportunity to put pressure on her. Claudia invites them to her exhibit and offers to showcase her work. Her parents say it’s ok as long as it doesn’t interfer with anything else. Rosie is excited about the show but Claudia tells her she should talk to her parents and tell them what she likes and doesn’t like. Claudia changes the name to "Disposable Comestibles. Alan tries to ruin the show by putting up a picture of a dead cat and a homeless man and putting gum all over the floor. But Claudia sells two of her paintings.
The next time she sits for Rosie, Rosie tells Claud she didn’t get the commercial. They wanted someone darker (as in hair coloring). She’s happy about it tho. She tells Claudia she talked to her parents and she’ll only take the lessons she likes (art, violin, and ). Claudia tells her Janine bought “Milk Dudds” and they spend the rest of the last day drawing and doing mash up cut outs (from magazines) and taking a walk.
My Thoughts:
This kid rubbed me the wrong way as soon as we meet her and she answers her mother “What!” Again we get a brat that we’re supposed to take pity on because of circumstances that -in this case- she can control by OPENING HER MOUTH (which if we see she has NO PROBLEM with doing at the END of the book. And yes, I get it even as an adult. Sometimes it IS hard to speak your mind to people in your family. A lot of times you *will* find yourself going along with things that you REALLY woud rather not do. TRUST ME I GET IT! This is a skil that I do not posses very well. So, I will say that communication *can* be hard when people have certain expectations for you that go against what you want.
A lot this book reminded me also of an episode of “”The Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire”. It might have been the second one where Aunt Viv and Phillip have all these things scheduled for Ashley (tennis lessons, violin, etc) and Will wants her to play the drums. Then in the end she tells them she didn’t want to disappoint her father and Will. Her mother tells her to just continue with the lessons she likes best.
Rating: 6 I really liked Claudia’s idea for a junk food series and exhibit! It had me wishing I could actually see her paintings! That was definitely the best part of the book in my opinion.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 27, 2016
Claudia is stuck baby sitting a super smart overachiever named Rosie Wilder who makes her feel inadequate. In the meantime she focuses on putting together an art show of pictures of junk food in her garage.
Things I remember from reading this as a kid:
Rosie going on some hokey variety show, and the description of the host of that show. As a kid I thought the whole thing was incredibly shady and seedy, and from what I recall, Rosie's parents kind of thought so too, but I remember they considered it good exposure for Rosie or something.
I don't remember the art show specifically in this book, but I do remember Claudia mentioning in other books about how she is such a dedicated artist that she didn't eat any of her subjects until she was done drawing them. However. . .
Things I've considered since reading this as an adult:
. . .Claudia's a liar! In the first chapter she eats the Chunky bar that she's sketching!
Claudia refers to Nancy Drew as the "ice cream and cake" of her reading repertoire. This was hilarious to me because I call Sophie Kinsella my "candy reading." Sometimes I wish Claudia was a real person. We would be the best of friends.
Mrs Wilder sounds like a phony and a social climber, even over the phone. She manages to work in the fact that she managers her daughter's career, that she can afford private tutors, and that she's a good mother and barely lets Claudia say one word. She also makes a big fuss about Claudia being interested in art by gushing about Georgia O'Keeffe. It's no wonder that Rosie is such a pill, if this is who she has to listen to all day. Later in the book Claudia tries to tell Mr and Mrs Wilder that Rosie is a gifted artist for her age, and they don't believe her until she tells them that she's taken art lessons from McKenzie Clark (her art teacher in the Super Special New York, New York!) and then suddenly, they're impressed with her opinion.
I usually relate to Claudia in her books, but I didn't here, mostly because I was annoyed with her for being annoyed with Rosie. Rosie is very talented at everything she does, and while I agree that can be overwhelming, it's nothing to get an inferiority complex over. Rosie does act like a know-it-all, and she has an I-can't-believe-everyone-is-so-stupid attitude, but I don't know why Claudia takes it so personally. What's funny is that Rosie (who is seven) acts exactly like a thirteen year old in this book, and Claudia acts like a very immature forty-something mother. Maybe that's why I didn't really Claudia in this book because she acts like a frump, and she also acts really stupid. (She doesn't get it when Rosie tells her that the commercial she acted in is going to pay for her college tuition. Rosie has to explain residuals to her. How does any teenager not know how acting in commercials works?) Stacey is more sympathetic to Rosie and how hard it must be to be her than Claudia does.
Claudia loves the idea of calling her art show "Digestible Comestibles" because she thinks it's funny to give such a pretentious name to an art show that only features pictures of junk food. But when a random poser wanders into her show, and tells her that her work is "rather in the style spawned from the era that brought us the Bauhaus and the dadaists," Claudia wishes she had called her show something less douchy because the title seems to be attracting. . . well, douches. I thought this scene was very funny, especially knowing that for an artist like Claudia this is only the beginning of dealing with pretentious hipster art fans.
I thought the end of this book was much too neat. After seven years of paying for private teachers and pushing their daughter to do tap, ballet, voice, piano, violin, and god knows what all, Rosie's self-proclaimed stage parents are just going to let her drop everything because she wants to? That does not strike me as realistic at all. In the real world Rosie's parents would have stepped up their efforts to push Rosie's talents, causing her to break down and commit suicide in her teens.
Things I remember from reading this as a kid:
Rosie going on some hokey variety show, and the description of the host of that show. As a kid I thought the whole thing was incredibly shady and seedy, and from what I recall, Rosie's parents kind of thought so too, but I remember they considered it good exposure for Rosie or something.
I don't remember the art show specifically in this book, but I do remember Claudia mentioning in other books about how she is such a dedicated artist that she didn't eat any of her subjects until she was done drawing them. However. . .
Things I've considered since reading this as an adult:
. . .Claudia's a liar! In the first chapter she eats the Chunky bar that she's sketching!
Claudia refers to Nancy Drew as the "ice cream and cake" of her reading repertoire. This was hilarious to me because I call Sophie Kinsella my "candy reading." Sometimes I wish Claudia was a real person. We would be the best of friends.
Mrs Wilder sounds like a phony and a social climber, even over the phone. She manages to work in the fact that she managers her daughter's career, that she can afford private tutors, and that she's a good mother and barely lets Claudia say one word. She also makes a big fuss about Claudia being interested in art by gushing about Georgia O'Keeffe. It's no wonder that Rosie is such a pill, if this is who she has to listen to all day. Later in the book Claudia tries to tell Mr and Mrs Wilder that Rosie is a gifted artist for her age, and they don't believe her until she tells them that she's taken art lessons from McKenzie Clark (her art teacher in the Super Special New York, New York!) and then suddenly, they're impressed with her opinion.
I usually relate to Claudia in her books, but I didn't here, mostly because I was annoyed with her for being annoyed with Rosie. Rosie is very talented at everything she does, and while I agree that can be overwhelming, it's nothing to get an inferiority complex over. Rosie does act like a know-it-all, and she has an I-can't-believe-everyone-is-so-stupid attitude, but I don't know why Claudia takes it so personally. What's funny is that Rosie (who is seven) acts exactly like a thirteen year old in this book, and Claudia acts like a very immature forty-something mother. Maybe that's why I didn't really Claudia in this book because she acts like a frump, and she also acts really stupid. (She doesn't get it when Rosie tells her that the commercial she acted in is going to pay for her college tuition. Rosie has to explain residuals to her. How does any teenager not know how acting in commercials works?) Stacey is more sympathetic to Rosie and how hard it must be to be her than Claudia does.
Claudia loves the idea of calling her art show "Digestible Comestibles" because she thinks it's funny to give such a pretentious name to an art show that only features pictures of junk food. But when a random poser wanders into her show, and tells her that her work is "rather in the style spawned from the era that brought us the Bauhaus and the dadaists," Claudia wishes she had called her show something less douchy because the title seems to be attracting. . . well, douches. I thought this scene was very funny, especially knowing that for an artist like Claudia this is only the beginning of dealing with pretentious hipster art fans.
I thought the end of this book was much too neat. After seven years of paying for private teachers and pushing their daughter to do tap, ballet, voice, piano, violin, and god knows what all, Rosie's self-proclaimed stage parents are just going to let her drop everything because she wants to? That does not strike me as realistic at all. In the real world Rosie's parents would have stepped up their efforts to push Rosie's talents, causing her to break down and commit suicide in her teens.
February 26, 2024
This book falls into the "baby-sitter knows better than parents" genre but it has a softer touch than the books about the Barretts or the Arnolds.
Rosie Wilder is a gifted kid being pushed into 4000 activities and a show-biz career by her high-pressure parents. Claudia compares herself negatively to Rosie but in a way that's completely in keeping with her character - she already feels inadequate compared to Janine so being outshone by a seven-year-old is obviously going to make her feel worse, especially as Rosie has been raised to believe her own hype. However, as they grow closer, Claudia discovers Rosie has a talent for art and it's the one passion her parents aren't willing to cultivate.
This is also the book with the junk food still lifes which I have memories of! The BSC set up an art show for Claud and she makes her first sales to Watson and Mrs. Besser. I enjoyed the continuity of including Mrs. Besser and also love the idea of Watson (who probably does buy art) in the future being able to say he has an early Kishi!
Claudia does encourage Rosie to stand up to her parents but we really don't see it or its consequences. We suddenly get told that Rosie's parents agreed to pare back her activities which seems anticlimactic compared to how pushy they were earlier. They go from hooking her up with a Hollywood agent to only doing violin and art classes?? Or maybe that's the only lessons she's keeping and she's still doing commercials? It's really unclear which made it somewhat unsatisfying.
Also I realize it's a Claudia book but I feel like Stacy and Jessi in particular would not have been so clueless with Rosie's needs. Jessi especially should have known better. If they wanted a baby-sitter ignorant of show-biz could they not have sent literally anyone else?
Rosie Wilder is a gifted kid being pushed into 4000 activities and a show-biz career by her high-pressure parents. Claudia compares herself negatively to Rosie but in a way that's completely in keeping with her character - she already feels inadequate compared to Janine so being outshone by a seven-year-old is obviously going to make her feel worse, especially as Rosie has been raised to believe her own hype. However, as they grow closer, Claudia discovers Rosie has a talent for art and it's the one passion her parents aren't willing to cultivate.
This is also the book with the junk food still lifes which I have memories of! The BSC set up an art show for Claud and she makes her first sales to Watson and Mrs. Besser. I enjoyed the continuity of including Mrs. Besser and also love the idea of Watson (who probably does buy art) in the future being able to say he has an early Kishi!
Claudia does encourage Rosie to stand up to her parents but we really don't see it or its consequences. We suddenly get told that Rosie's parents agreed to pare back her activities which seems anticlimactic compared to how pushy they were earlier. They go from hooking her up with a Hollywood agent to only doing violin and art classes?? Or maybe that's the only lessons she's keeping and she's still doing commercials? It's really unclear which made it somewhat unsatisfying.
Also I realize it's a Claudia book but I feel like Stacy and Jessi in particular would not have been so clueless with Rosie's needs. Jessi especially should have known better. If they wanted a baby-sitter ignorant of show-biz could they not have sent literally anyone else?
June 12, 2025
We meet Rosie Wilder for the first time!
Rosie's such a chill kid in other books that it's interesting to see here how much pressure her parents put on her for so long. I love that she bonded with Claudia over a shared love for art, and I found Janine's tutoring of Rosie to be adorable.
Lol at Stacey having to read with Rosie on an audition. Surprised Rosie didn't bond immediately with Jessi who, of all the baby-sitters, probably best understands the pressures she's under. And also side-eyeing Claudia for so meanly judging a 7-year-old girl just for being smarter than you.
Oh and the chapter with the school crossword puzzle competition was heartbreaking. Poor Rosie!
Rosie's such a chill kid in other books that it's interesting to see here how much pressure her parents put on her for so long. I love that she bonded with Claudia over a shared love for art, and I found Janine's tutoring of Rosie to be adorable.
Lol at Stacey having to read with Rosie on an audition. Surprised Rosie didn't bond immediately with Jessi who, of all the baby-sitters, probably best understands the pressures she's under. And also side-eyeing Claudia for so meanly judging a 7-year-old girl just for being smarter than you.
Oh and the chapter with the school crossword puzzle competition was heartbreaking. Poor Rosie!
December 9, 2009
Claudia is so insecure. Sure, she's the younger sister of a genius, and now she's baby-sitting for one. If only one of them could teach Claudia how to spell!
January 12, 2026
"Uncle Dandy" has got to be the most "Do not let this man get within 50 yards of an elementary school" name I've ever seen.
That being said -- I really liked this one! I had some vague memories of it from when I repeatedly read through this series as a kid, 241 years ago, but only about the junk food drawings and Stacey accidentally saying "backpulls" instead of "pullbacks". While the plot moves from problem to solution a bit quickly, that's to be expected in a middle grade book, and I still think it did something important. There are probably a lot of kids out there in Rosie's situation -- overburdened with lessons and activities and expectations because they're intelligent and talented, but never being given a chance to have any say in what they do or to choose not to do something they're good at. And I'd imagine for a young kid, it would be scary to tell your parents you don't want to do something that they really think you should be doing. Just because you have a talent for something doesn't mean you have to do it if it doesn't bring you joy. So I appreciated that you can see that emotional struggle in how Rosie behaves around others, especially coupled with how nasty a lot of her classmates are to her. (Like...way to tell on yourselves, kids, that you're a bunch of talentless dummies who are jealous of the girl who knows more and can do more than you.) And it was really sweet how she and Claudia bonded, since art is the thing Rosie is most into but was never allowed to do because her parents are weirdo snobs.
I do still wish this was just a tiny bit longer, so that the process of Rosie going from "Claudia telling her to talk to her parents" to "Rosie's parents said she can do what she wants and not do what she doesn't want" wasn't literally from like one page to the next. I would have liked to see a bit more of a tussle there, so to speak. But I think this was a fun and important entry in this series. Also, I knew all the crossword puzzle answers that Rosie needed, so I'm heckin smart, too!
That being said -- I really liked this one! I had some vague memories of it from when I repeatedly read through this series as a kid, 241 years ago, but only about the junk food drawings and Stacey accidentally saying "backpulls" instead of "pullbacks". While the plot moves from problem to solution a bit quickly, that's to be expected in a middle grade book, and I still think it did something important. There are probably a lot of kids out there in Rosie's situation -- overburdened with lessons and activities and expectations because they're intelligent and talented, but never being given a chance to have any say in what they do or to choose not to do something they're good at. And I'd imagine for a young kid, it would be scary to tell your parents you don't want to do something that they really think you should be doing. Just because you have a talent for something doesn't mean you have to do it if it doesn't bring you joy. So I appreciated that you can see that emotional struggle in how Rosie behaves around others, especially coupled with how nasty a lot of her classmates are to her. (Like...way to tell on yourselves, kids, that you're a bunch of talentless dummies who are jealous of the girl who knows more and can do more than you.) And it was really sweet how she and Claudia bonded, since art is the thing Rosie is most into but was never allowed to do because her parents are weirdo snobs.
I do still wish this was just a tiny bit longer, so that the process of Rosie going from "Claudia telling her to talk to her parents" to "Rosie's parents said she can do what she wants and not do what she doesn't want" wasn't literally from like one page to the next. I would have liked to see a bit more of a tussle there, so to speak. But I think this was a fun and important entry in this series. Also, I knew all the crossword puzzle answers that Rosie needed, so I'm heckin smart, too!
May 3, 2025
Claudia gets a regular baby-sitting gig with a 7-year-old third grader who is stellar at everything. Math, science, crosswords... and singing, dancing, and acting. She has been in commercials. But she seems to hate her life. This could have been a case of Claudia feeling inferior... which she does just for a bit... but Claudia is living it up with her art, and brings out a side of Rosie Wilder that loves art too. Honestly, pretty entertaining and nothing too problematic. Except why is the 7-year-old in third grade when super-smart Karen Brewer who skipped a grade is also 7 and in second-grade? And why do they let the other kids at school get away with being so mean to Rosie and just shrug it off saying they can't do anything? And where are the nice SES third-graders like Charlotte Johansson and Becca Ramsey when you need them?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 29, 2020
When Claudia met her new client Mrs. Wilder, she told her to baby-sit her daughter Rosie, who is absolutely a prodigy. She and Claudia's sister Janine are both geniuses and they worked on their homework, while on her talents, the teachers came for the lessons. She's also joined a talent show on TV and a crossword puzzle competition too. Claudia felt like she's dumb (because she hates school and writes misspelled words), and she didn't know what Rosie hides a secret for her. What Claudia knows that she and Rosie are friends.
It contains some art references, and most of the plot focuses on Rosie, while a few on Claudia's junk food sketches and art show. 2 stars because this book is okay for me.
It contains some art references, and most of the plot focuses on Rosie, while a few on Claudia's junk food sketches and art show. 2 stars because this book is okay for me.
January 18, 2024
I had this book as a kid, and I thought I remembered
June 28, 2017
If I'm being perfectly honest, I forgot what this was even about until I re-read it last night. Even though I own it was clearly not one of my favorites, and I really just couldn't remember for the life of me. My memory was, unfortunately, jogged fairly quickly once we are introduced to Rosie Wilder. After that...oh yeah. It all came back to me.
I could definitely also remember why I never liked it.
I could definitely also remember why I never liked it.
June 17, 2018
I've always loved this one! I was fascinated by Rosie and her many talents, though I still don't buy that her stage parents would be that understanding at the end.
But most of all, I love "Disposable Comestibles" - Claudia's art show featuring nothing but junk food! The best part is when a pretentious hipster guy sees the name and tries to sound smart to Claudia, and she makes an excuse to run away. One of my favorite scenes ever!
But most of all, I love "Disposable Comestibles" - Claudia's art show featuring nothing but junk food! The best part is when a pretentious hipster guy sees the name and tries to sound smart to Claudia, and she makes an excuse to run away. One of my favorite scenes ever!
Read
July 29, 2020As a kid my best friends sister had the whole BSC series on a book shelf in her room. I thought she was so grown up. And I envied this bookshelf. And would often poke my head into that room just to look at it.
And when I read BSC, I felt like such a grown up.
And while I might have still been a little too young to understand some of the issues dealt with in these books, I do appreciated that Ann M. Martin tackled age appropriate issues, some being deeper than others, but still important.
January 5, 2023
3 stars. This one was pretty good but the kid Rosie felt a lot older than she was. She never came across as a child which I know was the point but it was throwing me off so much. She read like an old actress going through a midlife crisis and it was bizarre. Other than that this was fun. I liked how she and Claudia bonded even though they got off on the wrong foot in the beginning. Very cute read.
February 15, 2021
I'm curious to see, at this sort of mid-point in the series, if any of these kids (like Rosie) are brought up/babysat again later on. The pattern in the past couple of books has had less involvement from other babysitters which is kind of sad--even though the other girls help Claudia set up an art show, there isn't much of them in it. I miss the friendships!
March 5, 2023
When I was 10 I joined a readers club/group where we got a new book every week. I chose The babysitters club.
The books are fantastic! So enjoyable. I loved getting the book every week. They are super quick reads and I was able to read it in one day.
Highly recommend for young teenagers to read or even younger if they are able too read well.
The books are fantastic! So enjoyable. I loved getting the book every week. They are super quick reads and I was able to read it in one day.
Highly recommend for young teenagers to read or even younger if they are able too read well.
July 13, 2024
The one where Claudia decides to kill two birds with one stone and paint a bunch of junk food. Milk Duds, Spilled, Twinkie Unwrapped, Gummi Bears, Gummi Worms, etc., etc. Rosie is an interesting character too, the whole ostracized overachiever thing is handled pretty well, but for me, the real magic is in all those awesome junk food paintings!
September 26, 2019
Please listen to this book. Child prodigy is intelligent and talented. Her parents go to far with her talents and Claudia helps her talk to her parents.
November 18, 2019
Rosie's parents suck and Janine is awesome. The end.
(Actually, there's probably more I could say about this book, because I really liked this one. But that's pretty much the summary of it.)
(Actually, there's probably more I could say about this book, because I really liked this one. But that's pretty much the summary of it.)
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August 4, 2020Read my recap at A Year with the BSC via Stoneybrook Forever: https://www.livethemovies.com/bsc-blo...
October 22, 2020
Who would have thought one of the storylines for the reboot would be found in book #49?! Not bad for a Claudia book(maybe they had to dig this far)
December 13, 2020
(LL)
This book does a great job tackling: parents of a kid genius, recognizing limits, and the importance of being a kid.
This book does a great job tackling: parents of a kid genius, recognizing limits, and the importance of being a kid.
January 1, 2021
Topic of a child genius. I love how these books deal with all kind of kids. Poor Claudia indeed. A younger kid smarter than Claudia. Its ok Claudia! You are wonderful at art. Art is awesome.
November 14, 2021
I feel like I've some variation of the "BSC helps a misunderstood child have a say at home" plot a million times aready.
January 19, 2022
exactly what i needed in a minor reading/life slump. bsc never fails me xx
January 22, 2022
In this book, Claudia babysits a girl who is multitalented in music, but their personalities clash. She also puts on an art show with drawings and paintings of candy
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