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The Baby-Sitters Club #128
Claudia and the Little Liar
Haley is usually a quiet, hassle-free girl to baby-sit. But after Claudia catches her in a lie and causes her to get grounded, Haley's out of control. Now she's spreading nasty rumors about the BSC--and it's her word against Claudia's.
144 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 1999
70 people are currently reading
587 people want to read
About the author
Ann M. Martin
1,101 books3,045 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 - 25 of 25 reviews
May 8, 2019
this is my first time reading this book.
in this book by ghostwriter Suzanne Weyn, haley braddock has become a little sociopath for no apparent reason: she lies to claudia and says she did her homework, then when her parents come home and find out that she didn’t she blames it on claud. haley gets grounded, and she blames claudia (once again, for no apparent reason) and starts a smear campaign against her and against the bsc and baby-sitters in general among all of the bsc charges (saying the bsc all spy on them and narc to their parents). later when claud is sitting for the braddocks again, haley calls her a traitor and “the little tattletale” and says she used to be cool but now she’s changed. she tells her mom that her homework is done, no thanks for claudia, because claud spent the whole night talking to vanessa pike on the phone when haley was trying to get help with math (hoooookay...look at lowlights for my opinions on this plotline). haley tells mrs. braddock that claud said homework isn’t important. in actuality claud said “sometimes homework doesn’t seem important, but it has to be done.” later matt braddock signs emphatically to clauida about something so haley translates that he needs poster paints. claud gets stacey to drive them over, but it turns out matt was signing that he needed her to call nicky pike because he had a book matt needed for a project. when mrs. braddock comes home haley says claud invited stacey over to hang out and forgot to call nicky about the book. of course, the braddocks believe claudia, but they still don’t want her to sit for haley anymore because she’s reacting badly to claudia’s presence. claud gets really bummed, and then mary anne has the idea to role play with haley. they act out the original fight for haley’s parents, and ask the parents point out all the holes in haley’s story, she unravels. she admits she didn’t do her homework in the beginning of the book because she didn’t understand it because it was hard to read. all of her bad behavior was her overcompensating. meanwhile, claudia and josh break up, since they don’t have a lot of romantic chemistry and are better as friends.
highlights:
-sarah hill's wisdom: "you can't trust anyone over nine. once a kid becomes a two-digit number, something changes."
-claud told josh she had to go out for her dad's bday so she shouldn't hang out with him one saturday night. then she finds out her dad's bday is the following week but she doesn't tell josh because she just wants to stay home and read nancy drew. you and me both, claud.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-the book claims that kristy asked mary anne, claud, and stacey to join the bsc when she had the idea. incorrect. she asked mary anne and claud, who subsequently asked stacey.
-I’m definitely of the “snitches get stitches” mindset, and I think the plotline of having bsc charges realize that the bsc have to report back to the parents and then getting upset about that is an interesting one. but I don’t think this is a good setting for it. haley is just being an awful jerk for no apparent reason. I’m thinking of the episode of the bsc tv series, jessi and the mystery of the stolen secrets for a better-handled example of this topic.
-since haley is grounded, kristy makes stacey stand in for her in the SES girls' basketball team kristy is volunteer coaching. but why? every team has enough players that they can play even if ONE person doesn't make it. are they not able to play if one person is sick?
-sarah hill's name is spelled sara in this book, which is just not correct
-how is it that sneaky haley makes such a misstep of telling her mom that claud wasn’t helping her with her homework because she was on the phone with vanessa pike all night? vanessa pike is haley’s friend, not claudia’s. if you’re gonna lie, at least be sneaky enough to say she was talking to her boyfriend or stacey or something.
-the fact that haley basically becomes a monster instantaneously when she doesn’t understand her homework. hhooooookay. I think this is a little exaggerated. not everyone who behaves badly is overcompensating
-finally they get her a tutor and it seems like everything will be fine. hoooookay. I’m sure this isn’t a larger behavioral issue that will need intervention beyond just tutoring...
no outfits. I hate when there are claudia-narrated books with no outfits.
jackie disaster:
-leans too hard on his bedroom door so it swings open and he tumbles out onto the floor
snacks in claudia’s room:
-potato chips behind her pillow
-carrots and celery on her desk
-ring-dings behind her dresser
-cheez doodles under her bed
in this book by ghostwriter Suzanne Weyn, haley braddock has become a little sociopath for no apparent reason: she lies to claudia and says she did her homework, then when her parents come home and find out that she didn’t she blames it on claud. haley gets grounded, and she blames claudia (once again, for no apparent reason) and starts a smear campaign against her and against the bsc and baby-sitters in general among all of the bsc charges (saying the bsc all spy on them and narc to their parents). later when claud is sitting for the braddocks again, haley calls her a traitor and “the little tattletale” and says she used to be cool but now she’s changed. she tells her mom that her homework is done, no thanks for claudia, because claud spent the whole night talking to vanessa pike on the phone when haley was trying to get help with math (hoooookay...look at lowlights for my opinions on this plotline). haley tells mrs. braddock that claud said homework isn’t important. in actuality claud said “sometimes homework doesn’t seem important, but it has to be done.” later matt braddock signs emphatically to clauida about something so haley translates that he needs poster paints. claud gets stacey to drive them over, but it turns out matt was signing that he needed her to call nicky pike because he had a book matt needed for a project. when mrs. braddock comes home haley says claud invited stacey over to hang out and forgot to call nicky about the book. of course, the braddocks believe claudia, but they still don’t want her to sit for haley anymore because she’s reacting badly to claudia’s presence. claud gets really bummed, and then mary anne has the idea to role play with haley. they act out the original fight for haley’s parents, and ask the parents point out all the holes in haley’s story, she unravels. she admits she didn’t do her homework in the beginning of the book because she didn’t understand it because it was hard to read. all of her bad behavior was her overcompensating. meanwhile, claudia and josh break up, since they don’t have a lot of romantic chemistry and are better as friends.
highlights:
-sarah hill's wisdom: "you can't trust anyone over nine. once a kid becomes a two-digit number, something changes."
-claud told josh she had to go out for her dad's bday so she shouldn't hang out with him one saturday night. then she finds out her dad's bday is the following week but she doesn't tell josh because she just wants to stay home and read nancy drew. you and me both, claud.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-the book claims that kristy asked mary anne, claud, and stacey to join the bsc when she had the idea. incorrect. she asked mary anne and claud, who subsequently asked stacey.
-I’m definitely of the “snitches get stitches” mindset, and I think the plotline of having bsc charges realize that the bsc have to report back to the parents and then getting upset about that is an interesting one. but I don’t think this is a good setting for it. haley is just being an awful jerk for no apparent reason. I’m thinking of the episode of the bsc tv series, jessi and the mystery of the stolen secrets for a better-handled example of this topic.
-since haley is grounded, kristy makes stacey stand in for her in the SES girls' basketball team kristy is volunteer coaching. but why? every team has enough players that they can play even if ONE person doesn't make it. are they not able to play if one person is sick?
-sarah hill's name is spelled sara in this book, which is just not correct
-how is it that sneaky haley makes such a misstep of telling her mom that claud wasn’t helping her with her homework because she was on the phone with vanessa pike all night? vanessa pike is haley’s friend, not claudia’s. if you’re gonna lie, at least be sneaky enough to say she was talking to her boyfriend or stacey or something.
-the fact that haley basically becomes a monster instantaneously when she doesn’t understand her homework. hhooooookay. I think this is a little exaggerated. not everyone who behaves badly is overcompensating
-finally they get her a tutor and it seems like everything will be fine. hoooookay. I’m sure this isn’t a larger behavioral issue that will need intervention beyond just tutoring...
no outfits. I hate when there are claudia-narrated books with no outfits.
jackie disaster:
-leans too hard on his bedroom door so it swings open and he tumbles out onto the floor
snacks in claudia’s room:
-potato chips behind her pillow
-carrots and celery on her desk
-ring-dings behind her dresser
-cheez doodles under her bed
July 19, 2011
this is the last claudia book! cue the sad trombone!
claudia takes a friday job sitting for the braddocks. when she arrives mrs. braddock says they have a new rule for haley. she has to finish her homework before she can watch TV. she's gotten into the bad habit of leaving it until sunday night & then panicking. claudia agrees to enforce the rule, but when the parents leave, haley brazenly takes a seat on the couch & fires up the remote. claudia reminds her that she needs to do her homework first, & haley asks if claudia is really going to make her. claudia says that she is--that's what haley's parents asked her to do. haley stomps upstairs & claudia amuses herself playing a video game with matt.
an hour later, claudia steps into the kitchen to get a beverage. she notices that the phone is lit up as it when someone is on it (i guess light up telephone indicators are something the braddocks have for matt's sake). matt obviously can't talk on the phone because he's deaf, & haley's the only other person home. claudia goes upstairs to check on her & hears her yakking away with vanessa pike about things completely unrelated to homework. when claudia knocks on the door, haley swiftly changes the topic of conversation to math & gets off the line. claudia asks if haley is really doing her homework & she says she is--she's just wrapping up her math & is almost finished with a book report. claudia asks to see the report when haley is done.
not long after, haley comes downstairs with her report for a book about brains or something. satisfied, claudia lets haley watch TV. when the braddock parents get home, they ask if haley finished her homework. claudia says yes--the brain report is on the table. the parents are like, "um, that's last week's report." sneaky haley gave claudia old homework. haley is sent to her room & claudia has a hunch that she's going to blame claudia for the way things played out.
sure enough, at a practice for the young girls' basketball team haley has joined (along with several other sitting charges; kristy is the coach), vanessa holds everyone in thrall with stories of claudia's treachery, claiming that claudia ratted haley out to her parents on purpose. "parents pay babysitters so that's who the sitters are loyal to," vanessa explains.
at claudia's next job with the braddocks, haley is again dispatched to finish her homework, & again talks on the phone instead. claudia gets on the line to tell haley to get off the phone. when mr. & mrs. braddock get home, haley makes up a lie about how she needed to call vanessa with a homework question & claudia interrupted & interfered with her work. it's obvious that the braddocks don't really believe her, but they don't say anything.
at basketball practice, abby overhears haley telling the other players that the members of the babysitters club are actually hired by parents to spy on kids. they report back to the parents about every bad thing a kid does. she speculates that the sitters even sort through kids' personal possessions. karen & becca, siblings of babysitters club members, insist that their sisters wouldn't go through other people's belongings & haley backs down a little, but when abby confronts her & asks her why she's making up stories, haley is defiant & all of the other girls are suspiciously silent.
word gets around to other kids that the babysitters are spies. abby takes a job sitting for the rodowskys, & both jackie & shea avoid her because they think she's a spy. abby busts shea painting a model airplane in his room after his mom asked him not to. she suggests he move his project to the garage & agrees not to tell. in this way, she wins the trust of the rodowskys, but kristy is still concerned that the reputation of the babysitters club could be impaired if kids think they are pies. i don't really see how that would happen, but i guess we need this to be a bigger conflict than it is, so...sure.
the next time claudia sits for the braddocks (why don't they hire a different sitter? clearly haley has issues with claudia), haley is especially bad. she tells claudia that mett needs a set of poster paints for a big school project. at a loss, claudia calls stacey & asks if mrs. mcgill can drive over to claudia's house, get the paints out from under her bed, & drive them over to the braddocks'. stacey & mrs. mcgill agree, but when they arrive with the paint, matt is frustrated & confused. haley pipes up to say that matt actually needs to borrow a book from nicky pike, & that she hadn't said anything about paint. claudia calls the pikes, but nicky is at a movie with his dad so matt will have to wait for the book. claudia is really upset with haley for inconveniencing stacey, mrs. mcgill, & matt. it seems especially low to purposefully mistranslate for someone unable to actually speak for himself. claudia does indeed inform mr. & mrs. braddock about what happened--she kind of has to, in order for matt to get his hands on the book he needs--& this is all the proof haley needs that claudia is out to get her & that the babysitters are spies. mr. & mrs. braddock tell claudia that they know haley is lying but they don't know what to do about it. in the meantime, they tell her they'll be using other members of the babysitters club, because claudia seems to bring out the worst in haley.
now kristy is really concerned that claudia's issues with haley are going to hurt the club. the babysitters don't know what to do until mary anne suggests doing a role play. if they can get haley to agree to re-enact some of the situations in which she lied, they might be able to figure out why she lied & get to the root of the problem. claudia calls mrs. braddock, who agrees to give it a try.
after some resistance from haley, the babysitters get her into the project. but she swiftly loses her temper & runs upstairs to cry. claudia realizes that haley has been resisting her homework because she's having trouble in school--& that's definitely something claudia can relate to. claudia goes up to talk to her. haley says that she's falling behind on schoolwork, homework is becoming overwhelming, & she doesn't understand her assignments. she lied to her teacher about why she hadn't finished her homework a few times & her teacher believed her, which made haley think that lying could fix her problems. the first time she was caught in a lie was when claudia spilled the beans about the book report, & that made her angry with claudia. claudia explains that school is hard for her too, but lying isn't the solution. she suggests that mr. & mrs. braddock employ a tutor to help haley out. problem solved yet again.
there's a C-plot about the basketball team but we only have three books left in the series, so whatever. no one cares.
the B-plot focuses on claudia's relationship with her boyfriend, josh. she is still struggling to make time for him, & what's more, when they do hang out together, claudia doesn't have much to say. she still likes josh a lot & she enjoys his company, but something is different & josh seems to be feeling it too. claudia finally talks to stacey & admits that she likes josh but she doesn't want to kiss him. she thinks of him as more of a little brother than a boyfriend. well. a guy can't hear that enough! stacey says that maybe they are just friends then & shouldn't be dating. claudia knows she has to talk to josh.
they go on a date to the washington mall to see a movie. they have some time beforehand, so they go to friendly's. claudia is nervous about initiating a talk, & is relieved when josh beats her to the punch. she admits that she thinks she feels more friend than girlfriend about him. he concedes that he feels the same way. they agree to try their best to maintain a friendship. thus claudia is single, setting the stage for all the jeremy drama & her eventual relationship with alan gray in the "friends forever" series.
claudia takes a friday job sitting for the braddocks. when she arrives mrs. braddock says they have a new rule for haley. she has to finish her homework before she can watch TV. she's gotten into the bad habit of leaving it until sunday night & then panicking. claudia agrees to enforce the rule, but when the parents leave, haley brazenly takes a seat on the couch & fires up the remote. claudia reminds her that she needs to do her homework first, & haley asks if claudia is really going to make her. claudia says that she is--that's what haley's parents asked her to do. haley stomps upstairs & claudia amuses herself playing a video game with matt.
an hour later, claudia steps into the kitchen to get a beverage. she notices that the phone is lit up as it when someone is on it (i guess light up telephone indicators are something the braddocks have for matt's sake). matt obviously can't talk on the phone because he's deaf, & haley's the only other person home. claudia goes upstairs to check on her & hears her yakking away with vanessa pike about things completely unrelated to homework. when claudia knocks on the door, haley swiftly changes the topic of conversation to math & gets off the line. claudia asks if haley is really doing her homework & she says she is--she's just wrapping up her math & is almost finished with a book report. claudia asks to see the report when haley is done.
not long after, haley comes downstairs with her report for a book about brains or something. satisfied, claudia lets haley watch TV. when the braddock parents get home, they ask if haley finished her homework. claudia says yes--the brain report is on the table. the parents are like, "um, that's last week's report." sneaky haley gave claudia old homework. haley is sent to her room & claudia has a hunch that she's going to blame claudia for the way things played out.
sure enough, at a practice for the young girls' basketball team haley has joined (along with several other sitting charges; kristy is the coach), vanessa holds everyone in thrall with stories of claudia's treachery, claiming that claudia ratted haley out to her parents on purpose. "parents pay babysitters so that's who the sitters are loyal to," vanessa explains.
at claudia's next job with the braddocks, haley is again dispatched to finish her homework, & again talks on the phone instead. claudia gets on the line to tell haley to get off the phone. when mr. & mrs. braddock get home, haley makes up a lie about how she needed to call vanessa with a homework question & claudia interrupted & interfered with her work. it's obvious that the braddocks don't really believe her, but they don't say anything.
at basketball practice, abby overhears haley telling the other players that the members of the babysitters club are actually hired by parents to spy on kids. they report back to the parents about every bad thing a kid does. she speculates that the sitters even sort through kids' personal possessions. karen & becca, siblings of babysitters club members, insist that their sisters wouldn't go through other people's belongings & haley backs down a little, but when abby confronts her & asks her why she's making up stories, haley is defiant & all of the other girls are suspiciously silent.
word gets around to other kids that the babysitters are spies. abby takes a job sitting for the rodowskys, & both jackie & shea avoid her because they think she's a spy. abby busts shea painting a model airplane in his room after his mom asked him not to. she suggests he move his project to the garage & agrees not to tell. in this way, she wins the trust of the rodowskys, but kristy is still concerned that the reputation of the babysitters club could be impaired if kids think they are pies. i don't really see how that would happen, but i guess we need this to be a bigger conflict than it is, so...sure.
the next time claudia sits for the braddocks (why don't they hire a different sitter? clearly haley has issues with claudia), haley is especially bad. she tells claudia that mett needs a set of poster paints for a big school project. at a loss, claudia calls stacey & asks if mrs. mcgill can drive over to claudia's house, get the paints out from under her bed, & drive them over to the braddocks'. stacey & mrs. mcgill agree, but when they arrive with the paint, matt is frustrated & confused. haley pipes up to say that matt actually needs to borrow a book from nicky pike, & that she hadn't said anything about paint. claudia calls the pikes, but nicky is at a movie with his dad so matt will have to wait for the book. claudia is really upset with haley for inconveniencing stacey, mrs. mcgill, & matt. it seems especially low to purposefully mistranslate for someone unable to actually speak for himself. claudia does indeed inform mr. & mrs. braddock about what happened--she kind of has to, in order for matt to get his hands on the book he needs--& this is all the proof haley needs that claudia is out to get her & that the babysitters are spies. mr. & mrs. braddock tell claudia that they know haley is lying but they don't know what to do about it. in the meantime, they tell her they'll be using other members of the babysitters club, because claudia seems to bring out the worst in haley.
now kristy is really concerned that claudia's issues with haley are going to hurt the club. the babysitters don't know what to do until mary anne suggests doing a role play. if they can get haley to agree to re-enact some of the situations in which she lied, they might be able to figure out why she lied & get to the root of the problem. claudia calls mrs. braddock, who agrees to give it a try.
after some resistance from haley, the babysitters get her into the project. but she swiftly loses her temper & runs upstairs to cry. claudia realizes that haley has been resisting her homework because she's having trouble in school--& that's definitely something claudia can relate to. claudia goes up to talk to her. haley says that she's falling behind on schoolwork, homework is becoming overwhelming, & she doesn't understand her assignments. she lied to her teacher about why she hadn't finished her homework a few times & her teacher believed her, which made haley think that lying could fix her problems. the first time she was caught in a lie was when claudia spilled the beans about the book report, & that made her angry with claudia. claudia explains that school is hard for her too, but lying isn't the solution. she suggests that mr. & mrs. braddock employ a tutor to help haley out. problem solved yet again.
there's a C-plot about the basketball team but we only have three books left in the series, so whatever. no one cares.
the B-plot focuses on claudia's relationship with her boyfriend, josh. she is still struggling to make time for him, & what's more, when they do hang out together, claudia doesn't have much to say. she still likes josh a lot & she enjoys his company, but something is different & josh seems to be feeling it too. claudia finally talks to stacey & admits that she likes josh but she doesn't want to kiss him. she thinks of him as more of a little brother than a boyfriend. well. a guy can't hear that enough! stacey says that maybe they are just friends then & shouldn't be dating. claudia knows she has to talk to josh.
they go on a date to the washington mall to see a movie. they have some time beforehand, so they go to friendly's. claudia is nervous about initiating a talk, & is relieved when josh beats her to the punch. she admits that she thinks she feels more friend than girlfriend about him. he concedes that he feels the same way. they agree to try their best to maintain a friendship. thus claudia is single, setting the stage for all the jeremy drama & her eventual relationship with alan gray in the "friends forever" series.
March 3, 2025
What have they done to Haley Braddock? She was a decent kid. If anyone was going to turn why couldn't it be Karen Brewer? Most people don't like her anyway. In this the last Claudia book of the original series (I like how the last books are all the OG members) Haley lies about doing homework and keeps on lying. She accuses Claudia and the BSC of spying on her and all their charges and frankly deserves a smack for how she behaved throughout the book. Seriously is she going through very early puberty or what? The lies roll off her tongue far too easily for her to be trusted about anything. I don't buy it's all about homework either what a stupid reason. The b plot has Claudia and boyfriend Josh drifting apart and eventually breaking up but remaining good friends. The Haley plot was frustrating but also entertaining so it does have that at least.
April 29, 2009
*shudders* I hate liars, so this book just made me annoyed and angry. And I used to like Haley Braddock too so it was sad that she got turned into such a horrible little shit.
November 2, 2023
I used to read these when I was younger. I don't know why I read this one now; I guess I was bored. It is exactly the same as any I would have read thirty-five years ago. These twelve-year-olds know more than the adults and there's some problem that works out just fine and is never an issue again. Claudia should have stopped sitting for this brat as soon as the lies started; that's just setting yourself up. I get lying to get out of homework, but there really wasn't any reason to be making shit up. I really get lying about A Wrinkle in Time. I read that and had no idea what the fuck was happening. Reading the graphic novel later on helped.
December 2, 2009
4th-7th grade Independent reading
In one the many books from this series, four best friends,Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, and Stacey, have a babysitting service and complications arise when the a clients daughter (Haley) starts to spread rumors about the girls. Claudia just can't figure out why Haley is doing this and sets up a confrontation to find out just what is really behind Haley's lying. Martin brings in topics of friendship, dating, honesty and consequences in a way that will relate to all preteen/teen girls. This book would be a great read for junior high school girls because they would be able to relate to the real life situations.
Language Arts
Students could do a paper running a pay service for their community.
In one the many books from this series, four best friends,Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, and Stacey, have a babysitting service and complications arise when the a clients daughter (Haley) starts to spread rumors about the girls. Claudia just can't figure out why Haley is doing this and sets up a confrontation to find out just what is really behind Haley's lying. Martin brings in topics of friendship, dating, honesty and consequences in a way that will relate to all preteen/teen girls. This book would be a great read for junior high school girls because they would be able to relate to the real life situations.
Language Arts
Students could do a paper running a pay service for their community.
December 2, 2009
In this series book, babysitter Claudia faces trouble with one of her charges, Haley, who has fallen into the habit of lying. The drama comes to a head when Haley begins spreading lies about all of the Babysitter's Club (BSC) members and the girls decide to get to the bottom of the problem. Martin's writing style is easily understandable to young girls (and possibly boys.) The characters all have attributes that make them easy to connect with, and may help young readers feel comfortable with similary life situations they face (i.e. diabetes, divorce, death of a parent, bad grades.) The book draws young readers in with storylines that intertwine with reality, and the illustrations on the cover and end pages give faces to the beloved members of the BSC.
August 16, 2013
This is a really interesting book. Haley is constantly lying and no one can figure out why. So Claudia try's to straighten things out. Claudia and the little liar was the first babysitters club book that I read. I loved it and encouraged me to read more books from this series.
October 27, 2017
Okay, this was pretty good! I think it was a nice last regular series Claudia book! The main plot centers around Haley Braddock, who has suddenly turned into a liar. It turns out, in the end, that she's having trouble understanding her school work and started lying to cover herself up. It spiraled out of control, but things got settled in the end.
Our B-Plot sees the end of Claudia's relationship with Josh, which was awkward to begin with. They decide to be friends, and in a nice change of pace that actually works for them.
There's some stupid C-Plot about a girls basketball team. It was pretty useless and just sort of thrown in at random.
Our B-Plot sees the end of Claudia's relationship with Josh, which was awkward to begin with. They decide to be friends, and in a nice change of pace that actually works for them.
There's some stupid C-Plot about a girls basketball team. It was pretty useless and just sort of thrown in at random.
August 18, 2020
Hard to believe, but this was a first-time read for me. Some aspects of the book were surprises. I wasn't super into Claudia's boyfriend issues, but I did appreciate what the BSC did to help Haley - who had a super major problem with lying - to the extent that Haley refuses to accurately interpret for Matt, which was super out of line. Still a good read (birthday gift card money, well-spent.)
October 2, 2021
This is good
Its always a good book when you're so angry with the characters. I have found that I really enjoy the Claudia books and this is no exception. The girl in the book is a bit naughty and it foes for quiet a while but it is captivating. This is one of the best I have read in a while.
Its always a good book when you're so angry with the characters. I have found that I really enjoy the Claudia books and this is no exception. The girl in the book is a bit naughty and it foes for quiet a while but it is captivating. This is one of the best I have read in a while.
March 18, 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 1, 2025
One of my favorite recent BSC reads, but by far the most frustrating. And how quickly and easily the conflict wraps up feels unearned. I did love an actual difficult problem in babysitting being present as the main plot focus, though, and I loved that it was a charge who's been in this world for a long time. Overall, well done.
December 5, 2019
Review on www.audible.com listen to this book.
January 20, 2021
(LL)
This one was better than the last few, but there aren’t any new lessons in this book, so three stars is the high it should go.
This one was better than the last few, but there aren’t any new lessons in this book, so three stars is the high it should go.
May 19, 2021
This book was light on plot. I liked the Josh plot much better.
July 2, 2021
Audiobook.
November 3, 2023
I forgot that Claudia and Josh broke up in this book. RIP Claudia's seventh-grade friends, I'm sure you'll never be mentioned again.
Read
December 6, 2023For a Claudia book, there was very little Claudia-ing. Where were the descriptions of her wacky outfits? Her imaginative art projects? Did I miss them?
April 4, 2024
Not one of my favourites,don't tell lies kids!
July 17, 2024
Claudia and the rest of the baby-sitters are struggling with Haley's recent behavior of lying. The Baby-Sitters Club must work together to figure out what is going on before it ruins their business.
April 14, 2011
As far as the BSC series goes, this was one of the poorer offerings. There was a real lean upon over Claudia's retardery, and she has trouble helping a client with some 3rd grade maths, although she brags about how her brief stint in seventh grade has really helped her improve her grades.
I know this isn't the particular book to cover her grade shuffle, but I've just got to say this: How would putting her back in seventh grade in the middle of the year, then a few weeks later, putting her back up to eighth have been productive AT ALL. Putting er back, so she would have had to catch up with the seventh grade work, then taking her back to eighth grade where she would have been even further behind than she was when she left. It would have been COMPLETELY counter-productive. Sorry. Just had to have that rant.
Basically the book follows the usual recipe: conflict with a sitting charge, mirrored conflict in sitters' lives, Kristy coaching another damned sports team that plays in a league that doesn't exist, sitters knowing more than parents do about their own kids, sitters insisting they can fix problems, sitters fix problem. Parents should just quit now.
I know this isn't the particular book to cover her grade shuffle, but I've just got to say this: How would putting her back in seventh grade in the middle of the year, then a few weeks later, putting her back up to eighth have been productive AT ALL. Putting er back, so she would have had to catch up with the seventh grade work, then taking her back to eighth grade where she would have been even further behind than she was when she left. It would have been COMPLETELY counter-productive. Sorry. Just had to have that rant.
Basically the book follows the usual recipe: conflict with a sitting charge, mirrored conflict in sitters' lives, Kristy coaching another damned sports team that plays in a league that doesn't exist, sitters knowing more than parents do about their own kids, sitters insisting they can fix problems, sitters fix problem. Parents should just quit now.
May 1, 2013
Fantastic books for young girls getting into reading!! Great stories about friendship and life lessons. The characters deal with all sorts of situations and often find responsible solutions to problems.
I loved this series growing up and wanted to start my own babysitting business with friends. Great lessons in entrepreneurship for tweens.
The books may be dated with out references to modern technology but the story stands and lessons are still relevant.
Awesome books that girls will love! And the series grows with them! Terrific Author!
I loved this series growing up and wanted to start my own babysitting business with friends. Great lessons in entrepreneurship for tweens.
The books may be dated with out references to modern technology but the story stands and lessons are still relevant.
Awesome books that girls will love! And the series grows with them! Terrific Author!
March 16, 2025
2023 review: Yikes, Haley! But also this kinda shows the age of the baby-sitters that they're bothered to be thought of as spies... They're in charge of the kids so yes, part of that IS keeping the parents informed of anything important going on?
January 4, 2014
In which stupid Haley Braddock of rat-tail fame lies about the Cult. Stupid kid.
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