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The Baby-Sitters Club #102
Mary Anne and the Little Princess
Hired as the temporary companion to young Victoria Kent, who is distantly in line for the British throne, Mary Anne has trouble getting the girl, who has experienced too many partings, to open up to her. Original.
160 pages, Library Binding
First published November 1, 1996
48 people are currently reading
557 people want to read
About the author
Ann M. Martin
1,120 books3,071 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 - 29 of 29 reviews
April 6, 2024
omg extrañaba que estos libros se van como agua
April 23, 2018
in this Frances Hodgson Burnett book by ghostwriter Peter Lerangis, mary anne becomes the companion (without the sexual connotations) for a real live british princess, victoria. she has a nanny and therefore doesn’t need a babysitter, but her parents and nanny think it would be good for her to have an older american kid who can show her the ropes of being american and all. they go everywhere in a limo and all of the stoneybrook kids find victoria charming until they realize she’s kind of a snooty jerk. but she’s not actually a snooty jerk, she just has a big of a complex that everyone will leave her because her parents keep leaving her because they're dukes or something, so she doesn’t want to get close to any of the kids in stoneybrook. this all comes to a head when victoria invites mary anne, kristy, and stacey to go to nyc with her and mrs. rutherford (the nanny). they lose mrs. rutherford and have fun without the typical rigidity that victoria usually has to experience with everything being scheduled for her. but then when they meet up with victoria’s parents and discover that they won’t even be having dinner with them, because the parents need to leave town immediately again, victoria is BUMMED. mary anne helps her feel a little better by talking about how her father travels for work and how parents sometimes have to travel but that doesn’t mean they don’t love you or miss you while they’re gone. meanwhile, mary anne’s dad is out of town on a lengthy business trip and sharon is going a little overboard in bonding with mary anne -- aside from being really clingy, she keeps seeming to think mary anne is dawn (wanting to buy her clothes that dawn would wear and such...kind of creepy, really). she even signs a note to mary anne “mom” and calls mary anne her daughter, not including the significant signifier, “step-”. that plotline is resolved when sharon admits to mary anne that she’s been annoying, and talks about how if mary anne left like jeff and dawn had, she would be just as broken up about it. meanwhile meanwhile, dawn decides to come for thanksgiving as a surprise to her mom. also, the spier-schafers invite victoria and mrs. rutherford for thanksgiving. in general, nothing REALLY happens in this book. there are undercurrents of conflict, but no true conflict happens, and there’s no true resolution.
highlights:
-logan says mary anne has a condition called spier's tears! it’s funny because in Stacey and the Bad Girls, stacey narrates that mary anne’s last name rhymes with cheer, not crier, even though she’s a pretty big crier. it’s just funny that it seemingly hadn’t occurred to them that they could have said spier rhymes with tear, not crier, even though both of those are applicable to her. though that would bring up the whole issue of pronouncing tear, which could also be pronounced like TARE. oh well.
-at one point victoria is playing with dolls and when mary anne tries to suggest one of the dolls be an american friend victoria says that dolly can't stand americans. hahahahahaha of course she can’t.
-victoria tries to get mary anne to teach her how to have an american accent and starts going by vic. and keeps trying to use american slang but does it wrong. it’s cute.
-mrs. rutherford says victoria gets to pick any of the wonderful restaurants they saw in nyc for dinner, and she picks pizza hut and forces uptight mrs. rutherford to go there. I don’t approve of getting pizza hut when you’re in the good pizza capital of this continent, but it’s worth it for how funny that is.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-victoria’s family moves into the atkinsons' house in kristy’s neighborhood, but the atkinsons don’t move away. the bsc hypothesize that maybe victoria’s family is subletting, but they never clarify.
-mary anne narrates "you may have noticed the crossout in kristy's bsc notebook entry" but there is no crossout in the entry
-they bring vic to the big football game and she's excited because she thinks they mean soccer. and all of the bsc members don’t clarify. are they really so unworldly that NONE of them know that she probably thinks football means soccer?
-dawn calls the turkey "the traditional brutally massacred, decapitated, and scorched bird carcass." she acts like she doesn't eat meat, but she totally does. I understand if you’re doing it for health or whatever, but don’t start to talk about brutally massacred but then still eat chicken and fish all the time, you hypocrite.
-vic calls hot dogs bangers. is that real? outside of the context of bangers and mash do they get called that? I'd think they'd call them wieners or frankfurters or something. any brits wanna weigh in?
-at the central park zoo there's a polar bear that keeps swimming back and forth and stacey says that he's seeing an animal psychologist and mary anne thinks that's a funny concept. REALLY? you're soooo sensitive, mary anne. mary anne who has had to see a therapist multiple times in the past (see Chain Letter and Mary Anne and the Memory Garden). what an asshole.
-there’s not really any real conflict. it’s almost like a non-story.
stacey outfit:
-"She was wearing a black baseball cap, black sunglasses, and a sleek, black, ankle-length coat with sharply padded shoulders."
snacks in claudia’s room:
-pretzel nuggets (n.s.)
highlights:
-logan says mary anne has a condition called spier's tears! it’s funny because in Stacey and the Bad Girls, stacey narrates that mary anne’s last name rhymes with cheer, not crier, even though she’s a pretty big crier. it’s just funny that it seemingly hadn’t occurred to them that they could have said spier rhymes with tear, not crier, even though both of those are applicable to her. though that would bring up the whole issue of pronouncing tear, which could also be pronounced like TARE. oh well.
-at one point victoria is playing with dolls and when mary anne tries to suggest one of the dolls be an american friend victoria says that dolly can't stand americans. hahahahahaha of course she can’t.
-victoria tries to get mary anne to teach her how to have an american accent and starts going by vic. and keeps trying to use american slang but does it wrong. it’s cute.
-mrs. rutherford says victoria gets to pick any of the wonderful restaurants they saw in nyc for dinner, and she picks pizza hut and forces uptight mrs. rutherford to go there. I don’t approve of getting pizza hut when you’re in the good pizza capital of this continent, but it’s worth it for how funny that is.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-victoria’s family moves into the atkinsons' house in kristy’s neighborhood, but the atkinsons don’t move away. the bsc hypothesize that maybe victoria’s family is subletting, but they never clarify.
-mary anne narrates "you may have noticed the crossout in kristy's bsc notebook entry" but there is no crossout in the entry
-they bring vic to the big football game and she's excited because she thinks they mean soccer. and all of the bsc members don’t clarify. are they really so unworldly that NONE of them know that she probably thinks football means soccer?
-dawn calls the turkey "the traditional brutally massacred, decapitated, and scorched bird carcass." she acts like she doesn't eat meat, but she totally does. I understand if you’re doing it for health or whatever, but don’t start to talk about brutally massacred but then still eat chicken and fish all the time, you hypocrite.
-vic calls hot dogs bangers. is that real? outside of the context of bangers and mash do they get called that? I'd think they'd call them wieners or frankfurters or something. any brits wanna weigh in?
-at the central park zoo there's a polar bear that keeps swimming back and forth and stacey says that he's seeing an animal psychologist and mary anne thinks that's a funny concept. REALLY? you're soooo sensitive, mary anne. mary anne who has had to see a therapist multiple times in the past (see Chain Letter and Mary Anne and the Memory Garden). what an asshole.
-there’s not really any real conflict. it’s almost like a non-story.
stacey outfit:
-"She was wearing a black baseball cap, black sunglasses, and a sleek, black, ankle-length coat with sharply padded shoulders."
snacks in claudia’s room:
-pretzel nuggets (n.s.)
October 18, 2017
Even when I was a kid I thought this book was pretty silly. Of course a Princess in line for the British throne moved to Stoneybrook. Of COURSE they called the BSC to provide a companion for her.
Please.
This was ridiculous even by BSC standards.
Please.
This was ridiculous even by BSC standards.
May 13, 2011
i am continuing my reign of terror against mary anne, giving all of her books one-star reviews. this one opens with mary anne hanging out in kristy's neighborhood. kristy, logan, & abby are playing football with some of their regular sitting charges. mary anne is sitting under a tree, reading a book. you know she's not sporty. everyone is distracted when a moving van pulls up at a nearby house. the movers start unloading things like a huge madeleine doll & a massive victorian dollhouse. hannie is pumped because kids are moving in. timmy hsu is bummed because girls are moving in. kristy is stoked because potential new clients are moving in. she races over to give the movers a babysitters club flyer.
at the next meeting, the girls get a call from the new family. or the family's nanny, in any case. the family is named kent. they are british & in the states so that sir charles & lady what's-her-face can do some kind of united nations-themed business. they have an eight- or nine-year-old daughter named victoria, & although victoria has a full-time nanny, the parents feel that it would be helpful for victoria to also have an american companion to help her adjust to life in the states. mary anne kind of stammers & tries to explain that she is supposed to offer the job around & call back with a sitter, but the nanny cuts her off & is like, "you sound perfect! i'll send the chauffeur by with the limo tomorrow so you can come by for your interview." then she says something about victoria being a princess & mary anne is all, "who to the what now?"
back home, mary anne is all nervous. she doesn't know what to wear to meet a princess. & then richard drops the bomb that he has to go to milwaukee on business for a few days. mary anne is disappointed because she has separation issues. richard says he'll bring her back some authentic wisconsin bratwurst. i have eaten plenty of authentic wisconsin bratwurst in my day & it's really no more spectacular than any other bratwurst.
the next day, mary anne chooses a nice demure outfit in which to meet the kents. the limo arrives & mary anne is relieved that the driver is a gregarious american. he in fact grew up in stoneybrook, though he currently works for a new york-based driving service. he jumped at the kent job because it was an opportunity to hang around stoneybrook again. i find it slightly problematic that mary anne is "set at ease" because the driver is an american. english people are still people, you know. though it's true that every time i meet one, i always think they're going to make fun of my american accent. (so far, none of them have. not to my face, anyway.)
the kents are very refined & proper. victoria calls her parents "sir" & "ma'am" & everyone says stuff like, "marvelous," "charming," & "a bit of a bother". because apparently the ghostwriter thinks that all british people are in fact time travelers from 1908 or so. i think the only research that happened was a lot of rereading of jane austen novels. naturally, mary anne the tedious bore fits right in & the kents hire her. she retires to the playroom to hang out with victoria for a while. victoria is playing with her dolls. mary anne tries to join in, suggesting that one doll is perhaps an american that would like to introduce the other dolls to the american way of life, but victoria protests that her dolls don't care for americans. mary anne finds victoria rather off-putting. she asks the driver later if victoria is really a princess. turns out she is, i guess. she's like 38th in line for the throne. the driver says, "it's called peerage. something about bloodlines. i don't really understand." me neither, dude.
the middle of the book is mostly about mary anne missing her father & trying to become comfortable with victoria. victoria isn't doing a great job making friends in stoneybrook. the other kids are fascinated by her because of her accent & the rumors that she is a princess, but she acts kind of snobby & entitled, which alienates them. she loosens up with mary anne a little, just because she thinks mary anne is more fun than the stuffy old nanny, who is always telling victoria to wear a heavier coat & watch less TV.
the B-lot is mostly about mary anne & sharon holding down the home fort in richard's absence. sharon decides she's going to do thanksgiving dinner (richard gets back on thanksgiving morning), & she invites mary anne to make a day of shopping for preparations. they order a pre-cooked turkey (because sharon knows mary anne & richard will want one--she hasn't turned into a carnivore). they go to the mall & sharon buys mary anne a beautiful sweater in autumn colors. but then she wants to buy mary anne a bright blue paisley-print headband that isn't at all mary anne's style. & then she wants to take mary anne to a macrobiotic restaurant for lunch, saying, "we loved it the last time we went!" mary anne realizes that sharon may be confusing her with dawn. which is distinct possibility, considering that this is sharon "tokemaster" porter-spier we're talking about.
mary anne is moping around the house one day, missing richard & feeling resentful that sharon thinks she is dawn when the real dawn actually calls. she has arranged to fly into stoneybrook for thanksgiving, but she wants to keep it a surprise for sharon. i'm not sure how she thinks mary anne is going to pick her up at the airport, but then again, having a healthy relationship with reality was never dawn's strong suit. mary anne is really excited about seeing dawn again & promises to keep the secret.
but this becomes more & more difficult as it becomes apparent that sharon is really missing dawn & jeff. mary anne catches sharon one evening paging through a photo album full of their baby pictures. she tells mary anne all about dawn's first words, her first surfing lesson, her first grape boycott picket line...okay, i made that last one up, but it fits the california stereotype roadshow we have happening here. mary anne wants really badly to spill the beans & cheer sharon up, but she doesn't.
victoria is starting to become more interested in american culture. she's fascinated by all the channels available on TV & decides she wants to go to washington mall. she drags mary anne along & mary anne feels vaguely embarrassed by how wondrous victoria finds something as boring as a suburban mall. let me also just interject that victoria grew up in london, which is hardly a provincial backwater. i'm not really buying that she would be that impressed with the washington mall after probably growing up in harrod's.
after victoria learns that the washington mall does not in fact host the world's largest department store, she decides she needs to go to new york city to see the REAL world's biggest department store. that would be macy's. & again...harrod's? i'm sure harrod's is cooler than macy's. so she arranges for the chauffeur to drive her, the nanny, mary anne, kristy, & stacey to new york city the day before thanksgiving. she hatched this plan at logan's big football game (she was disappointed that it wasn't actually soccer), where she met a bunch of other stoneybrook kids & managed to alienate them all. when she said she had room for one more person to go to new york, all the kids begged to go, but victoria said, "not a child. i choose kristy." kristy is 13. that means she is a child. but anyway.
so they go to new york city for a day of shopping, topped off by meeting victoria's parents at the UN & going out for dinner. at first the nanny makes it really boring for everyone, insisting that they have to stay within sight of the car at all times & victoria has to hold two people's hands while crossing the street & they have to avoid suspicious-looking weirdos. but then stacey gives nanny the slip & the babysitters & victoria have a great time frolicking in central park. when they meet up with the nanny at the pre-appointed place in time, she has two police officers in tow & is in a panic. then they all go to the UN & victoria is totally psyched to see her parents...until they tell her they are flying back to europe that evening for some more meetings & stuff. victoria is crushed & lashes out at all her babysitters & forces them to have dinner at pizza hut instead of a nice french restaurant (victoria's parents can't go to dinner either).
this is when mary anne realizes that victoria is snobby & stand-offish because she feels abandoned by her parents. she misses them & is scared to get close to anyone because she thinks they are just going to leave her.
mary anne arranged for the driver to pick her up the next morning so she can meet dawn & richard at the airport (conveniently keeping the secret of dawn's visit from sharon until they very last moment). i wonder who is paying the driver for this. victoria tags along & mary anne coaxes her into admitting that she feels abandoned by her parents & scared of letting people in. victoria cries & mary anne helps her see that her parents are unlikely to meet some other little girl that they like better, & that it takes more work to avoid making friends than it does to let people in. mary anne then has a tearful reunion at the airport with dawn, richard, & richard's refrigerated carton of wisconsin bratwurst. the driver swings by the kents' house to pick up the crotchety old british nanny & they all retire to the schafer-spier farmhouse for thanksgiving dinner, even though you'd think that british people might not be that pumped about thanksgiving. sharon practically has a heart attack when she sees dawn & everyone is happy. victoria decides to play with some of the local kids & try to make friends.
goddamn. i feel like it took me like seven hours to write this recap. usually these things only take me like twenty minutes or so. i guess i found this book even more tedious than i'd imagined. i especially recommend that british readers give this baby a wide berth. it literally made me feel ashamed to be an american, with all of its goofy stereotypes about british people. i remember when the iraq war first happened, there was that internet campaign where people photographed themselves holding signs that said, "i'm sorry." i honestly feel that we need a similar action to atone for the publication of this book.
at the next meeting, the girls get a call from the new family. or the family's nanny, in any case. the family is named kent. they are british & in the states so that sir charles & lady what's-her-face can do some kind of united nations-themed business. they have an eight- or nine-year-old daughter named victoria, & although victoria has a full-time nanny, the parents feel that it would be helpful for victoria to also have an american companion to help her adjust to life in the states. mary anne kind of stammers & tries to explain that she is supposed to offer the job around & call back with a sitter, but the nanny cuts her off & is like, "you sound perfect! i'll send the chauffeur by with the limo tomorrow so you can come by for your interview." then she says something about victoria being a princess & mary anne is all, "who to the what now?"
back home, mary anne is all nervous. she doesn't know what to wear to meet a princess. & then richard drops the bomb that he has to go to milwaukee on business for a few days. mary anne is disappointed because she has separation issues. richard says he'll bring her back some authentic wisconsin bratwurst. i have eaten plenty of authentic wisconsin bratwurst in my day & it's really no more spectacular than any other bratwurst.
the next day, mary anne chooses a nice demure outfit in which to meet the kents. the limo arrives & mary anne is relieved that the driver is a gregarious american. he in fact grew up in stoneybrook, though he currently works for a new york-based driving service. he jumped at the kent job because it was an opportunity to hang around stoneybrook again. i find it slightly problematic that mary anne is "set at ease" because the driver is an american. english people are still people, you know. though it's true that every time i meet one, i always think they're going to make fun of my american accent. (so far, none of them have. not to my face, anyway.)
the kents are very refined & proper. victoria calls her parents "sir" & "ma'am" & everyone says stuff like, "marvelous," "charming," & "a bit of a bother". because apparently the ghostwriter thinks that all british people are in fact time travelers from 1908 or so. i think the only research that happened was a lot of rereading of jane austen novels. naturally, mary anne the tedious bore fits right in & the kents hire her. she retires to the playroom to hang out with victoria for a while. victoria is playing with her dolls. mary anne tries to join in, suggesting that one doll is perhaps an american that would like to introduce the other dolls to the american way of life, but victoria protests that her dolls don't care for americans. mary anne finds victoria rather off-putting. she asks the driver later if victoria is really a princess. turns out she is, i guess. she's like 38th in line for the throne. the driver says, "it's called peerage. something about bloodlines. i don't really understand." me neither, dude.
the middle of the book is mostly about mary anne missing her father & trying to become comfortable with victoria. victoria isn't doing a great job making friends in stoneybrook. the other kids are fascinated by her because of her accent & the rumors that she is a princess, but she acts kind of snobby & entitled, which alienates them. she loosens up with mary anne a little, just because she thinks mary anne is more fun than the stuffy old nanny, who is always telling victoria to wear a heavier coat & watch less TV.
the B-lot is mostly about mary anne & sharon holding down the home fort in richard's absence. sharon decides she's going to do thanksgiving dinner (richard gets back on thanksgiving morning), & she invites mary anne to make a day of shopping for preparations. they order a pre-cooked turkey (because sharon knows mary anne & richard will want one--she hasn't turned into a carnivore). they go to the mall & sharon buys mary anne a beautiful sweater in autumn colors. but then she wants to buy mary anne a bright blue paisley-print headband that isn't at all mary anne's style. & then she wants to take mary anne to a macrobiotic restaurant for lunch, saying, "we loved it the last time we went!" mary anne realizes that sharon may be confusing her with dawn. which is distinct possibility, considering that this is sharon "tokemaster" porter-spier we're talking about.
mary anne is moping around the house one day, missing richard & feeling resentful that sharon thinks she is dawn when the real dawn actually calls. she has arranged to fly into stoneybrook for thanksgiving, but she wants to keep it a surprise for sharon. i'm not sure how she thinks mary anne is going to pick her up at the airport, but then again, having a healthy relationship with reality was never dawn's strong suit. mary anne is really excited about seeing dawn again & promises to keep the secret.
but this becomes more & more difficult as it becomes apparent that sharon is really missing dawn & jeff. mary anne catches sharon one evening paging through a photo album full of their baby pictures. she tells mary anne all about dawn's first words, her first surfing lesson, her first grape boycott picket line...okay, i made that last one up, but it fits the california stereotype roadshow we have happening here. mary anne wants really badly to spill the beans & cheer sharon up, but she doesn't.
victoria is starting to become more interested in american culture. she's fascinated by all the channels available on TV & decides she wants to go to washington mall. she drags mary anne along & mary anne feels vaguely embarrassed by how wondrous victoria finds something as boring as a suburban mall. let me also just interject that victoria grew up in london, which is hardly a provincial backwater. i'm not really buying that she would be that impressed with the washington mall after probably growing up in harrod's.
after victoria learns that the washington mall does not in fact host the world's largest department store, she decides she needs to go to new york city to see the REAL world's biggest department store. that would be macy's. & again...harrod's? i'm sure harrod's is cooler than macy's. so she arranges for the chauffeur to drive her, the nanny, mary anne, kristy, & stacey to new york city the day before thanksgiving. she hatched this plan at logan's big football game (she was disappointed that it wasn't actually soccer), where she met a bunch of other stoneybrook kids & managed to alienate them all. when she said she had room for one more person to go to new york, all the kids begged to go, but victoria said, "not a child. i choose kristy." kristy is 13. that means she is a child. but anyway.
so they go to new york city for a day of shopping, topped off by meeting victoria's parents at the UN & going out for dinner. at first the nanny makes it really boring for everyone, insisting that they have to stay within sight of the car at all times & victoria has to hold two people's hands while crossing the street & they have to avoid suspicious-looking weirdos. but then stacey gives nanny the slip & the babysitters & victoria have a great time frolicking in central park. when they meet up with the nanny at the pre-appointed place in time, she has two police officers in tow & is in a panic. then they all go to the UN & victoria is totally psyched to see her parents...until they tell her they are flying back to europe that evening for some more meetings & stuff. victoria is crushed & lashes out at all her babysitters & forces them to have dinner at pizza hut instead of a nice french restaurant (victoria's parents can't go to dinner either).
this is when mary anne realizes that victoria is snobby & stand-offish because she feels abandoned by her parents. she misses them & is scared to get close to anyone because she thinks they are just going to leave her.
mary anne arranged for the driver to pick her up the next morning so she can meet dawn & richard at the airport (conveniently keeping the secret of dawn's visit from sharon until they very last moment). i wonder who is paying the driver for this. victoria tags along & mary anne coaxes her into admitting that she feels abandoned by her parents & scared of letting people in. victoria cries & mary anne helps her see that her parents are unlikely to meet some other little girl that they like better, & that it takes more work to avoid making friends than it does to let people in. mary anne then has a tearful reunion at the airport with dawn, richard, & richard's refrigerated carton of wisconsin bratwurst. the driver swings by the kents' house to pick up the crotchety old british nanny & they all retire to the schafer-spier farmhouse for thanksgiving dinner, even though you'd think that british people might not be that pumped about thanksgiving. sharon practically has a heart attack when she sees dawn & everyone is happy. victoria decides to play with some of the local kids & try to make friends.
goddamn. i feel like it took me like seven hours to write this recap. usually these things only take me like twenty minutes or so. i guess i found this book even more tedious than i'd imagined. i especially recommend that british readers give this baby a wide berth. it literally made me feel ashamed to be an american, with all of its goofy stereotypes about british people. i remember when the iraq war first happened, there was that internet campaign where people photographed themselves holding signs that said, "i'm sorry." i honestly feel that we need a similar action to atone for the publication of this book.
December 28, 2022
This was an okay book; actually I liked the Sharon sub-plot better than the main plot with the princess. Actually, the princess plot was just kind of there. Do we ever see Victoria again?
February 13, 2021
Not a huge fan of this one, even though it did provide more context about Victoria and Mary Anne. (Mary Anne is hired as Victoria's "companion / big sister" figure, but is still being paid BSC rates. Victoria is a more fully realized character in this one...I just...didn't care much?
November 1, 2013
In which Mary Anne becomes the personal babysitter of some random andannoying British kid.
December 28, 2020
(LL)
Honestly, this was just plain boring. No new lessons learned and we had to read about another poor rich kid and how hard it is for them. Yawn.
Honestly, this was just plain boring. No new lessons learned and we had to read about another poor rich kid and how hard it is for them. Yawn.
December 3, 2022
Maryanne and the Little Princess
Maryanne is over Kristy’s house watching her (Kristy), David Michael, Logan, Linny, and Hannie Papadakis play football when a moving truck pulls up. Kristy never one to shove the club down new victims’ throats rushes over with a flier. She finds out that the new residents are named Kent and by the looks of the toys they have a girl.
At the next meeting of the BSC, Miss Rutherford (the nanny) calls to set up an interview for 8-year-old Princess Victoria. Since Maryanne answers the phone and Miss Rutherford won’t let her get a word in edgewise, she says she’ll send the limo to pick her up the next day. Maryanne is introduced to the driver (George) and Charles and Lady Kent who tells her that they’ll be traveling for about seven months and that she’ll have flexible hours. She’s introduced to Victoria and her dolls who don’t seem to think much of Americans
Maryanne doesn’t think it went well despite George saying when you get to know them, they’re nice. To top this off when she gets home, she finds a note from Sharon referring to herself as “Mom” (which upsets Maryanne further).
When Maryanne sits for her she says she wants to see Washington Mall. Victoria calls Maryanne horrid because she makes her change into a heavier coat. But afterward, they spend the day shopping and seem to get along. Maryanne afterward invites George, Miss Rotherfield, and Victoria to spend Thanksgiving with her and her family.
The next sitting job with Victoria, the LP asks Maryanne to speak into a recorder because she likes the way she speaks. All the kids tease her accent so she wants to learn an American one. Maryanne says they can invite some of the kids over, but she says other than Drucilla (Morbidda Destiny’s granddaughter) she doesn’t really like any of the kids. So, Maryanne invites her to a Stoneybrooke football game. This gets Victoria’s approval because she played football back home (soccer), and she says Maryanne is a splendid companion.
Maryanne wonders why she changed her mind but vows to help bring her out more. Richard is out of town on a case and says he won’t be able to come home until Thanksgiving Day. Maryanne is bummed but she and Sharon go to the mall to get a turkey. Sharon gets Maryanne is a nice sweater, but then she tries to get her a headband that doesn’t exactly fit her style. Then she tells her they can eat at this vegan restaurant that she loved before. That’s when she puts the pieces together that Sharon is using her as a substitute for Dawn (who by this book has moved back to California).
Even tho the BSC tease Victoria and think she’s standoffish, Maryanne convinces them to help her. Jessi says she’ll introduce her to Becca and Charlotte. Abby and Kristy say they’ll come to the game. Later Maryanne talks to Dawn who says she’ll be there for Thanksgiving but to keep it a secret from her mom.
At the game, Victoria starts to warm up to Becca, Charlotte, Adam, Bryon, Jordan, and Karen. Becca (who created her own princess alter ego) and Victoria seem to especially get along. Of course, they bombard her with questions. But it all goes downhill when she invites Stacey and Kristy (along with Maryanne) to go on a trip to NY with her Wednesday. Then the other children kind of lose interest in her.
While in NY, the first stop at Saks, then Rockefeller Center (Victoria gets lost briefly but they find her watching skaters), a camera store, a bookstore, Godiva, and Saint Paul’s Cathedral. Then they go back to the Plaza. Victoria runs off again and Stacey and Maryanne decide to ditch Miss Rutherfield and just have fun. So, they go to Central Park and FAO SCHWARTZ. By the time they get back to the stop where they’re all supposed to meet up with George Miss Rutherford has called the police and isn’t too happy with their stunt.
After this, they meet up with Lady Kent and Sir Charles. Victoria excitedly starts to tell them about how great a time she’s having, but Sir Charles isn’t thrilled that she’s picking up slang. Her new word is how *cool* everything is. He isn’t too happy either with Miss Rutherford for letting them get separated. Lady Kent and Sir Charles drop the bomb on Victoria and tell her they aren’t having dinner with her, but to make it up tell her she can eat anywhere she wants. She chooses Pizza Hut. They meet up with Stacey’s Dad and they watch the setup for the Macy’s parade. But Victoria's trip has been spoiled so she says she’s ready to go back home. When she gets back Maryanne speaks to her Dad and tells him the limo will pick him (and Dawn up) tomorrow. She has a talk with Sharon and tells her about the outing and Sharon (wisely) tells her that she understands why Victoria asks standoffish. It’s because that her parents keep leaving and after a while after that happens so many times you start to wonder if it’s you. Because of that, it makes you reluctant to get close to anyone. And it turns out Sharon is right because when Maryanne goes to get Victoria to ride to the airport she gets all in her feelings and explodes because she thinks her parents are abandoning her. Maryanne makes her see that that’s not the truth and that they aren’t trying to replace her. She even gets Victoria to give Karen a chance, even though she’s reluctant to make a friend that she’ll have to say goodbye to in six months.
Thanksgiving goes great. They pick up Dawn and Richard. Sharon is in HEAVEN to see Dawn! Only typical Sharon she put the turkey in the oven and didn’t turn it on. So Richard says he’ll show his slides from Milwaukie and Victoria asks Dawn to go with her to pick up Karen. It ends with Maryanne feeling thankful and blessed,
My Thoughts:
This one wasn’t the best. It took me a minute to want to read it over because even though I didn’t remember it from the other review I wrote about it seemed dull. It still was. But I enjoyed reading about the trip to NY. At 13 it would have been (to use Victoria’s favorite word) cool to get picked up after school and spend the day in NYC. I'd love to see some of these famous NY stores and places! What surprised me was that the book talks about all the things Victoria bought at the Washington Mall, but it doesn’t mention anything about Victoria buying not a single thing in New York. I thought she would have bought out FAO SCHWARTZ and *that* would have been the thing to give them away when Miss Rutherfield saw them. In a way, Mrs. Rutherfield reminded me slightly of Grandmere from the Princess Diaries. Strict lady, refined, knows about American culture but hasn’t really experienced it. What I also could connect with (or rather who) was Sharon’s talk with Maryanne when she tells her that after so long of people leaving you it makes you reluctant to want to try to get close to (or love) anyone again. Something about that hit home with me. Other than that I kind of felt bad for Victoria. Yeah sometimes she's a little blunt (and sometimes it turned me off to her) but it must be hard to be a kid whose parents are never there. I come from a family whose members that are parents play a day-to-day part in their kids' lives. Even tho my parents were divorced when I was 10, there was never a time when either of them wasn’t around or made me feel neglected so I can’t even imagine.
Rating: 5
Not terribly interesting but not as terrible as the first time I read it because of the New York trip. If not for that it would have been a 3.
Maryanne is over Kristy’s house watching her (Kristy), David Michael, Logan, Linny, and Hannie Papadakis play football when a moving truck pulls up. Kristy never one to shove the club down new victims’ throats rushes over with a flier. She finds out that the new residents are named Kent and by the looks of the toys they have a girl.
At the next meeting of the BSC, Miss Rutherford (the nanny) calls to set up an interview for 8-year-old Princess Victoria. Since Maryanne answers the phone and Miss Rutherford won’t let her get a word in edgewise, she says she’ll send the limo to pick her up the next day. Maryanne is introduced to the driver (George) and Charles and Lady Kent who tells her that they’ll be traveling for about seven months and that she’ll have flexible hours. She’s introduced to Victoria and her dolls who don’t seem to think much of Americans
Maryanne doesn’t think it went well despite George saying when you get to know them, they’re nice. To top this off when she gets home, she finds a note from Sharon referring to herself as “Mom” (which upsets Maryanne further).
When Maryanne sits for her she says she wants to see Washington Mall. Victoria calls Maryanne horrid because she makes her change into a heavier coat. But afterward, they spend the day shopping and seem to get along. Maryanne afterward invites George, Miss Rotherfield, and Victoria to spend Thanksgiving with her and her family.
The next sitting job with Victoria, the LP asks Maryanne to speak into a recorder because she likes the way she speaks. All the kids tease her accent so she wants to learn an American one. Maryanne says they can invite some of the kids over, but she says other than Drucilla (Morbidda Destiny’s granddaughter) she doesn’t really like any of the kids. So, Maryanne invites her to a Stoneybrooke football game. This gets Victoria’s approval because she played football back home (soccer), and she says Maryanne is a splendid companion.
Maryanne wonders why she changed her mind but vows to help bring her out more. Richard is out of town on a case and says he won’t be able to come home until Thanksgiving Day. Maryanne is bummed but she and Sharon go to the mall to get a turkey. Sharon gets Maryanne is a nice sweater, but then she tries to get her a headband that doesn’t exactly fit her style. Then she tells her they can eat at this vegan restaurant that she loved before. That’s when she puts the pieces together that Sharon is using her as a substitute for Dawn (who by this book has moved back to California).
Even tho the BSC tease Victoria and think she’s standoffish, Maryanne convinces them to help her. Jessi says she’ll introduce her to Becca and Charlotte. Abby and Kristy say they’ll come to the game. Later Maryanne talks to Dawn who says she’ll be there for Thanksgiving but to keep it a secret from her mom.
At the game, Victoria starts to warm up to Becca, Charlotte, Adam, Bryon, Jordan, and Karen. Becca (who created her own princess alter ego) and Victoria seem to especially get along. Of course, they bombard her with questions. But it all goes downhill when she invites Stacey and Kristy (along with Maryanne) to go on a trip to NY with her Wednesday. Then the other children kind of lose interest in her.
While in NY, the first stop at Saks, then Rockefeller Center (Victoria gets lost briefly but they find her watching skaters), a camera store, a bookstore, Godiva, and Saint Paul’s Cathedral. Then they go back to the Plaza. Victoria runs off again and Stacey and Maryanne decide to ditch Miss Rutherfield and just have fun. So, they go to Central Park and FAO SCHWARTZ. By the time they get back to the stop where they’re all supposed to meet up with George Miss Rutherford has called the police and isn’t too happy with their stunt.
After this, they meet up with Lady Kent and Sir Charles. Victoria excitedly starts to tell them about how great a time she’s having, but Sir Charles isn’t thrilled that she’s picking up slang. Her new word is how *cool* everything is. He isn’t too happy either with Miss Rutherford for letting them get separated. Lady Kent and Sir Charles drop the bomb on Victoria and tell her they aren’t having dinner with her, but to make it up tell her she can eat anywhere she wants. She chooses Pizza Hut. They meet up with Stacey’s Dad and they watch the setup for the Macy’s parade. But Victoria's trip has been spoiled so she says she’s ready to go back home. When she gets back Maryanne speaks to her Dad and tells him the limo will pick him (and Dawn up) tomorrow. She has a talk with Sharon and tells her about the outing and Sharon (wisely) tells her that she understands why Victoria asks standoffish. It’s because that her parents keep leaving and after a while after that happens so many times you start to wonder if it’s you. Because of that, it makes you reluctant to get close to anyone. And it turns out Sharon is right because when Maryanne goes to get Victoria to ride to the airport she gets all in her feelings and explodes because she thinks her parents are abandoning her. Maryanne makes her see that that’s not the truth and that they aren’t trying to replace her. She even gets Victoria to give Karen a chance, even though she’s reluctant to make a friend that she’ll have to say goodbye to in six months.
Thanksgiving goes great. They pick up Dawn and Richard. Sharon is in HEAVEN to see Dawn! Only typical Sharon she put the turkey in the oven and didn’t turn it on. So Richard says he’ll show his slides from Milwaukie and Victoria asks Dawn to go with her to pick up Karen. It ends with Maryanne feeling thankful and blessed,
My Thoughts:
This one wasn’t the best. It took me a minute to want to read it over because even though I didn’t remember it from the other review I wrote about it seemed dull. It still was. But I enjoyed reading about the trip to NY. At 13 it would have been (to use Victoria’s favorite word) cool to get picked up after school and spend the day in NYC. I'd love to see some of these famous NY stores and places! What surprised me was that the book talks about all the things Victoria bought at the Washington Mall, but it doesn’t mention anything about Victoria buying not a single thing in New York. I thought she would have bought out FAO SCHWARTZ and *that* would have been the thing to give them away when Miss Rutherfield saw them. In a way, Mrs. Rutherfield reminded me slightly of Grandmere from the Princess Diaries. Strict lady, refined, knows about American culture but hasn’t really experienced it. What I also could connect with (or rather who) was Sharon’s talk with Maryanne when she tells her that after so long of people leaving you it makes you reluctant to want to try to get close to (or love) anyone again. Something about that hit home with me. Other than that I kind of felt bad for Victoria. Yeah sometimes she's a little blunt (and sometimes it turned me off to her) but it must be hard to be a kid whose parents are never there. I come from a family whose members that are parents play a day-to-day part in their kids' lives. Even tho my parents were divorced when I was 10, there was never a time when either of them wasn’t around or made me feel neglected so I can’t even imagine.
Rating: 5
Not terribly interesting but not as terrible as the first time I read it because of the New York trip. If not for that it would have been a 3.
November 19, 2017
This is my first baby sitters club book and it was honestly much better than I thought it would be. It deals with some pretty adult thoughts in a young but not babyish way. I might have given it a 5 star -and I'll try another couple of them - except that I was so bothered by the way the Americans acted towards, imitated, and were rude to the British girl, Victoria. Now, is that the way 8-13 year olds in a small town might actually act? Probably but I still cringed every few pages.
January 3, 2023
Mary Anne books are never really my jam, but Mary Anne + a plot about how much most everyone misses Dawn was a little too much for me. I wanted the play on the ~~Little Princess~~ to be a little more whimsical, but instead the plot spent too much time deciding whether to focus on being saccharin or fun, and falling short of both. I did like the limo driver, though, so there's that. (Also, does the BSC only visit the same three places every time they go to NYC, or...?)
April 7, 2023
Fun and quick. The subplot about Sharon is so sweet and kinda sad. Lol on the American football vs European football. Victoria's situation is also kinda sad, poor kid just misses her parents. I did think the story ended a bit abruptly.
I also wish there's a bit more variety and flavours on the vegetarian meals mentioned. They all sound bland or yucky. Though I guess vegetarian cuisine didn't really have many choices in the 90s?
I also wish there's a bit more variety and flavours on the vegetarian meals mentioned. They all sound bland or yucky. Though I guess vegetarian cuisine didn't really have many choices in the 90s?
Read
October 18, 2021I'm not going to give a rating, and I'm not going to pretend I was alive in 1996, (I was born in 1999) but something I have notice of the BSC books is they love to act every other country wants to be them. Even when I was very young I noticed this with Australian characters, maybe it's different with British but if they feel the same way I can imagine it being annoying. Maybe it was different.
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.
January 21, 2022
Absolutely nothing happens in this story but it's also not THE WORST middle grade book I've ever read. The novel ended so abruptly that I initially thought my library's ebook copy was missing the final chapter; it wasn't.
Definitely skip this one.
Definitely skip this one.
November 15, 2019
Review on www.Audible.com please listen to this book
August 28, 2020
when mary anne goes “Why is someone like me attracted to such athletic people?” after talking about logan AND kristy. ATTRACTED!!!!!
Read
January 25, 2021Read my recap at A Year with the BSC via Stoneybrook Forever: https://www.livethemovies.com/bsc-blo...
October 21, 2021
Loved it!
November 20, 2023
Come to the conclusion that Mary Anne's books never miss! I had doubts about the story of this book, but I really enjoyed it. I really loved the Sharon and Mary Anne story in this book!
January 13, 2024
I loved it was cool how the princess came out of being lonely.
Read
February 1, 2026Hired as the temporary companion to young Victoria Kent, who is distantly in line for the British throne, Mary Anne has trouble getting the girl to open up to her.
August 14, 2024
This book was okay but made little sense. Why was Victoria a princess? I know its a kids book but do Americans not do any research on how royalty and titles work? Only direct descendants to the throne get those titles. Victoria is so far from the throne she should be a lady not a princess. Mary Anne gets hired as a young companion to the girl. Victoria has a long suffering nanny Miss Rutherford who no doubt needs a break. Victoria is a spoiled brat. Her parents are never home always working for the UN and the girl is lost and sad and feels unloved with no parents or friends and only an old lady for company. The b plot ties in nicely. Richard is out of town and Mary Anne misses him a lot. Sharon is missing Dawn and tries to turn Mary Anne into Dawn. Making her tofu and healthy food, buying her clothes that suit Dawn better than the suit Mary Anne. Mary Anne even comments on how she doesn't appreciate the daughter she has in front of her. Thus is why I hate Dawn now. Not only does she think that her visiting Sunny's dying mother is the same as Sunny visiting her, she also doesn't appreciate she has two moms and ditched her own mom. They try to paint a picture of Dawn as being such a good friend to Sunny she rushed to California to support her, but if I saw the mother or my closest friend dying I would want to cling to my own mother even more, but maybe that's because I've lost my own mom. I don't know. Dawn sucks. But this book was readable and enjoyable. Not realistic very much written for an American audience who doesn't understand European culture but still a decent read.
December 27, 2015
So, a young English princess moves in to Kristy's neighborhood, and Mary Anne gets chosen by the parents to be the girl's babysitter/companion. And hilarity ensues.
Except, not really. The end storyline turns out to be that this girl is standoffish to new people and bitter because her parents are always traveling and she feels neglected and like everyone she likes leaves, so why bother liking anyone. But it just never felt like we got a lot of that during the book... Yes, she sometimes seems standoffish from the rest of the kids of the neighborhood, but wouldn't you seem a little awkward if you'd just moved to a new country, meeting new people, don't know the language (at least not the slang) and the customs, and you're surrounded by a bunch of goons? But suddenly at the end it's like "Oh, she's that way because she misses her parents! Everything makes sense! Don't cry little girl, your parents are coming back!" "Oh, okay. I'll make friends now!" Meh.
(This, of course, coming from someone who is WAY too old to be reading these books and trying to get any substance or moral out of them. I'm sure if I'd read this when I was 10, with all the other BSC books I read, I would have thought it was a fine book. Not my favorite BSC book, but a fine one.)
Except, not really. The end storyline turns out to be that this girl is standoffish to new people and bitter because her parents are always traveling and she feels neglected and like everyone she likes leaves, so why bother liking anyone. But it just never felt like we got a lot of that during the book... Yes, she sometimes seems standoffish from the rest of the kids of the neighborhood, but wouldn't you seem a little awkward if you'd just moved to a new country, meeting new people, don't know the language (at least not the slang) and the customs, and you're surrounded by a bunch of goons? But suddenly at the end it's like "Oh, she's that way because she misses her parents! Everything makes sense! Don't cry little girl, your parents are coming back!" "Oh, okay. I'll make friends now!" Meh.
(This, of course, coming from someone who is WAY too old to be reading these books and trying to get any substance or moral out of them. I'm sure if I'd read this when I was 10, with all the other BSC books I read, I would have thought it was a fine book. Not my favorite BSC book, but a fine one.)
December 12, 2022
When British Princess Victoria moves to Stoneybrook, her nanny calls the BSC to request a companion to help her adjust to America. Mary Anne meets Victoria, and begins to uncover Victoria's complicated feelings of aloofness and abandonment. While Victoria's dignitary parents are away working; Mary Anne's own father is also away on a business trip. This gives Mary Anne and Sharon an opportunity to bond; but they are both equally excited when Mary Anne's father (and Dawn!) arrive in time for Thanksgiving dinner.
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!
July 30, 2011
Strangely enough, not as unrealistic as I first thought when I heard the title. Nor is "the little princess" Jennifer Prezzioso, but an actual heir to the British throne. One of the better books this late in the series.
November 24, 2010
I always loved this book. I loved all the descriptions of Victoria, her house, and her family. I love when they go to New York :)
March 15, 2022
3.5 stars rating.
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