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The Baby-Sitters Club #24
La surprise de la fête des mères
Mother's Day is coming up and the Baby-sitters have the same problem they do every year: What do they get their mothers? Kristy, especially, wants to do something nice for her mom. Mrs. Brewer has been acting kind of strange and secretive lately, and Kristy's worried about her...
But then Kristy gets another one of her great ideas. Why don't the Baby-sitters treat their moms - and the mothers of the kids they sit for - to a day off without any kids around? The BSC plans a gigantic baby-sitting party. It's a Mother's Day surprise that couldn't be beat!
But then Kristy gets another one of her great ideas. Why don't the Baby-sitters treat their moms - and the mothers of the kids they sit for - to a day off without any kids around? The BSC plans a gigantic baby-sitting party. It's a Mother's Day surprise that couldn't be beat!
114 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 1, 1989
104 people are currently reading
929 people want to read
About the author
Ann M. Martin
1,112 books3,058 followersAnn Matthews Martin was born on August 12, 1955. She grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, with her parents and her younger sister, Jane. After graduating from Smith College, Ann became a teacher and then an editor of children's books. She's now a full-time writer.
Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.
Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.
Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.
After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...
Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.
Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.
Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.
After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
February 16, 2016
this is my first time reading this book
kristy has another "great idea" as a mother's day surprise -- to offer a day of free baby-sitting to a bunch of the bsc's favorite clients so the mothers can have a day off. stacey comes down from nyc to help with this Kristy's Big Day/Claudia and Mean Janine/Stacey's Mistake-style large-scale baby-sitting job. upcoming plotlines like mimi's death and stacey's parents' divorce are hinted at. meanwhile, kristy's mom and watson have finalized paperwork to adopt emily michelle, a 2-year-old girl from vietnam, and that becomes the REAL mother's day surprise.
highlights:
-kristy rules. she points out the problem of forcing a class to make mothers day presents for their moms and thinks that teachers should instead say, "If you want to make a mothers day gift, come over here. the rest of you may read." when I was a kid in school I was always forced to make mothers day presents even though I didn't have a mom. the teachers would always say things like, "oh, well...uh...can you make something for your grandma?" how about instead you don't force everyone to celebrate a greeting card holiday that isn't relevant to everyone?
-when stacey arrives and kristy keeps going on planning at kristy-speed, not giving stacey a chance to catch her breath or ask logistical questions: 'if i'd been in a commercial, I would have hit myself on the head and said, "I coulda hadda V-8!"' I love references to old commercials, because they are perfect time capsule elements!
-the shea rodowsky/karen & andrew brewer dynamic. shea is super into being a big brother type, telling andrew that if he eats his whole tuna fish sandwich he will grow up big and strong like popeye. karen is in love with shea, gazing lovingly at him.
-the meticulous way jenny prezzioso eats her sandwich: "first she nibbled the crusts off of her sandwiches...then she ate the insides of the sandwiches in rows. when she had two strips left, one from each sandwich half, she began playing with them."
-kristy's excitement about having a new girl in the family to almost even out her number of brothers.
-dawn's misheard lyric in lucy in the sky with diamonds: "the girl with colitis goes by" [the girl with kaleidoscope eyes]
lowlights:
-not enough stacey! I was hoping we were going to have a lot of stacey being all sophistamacated and better than everyone because she's from schmew schmork schmitty which is the only place where cool things ever happen.
-even though I relate to mary anne being bummed when people talk about mothers day (but I don't shut down and look sad -- I get angry!) I thought that plotline resolved itself in a really annoying way. "oh, I can get my dad a present instead!" as though her teachers hadn't already suggested that when she was made to feel weird in class (mine always did) and as though that makes all the feeling alienated by everyone else okay. ann, this is actually a very real plotline and don't try to tie it up like a loose end. it's not a loose end. mary anne will feel different for her entire life because she wasn't raised by a mother. and that's fine. BEING DIFFERENT IS FINE. THANK YOU.
-in general, this was not a super interesting plot and most of the book felt like filler.
claudia outfits:
-"She was wearing a pretty tame dress, too--with a red necktie! Then, she had on these new, very cool roll socks. When she pushed them down just right, they fell into three rolls. The top roll was red, the middle one was peacock blue, and the bottom one was purple. She looked as if she were wearing ice-cream cones on her feet. In her hair was a braided band in red, blue, and purple, like her socks. And dangling from her ears were--get this--spiders in webs."
-"Claudia wore a pale blue baggy shirt over black-and-blue leopard-spotted pants that tied in neat knots at her ankles. On her feet she wore purple high tops...Claudia even wore her snake bracelet."
one stacey outfit:
-"Stacey, however, put on a tight-fitting pink jumpsuit over a white T-shirt, lacy white socks, and those plastic shoes. What are they called--jellies?"
snacks in claudia's room:
-red hots in the pencil cup
-cheese doodles under her bed
-cracker jacks in the closet
-m&ms in a shoe box labeled PASTILS AND CHARCAOLS
-whole wheat crackers (n.s.)
-licorice strings (n.s.)
-pretzels
kristy has another "great idea" as a mother's day surprise -- to offer a day of free baby-sitting to a bunch of the bsc's favorite clients so the mothers can have a day off. stacey comes down from nyc to help with this Kristy's Big Day/Claudia and Mean Janine/Stacey's Mistake-style large-scale baby-sitting job. upcoming plotlines like mimi's death and stacey's parents' divorce are hinted at. meanwhile, kristy's mom and watson have finalized paperwork to adopt emily michelle, a 2-year-old girl from vietnam, and that becomes the REAL mother's day surprise.
highlights:
-kristy rules. she points out the problem of forcing a class to make mothers day presents for their moms and thinks that teachers should instead say, "If you want to make a mothers day gift, come over here. the rest of you may read." when I was a kid in school I was always forced to make mothers day presents even though I didn't have a mom. the teachers would always say things like, "oh, well...uh...can you make something for your grandma?" how about instead you don't force everyone to celebrate a greeting card holiday that isn't relevant to everyone?
-when stacey arrives and kristy keeps going on planning at kristy-speed, not giving stacey a chance to catch her breath or ask logistical questions: 'if i'd been in a commercial, I would have hit myself on the head and said, "I coulda hadda V-8!"' I love references to old commercials, because they are perfect time capsule elements!
-the shea rodowsky/karen & andrew brewer dynamic. shea is super into being a big brother type, telling andrew that if he eats his whole tuna fish sandwich he will grow up big and strong like popeye. karen is in love with shea, gazing lovingly at him.
-the meticulous way jenny prezzioso eats her sandwich: "first she nibbled the crusts off of her sandwiches...then she ate the insides of the sandwiches in rows. when she had two strips left, one from each sandwich half, she began playing with them."
-kristy's excitement about having a new girl in the family to almost even out her number of brothers.
-dawn's misheard lyric in lucy in the sky with diamonds: "the girl with colitis goes by" [the girl with kaleidoscope eyes]
lowlights:
-not enough stacey! I was hoping we were going to have a lot of stacey being all sophistamacated and better than everyone because she's from schmew schmork schmitty which is the only place where cool things ever happen.
-even though I relate to mary anne being bummed when people talk about mothers day (but I don't shut down and look sad -- I get angry!) I thought that plotline resolved itself in a really annoying way. "oh, I can get my dad a present instead!" as though her teachers hadn't already suggested that when she was made to feel weird in class (mine always did) and as though that makes all the feeling alienated by everyone else okay. ann, this is actually a very real plotline and don't try to tie it up like a loose end. it's not a loose end. mary anne will feel different for her entire life because she wasn't raised by a mother. and that's fine. BEING DIFFERENT IS FINE. THANK YOU.
-in general, this was not a super interesting plot and most of the book felt like filler.
claudia outfits:
-"She was wearing a pretty tame dress, too--with a red necktie! Then, she had on these new, very cool roll socks. When she pushed them down just right, they fell into three rolls. The top roll was red, the middle one was peacock blue, and the bottom one was purple. She looked as if she were wearing ice-cream cones on her feet. In her hair was a braided band in red, blue, and purple, like her socks. And dangling from her ears were--get this--spiders in webs."
-"Claudia wore a pale blue baggy shirt over black-and-blue leopard-spotted pants that tied in neat knots at her ankles. On her feet she wore purple high tops...Claudia even wore her snake bracelet."
one stacey outfit:
-"Stacey, however, put on a tight-fitting pink jumpsuit over a white T-shirt, lacy white socks, and those plastic shoes. What are they called--jellies?"
snacks in claudia's room:
-red hots in the pencil cup
-cheese doodles under her bed
-cracker jacks in the closet
-m&ms in a shoe box labeled PASTILS AND CHARCAOLS
-whole wheat crackers (n.s.)
-licorice strings (n.s.)
-pretzels
December 1, 2023
Read via audio (narrated by Brittany Pressley).
April 26, 2022
A sweet and memorable one where the whole gang (including Stacey, spending the weekend from NY) decide to host a bunch of their sitting charges for the day as a Mother's Day gift to their clients (and own mothers.)
I always love the books that have ONE BIG SITTING ADVENTURE, ala Kristy's Big Day or Stacey's Mistake. There's just something more fun about seeing how the BSC juggles 20+ kids at one time, instead of the individual babysitting stories that populate most of the books.
This book also handles the death of Mary Anne's mother pretty well, acknowledging that she feels really sad and weird about not having one, and how her friends don't really know how to handle those kinds of emotions. Pretty realistic.
This is also the book where the Thomas-Brewers adopt Emily Michelle!
I always love the books that have ONE BIG SITTING ADVENTURE, ala Kristy's Big Day or Stacey's Mistake. There's just something more fun about seeing how the BSC juggles 20+ kids at one time, instead of the individual babysitting stories that populate most of the books.
This book also handles the death of Mary Anne's mother pretty well, acknowledging that she feels really sad and weird about not having one, and how her friends don't really know how to handle those kinds of emotions. Pretty realistic.
This is also the book where the Thomas-Brewers adopt Emily Michelle!
May 28, 2019
Mother’s Day is coming up and the girls all want to do something special for the mothers in their neighborhood (plus their own mother’s). They have decided on babysitting all the kids for free and taking them to the carnival for the day! That’s not the only Mother’s Day present that Kristys mom is going to get this year though....when the surprise arrives, EVERYONE in the family is shocked and super excited.
May 27, 2020
Precioso. Otro de mis favoritos.
April 18, 2023
A very cute story.
July 24, 2010
kristy books continue to not really be my favorites...though, as kristy books go, this one wasn't too objectionable. mother's day is approaching, & kristy & the other members of the babysitters club (save for half-orphan mary anne) are struggling to think of really good mother's day gifts. plus, kristy's mom & watson are acting really weird at home, gushing over the kids even when the kids are being obnoxious, asking what the kids would think of having another sibling around. kristy's mom denies being pregnant when sam asks her point-blank, but the kids don't know why she's asking about new siblings if she's not knocked up or planning to be. this stretches the limits of my credulity a little bit. surely these kids know about adoption? charlie is 17 years old. it can't be a brand-new foreign concept for him. although it's also a big question mark to me as to how watson & mrs. thomas manage to go through the adoption process without the kids catching on, & get assigned a child in less than a year. i guess doing an international adoption (from vietnam) ostensibly sped up the process, but...
...okay, here's another bone to pick with this plot. watson & mrs. thomas adopt emily michelle from vietnam. but as far as i am aware, vietnam stopped allowing americans to adopt vietnamese babies during the war. in fact, the united states had very strained diplomatic relations with vietnam until the mid-90s, & this book was published in the mid/late-80s. when saigon fell, it was accompanied by what some scholars of international adoption call "the last baby drop," before supplies of vietnamese babies to american families dried up amidst fears that the babies were not really orphans at all, but were actually children that were stolen from struggling vietnamese parents. much as is the situation with haitian adoptions post-earthquake.
i don't claim to be an expert on any of this shit. just throw it on the teetering pile of inconsistencies that plague the babysitters club book series & back to your regularly-scheduled recap.
okay, so, kristy has the bright idea to give the moms of stoneybrook a day off from parenting as a mother's day gift. she pitches it to the other sitters & they think it sounds great. claudia discovers that a carnival will be in town the day before mother's day when she sits for jamie newton. the sitters decide to issue special invitations to some of their best clients (including their own moms in situations where they have younger siblings) & recruit stacey to come down from new york city for the day & help with the project. they decide that each kid can do three things at the carnival, will bring a bag lunch that they will eat at the playground afterward, & that wind-down time at the pikes' will be provided, where kids can make mother's day cards. the babysitters will recruit the fathers to provide transportation & child care to very young siblings to young to go to the carnival. mr. pike volunteers to look after marnie barrett, a tragic child of divorce whose dad was mysteriously written out of the series after buddy went to a diner with him in book #5. all i remember is that his name was hamilton, or "ham" for short, which is the best nickname ever.
of the 29 kids invited, 21 can make it, so each sitter is responsible for three kids. there is an amazingly lengthy passage in which the sitters try to create "groups" for each sitter to look after, complete with color-coded construction paper necklaces. there's also a weird part where they are brainstorming clients to include, & mary anne suggests jenny prezzioso, & kristy responds, "ew, ew, EW!" it's kind of nice to see kristy acting like a 13-year-old, with babysitting charges she dislikes, but that still seems like a really mean response to a prissy 4-year-old, you know?
so, the mother's day surprise goes off with nary a hitch & it looks like the book is going to be really dull. but then when the thomas-brewer clan arrive back home at the mansion, watson & mrs. thomas drop their bomb: they're adopting a two-&-a-half-year-old little girl from vietnam & will be meeting her at the airport tomorrow. her name will be emily michelle, even though she's two & a fucking half & probably already has a vietnamese name that won't be a bitch & a half for her to pronounce. gotta love transracial adbuction, amirite? everyone is psyched, except for andrew, who is worried about losing baby of the family status. kristy steps in to parent in mrs. thomas & watson's absence & makes him feel better.
the next day, the kids make a banner & cookies to welcome emily michelle home, & kristy weirdly invites over the BSC members. why don't any of the other kids have friends that want to meet the new sibling? emily michelle is asleep & misses their big welcome, but kristy waxes poetic on how her presence will knit the halves of their family together into one big happy blended family, la la la. ugh.
...okay, here's another bone to pick with this plot. watson & mrs. thomas adopt emily michelle from vietnam. but as far as i am aware, vietnam stopped allowing americans to adopt vietnamese babies during the war. in fact, the united states had very strained diplomatic relations with vietnam until the mid-90s, & this book was published in the mid/late-80s. when saigon fell, it was accompanied by what some scholars of international adoption call "the last baby drop," before supplies of vietnamese babies to american families dried up amidst fears that the babies were not really orphans at all, but were actually children that were stolen from struggling vietnamese parents. much as is the situation with haitian adoptions post-earthquake.
i don't claim to be an expert on any of this shit. just throw it on the teetering pile of inconsistencies that plague the babysitters club book series & back to your regularly-scheduled recap.
okay, so, kristy has the bright idea to give the moms of stoneybrook a day off from parenting as a mother's day gift. she pitches it to the other sitters & they think it sounds great. claudia discovers that a carnival will be in town the day before mother's day when she sits for jamie newton. the sitters decide to issue special invitations to some of their best clients (including their own moms in situations where they have younger siblings) & recruit stacey to come down from new york city for the day & help with the project. they decide that each kid can do three things at the carnival, will bring a bag lunch that they will eat at the playground afterward, & that wind-down time at the pikes' will be provided, where kids can make mother's day cards. the babysitters will recruit the fathers to provide transportation & child care to very young siblings to young to go to the carnival. mr. pike volunteers to look after marnie barrett, a tragic child of divorce whose dad was mysteriously written out of the series after buddy went to a diner with him in book #5. all i remember is that his name was hamilton, or "ham" for short, which is the best nickname ever.
of the 29 kids invited, 21 can make it, so each sitter is responsible for three kids. there is an amazingly lengthy passage in which the sitters try to create "groups" for each sitter to look after, complete with color-coded construction paper necklaces. there's also a weird part where they are brainstorming clients to include, & mary anne suggests jenny prezzioso, & kristy responds, "ew, ew, EW!" it's kind of nice to see kristy acting like a 13-year-old, with babysitting charges she dislikes, but that still seems like a really mean response to a prissy 4-year-old, you know?
so, the mother's day surprise goes off with nary a hitch & it looks like the book is going to be really dull. but then when the thomas-brewer clan arrive back home at the mansion, watson & mrs. thomas drop their bomb: they're adopting a two-&-a-half-year-old little girl from vietnam & will be meeting her at the airport tomorrow. her name will be emily michelle, even though she's two & a fucking half & probably already has a vietnamese name that won't be a bitch & a half for her to pronounce. gotta love transracial adbuction, amirite? everyone is psyched, except for andrew, who is worried about losing baby of the family status. kristy steps in to parent in mrs. thomas & watson's absence & makes him feel better.
the next day, the kids make a banner & cookies to welcome emily michelle home, & kristy weirdly invites over the BSC members. why don't any of the other kids have friends that want to meet the new sibling? emily michelle is asleep & misses their big welcome, but kristy waxes poetic on how her presence will knit the halves of their family together into one big happy blended family, la la la. ugh.
May 17, 2021
No nyt on taputeltu. Olihan tämä ihan symppissarja. Paljon parempi kuin mitä ajattelin etukäteen (tai luulin hämäriin muistoihini perustuen).
Harmi tavallaan, ettei suomennoksia ole enempää. Olisin varmaan jatkanut pidemmällekin tätä jos olisi.
Harmi tavallaan, ettei suomennoksia ole enempää. Olisin varmaan jatkanut pidemmällekin tätä jos olisi.
August 3, 2021
Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about that time Ann M Martin endorsed child trafficking.
Okay, maybe that's a little harsh, but like...Kristy's parents basically mail-ordered a child, and it's presented as this wonderful, beautiful, circle of life thing. Now, there is a whole litany of issues (to put it mildly) with transnational and transracial adoption, and of course I don't expect a middle grade novel to delve too deeply into them, but my understanding is that you don't just do it via a few phone calls or something. I mean, there was no internet or Skype or anything like that when this was written. Everything would have been done by mail, regular phone calls, faxes, FFS...and IN PERSON VISITS. Watson and Elizabeth never went to Vietnam, never had someone come to their house to meet and assess them, apparently never had any kind of cultural introduction (especially considering the child is 2 years old and her name is Emily Michelle, which........I'm gonna guess that wasn't her birth name). It just feels so icky and uncomfortable, especially considering how we're told that Watson is a millionaire, so it gives the impression he just tossed money around until they got a kid.
Plus...they fucking spring it on the kids as a surprise! A freaking child!! Yes, they made silly musings about "Oh how would you kids feel about a baby brother or sister" but let the kids think they were trying to get pregnant, then were like "We're picking up a kid tomorrow!" She's not a damn hamster or something. It was just...badly handled.
The rest of the book was okay, but kind of mediocre. Kristy comes up with the "big idea" to give a bunch of the moms in town a Mother's Day gift of a day off by taking the kids to a carnival on Saturday. Nice idea, though what yutz had the notion to bring a carnival to town over Mother's Day weekend? The babysitters make a big plan for how it'll work, and then...it happens. That's it. Some of the kids cry, some of them get hurt, yadda yadda. Pretty thin, and on top of the grossness of the adoption plot, one of my least faves.
Okay, maybe that's a little harsh, but like...Kristy's parents basically mail-ordered a child, and it's presented as this wonderful, beautiful, circle of life thing. Now, there is a whole litany of issues (to put it mildly) with transnational and transracial adoption, and of course I don't expect a middle grade novel to delve too deeply into them, but my understanding is that you don't just do it via a few phone calls or something. I mean, there was no internet or Skype or anything like that when this was written. Everything would have been done by mail, regular phone calls, faxes, FFS...and IN PERSON VISITS. Watson and Elizabeth never went to Vietnam, never had someone come to their house to meet and assess them, apparently never had any kind of cultural introduction (especially considering the child is 2 years old and her name is Emily Michelle, which........I'm gonna guess that wasn't her birth name). It just feels so icky and uncomfortable, especially considering how we're told that Watson is a millionaire, so it gives the impression he just tossed money around until they got a kid.
Plus...they fucking spring it on the kids as a surprise! A freaking child!! Yes, they made silly musings about "Oh how would you kids feel about a baby brother or sister" but let the kids think they were trying to get pregnant, then were like "We're picking up a kid tomorrow!" She's not a damn hamster or something. It was just...badly handled.
The rest of the book was okay, but kind of mediocre. Kristy comes up with the "big idea" to give a bunch of the moms in town a Mother's Day gift of a day off by taking the kids to a carnival on Saturday. Nice idea, though what yutz had the notion to bring a carnival to town over Mother's Day weekend? The babysitters make a big plan for how it'll work, and then...it happens. That's it. Some of the kids cry, some of them get hurt, yadda yadda. Pretty thin, and on top of the grossness of the adoption plot, one of my least faves.
July 7, 2020
While I actually started reading around age 3 (thank you, my Granny's Dick and Jane books!), this series is what I remember most about loving to read during my childhood. My sister and I drank these books up like they were oxygen. I truly think we owned just about every single one from every one of the series. We even got the privilege of meeting Ann M. Martin at a book signing, but of course little starstruck me froze and could not speak a word to my biggest hero at that time. Once in awhile if I come across these at a yard sale, I will pick them up for a couple hour trip down memory lane, and I declare nearly nothing centers and relaxes me more!
February 7, 2021
3 stars. Eh, my least favorite book in the series so far. It felt like such filler until the weird adoption at the end. The only things I liked was that my girl Stacey came down from New York for the weekend, and the scenes with Mimi (because that book is coming up soon and I’m terrified to get to it). Other than that this was not an interesting read. I will never understand why Kristy’s mom and Watson adopted Emily Michelle when they have six kids already. But big families like that give me hives. Too many damn kids. The whole adoption process was bizarre and I didn’t really understand it.
August 29, 2018
The ebook version I read of this must've, like, been auto-converted to text from a scan or something, because most mentions of Margo Pike called her "Mango" and it cracked me up. Oh, Mango.
I'm not going to start about how hilarious the adoption process was for the Thomas-Brewers, and how they got a whopping one day notice to get her shit ready before picking her up. Instead, I'll complain that despite Stacey visiting, there wasn't enough of her. (Though bonus points for a big group baby-sitting job. I love when the BSC does things like that!)
I'm not going to start about how hilarious the adoption process was for the Thomas-Brewers, and how they got a whopping one day notice to get her shit ready before picking her up. Instead, I'll complain that despite Stacey visiting, there wasn't enough of her. (Though bonus points for a big group baby-sitting job. I love when the BSC does things like that!)
February 6, 2021
The BSC takes a group of children to the local carnival so the parents can have a break.
That was a good book and we got to see Stacey as she comes to help out for a weekend. Kristy's family welcomes unexpected news too, and that was a nice touch. I love this series.
That was a good book and we got to see Stacey as she comes to help out for a weekend. Kristy's family welcomes unexpected news too, and that was a nice touch. I love this series.
February 20, 2025
I think it's extremely strange that Kristy's parents decided to adopt a baby and literally didn't tell any of the kids until the night before, but the rest of this was a fun romp with a majority of the club's regulars.
July 31, 2025
I have high hopes for higher number Babysitter Club Books. I’m hoping for some extreme shark jumping. This one has a huge posse of kids (which I always like) and a surprise adoption which of course goes very well. Slightly off ball, but I want more.
August 13, 2016
I'm not sure how the Baby-Sitters Club get the idea that the perfect Mother's Day present for the moms of the neighborhood would be "to not be moms" for a day. That always seemed counterintuitive to me, given that my Mother's Days were usually spent trying to do something nice for my mom and making her glad that she was a mom. I had a big problem with this premise.
The hijinks with the Baby-Sitters Club taking a bunch of neighborhood kids to a carnival were amusing enough. They did their usual thing that they started doing while taking care of lots of kids at once--organized them with colors and stuff--and dealt with bad stuff like injuries and nausea. But then the interesting stuff happens when Kristy's family adopts a new baby, which I have trouble believing because the bomb is dropped in this book that the adoption is happening and then it pretty much immediately happens, so I have to wonder whether a) the author did no research about how adoption works or b) she ignored how it works for convenience, like she often does to make a tight little plot that starts and ends in the same book. It also made me sad that they adopted a little girl from Vietnam and they give her an American name, so I wondered about her parents and whether she had her own name given to her by them. Oh, and it bugs me that every time the club has a big thing to do, they have to get all the members together, including a girl who lives in another state. How weird is that?
The hijinks with the Baby-Sitters Club taking a bunch of neighborhood kids to a carnival were amusing enough. They did their usual thing that they started doing while taking care of lots of kids at once--organized them with colors and stuff--and dealt with bad stuff like injuries and nausea. But then the interesting stuff happens when Kristy's family adopts a new baby, which I have trouble believing because the bomb is dropped in this book that the adoption is happening and then it pretty much immediately happens, so I have to wonder whether a) the author did no research about how adoption works or b) she ignored how it works for convenience, like she often does to make a tight little plot that starts and ends in the same book. It also made me sad that they adopted a little girl from Vietnam and they give her an American name, so I wondered about her parents and whether she had her own name given to her by them. Oh, and it bugs me that every time the club has a big thing to do, they have to get all the members together, including a girl who lives in another state. How weird is that?
April 27, 2014
What happened in this book is literally child-trafficking.
The huge problem with how this all went down is the Brewers literally mail-ordered a child. That's not how foreign adoptions worked in the 80's and 90's. There were still home-checks, and the adoptive parents still had to travel to the other country and remain there long enough to be considered residents (I believe it was six weeks at that time for Vietnam). The point was hoping the adoptive parents would have time to learn about the culture.
Elizabeth and Watson did none of that. They contacted an agency, and a child was delivered as a surprise to the other kids. Surprising your kids, who are already adjusting to a move and a change in family dynamics, with a mail-ordered puppy is frowned on. Surprising them with a CHILD?! Worse, a child from a country where girls were routinely dumped into orphanages that are still neglectful!! Emily Michelle likely would have had major attachment issues and probably have been hungry a lot. Tossing her in with strangers who she literally never met would have traumatized her further.
I can overlook the planned gift to the moms being a day off (many moms just want a day to relax), but not the buying of a child. Even when I was a kid, I knew something was wrong with how the Brewers literally ordered a child. That was done in the times of Anne of Green Gables, but that practice of just picking an orphan ended decades ago.
The huge problem with how this all went down is the Brewers literally mail-ordered a child. That's not how foreign adoptions worked in the 80's and 90's. There were still home-checks, and the adoptive parents still had to travel to the other country and remain there long enough to be considered residents (I believe it was six weeks at that time for Vietnam). The point was hoping the adoptive parents would have time to learn about the culture.
Elizabeth and Watson did none of that. They contacted an agency, and a child was delivered as a surprise to the other kids. Surprising your kids, who are already adjusting to a move and a change in family dynamics, with a mail-ordered puppy is frowned on. Surprising them with a CHILD?! Worse, a child from a country where girls were routinely dumped into orphanages that are still neglectful!! Emily Michelle likely would have had major attachment issues and probably have been hungry a lot. Tossing her in with strangers who she literally never met would have traumatized her further.
I can overlook the planned gift to the moms being a day off (many moms just want a day to relax), but not the buying of a child. Even when I was a kid, I knew something was wrong with how the Brewers literally ordered a child. That was done in the times of Anne of Green Gables, but that practice of just picking an orphan ended decades ago.
October 28, 2021
I'm not a big fan of the books where they do a huge mega-sit. It's just so boring to read because we know they're obviously going to pull it off perfectly, because they literally never have a business failure.
I also thought it was weird that Stacey was brought back in a Kristy book, and that Kristy kind of goes out of her way to portray Stacey as racist? The whole tone of the story was so passive aggressive toward Stacey.
I also think it's incredibly weird that Kristy's parents sprung an ENTIRE CHILD on the family like it was a new puppy. Actually, I think they did more due diligence getting the puppy than they did adopting Emily.
I also thought it was weird that Stacey was brought back in a Kristy book, and that Kristy kind of goes out of her way to portray Stacey as racist? The whole tone of the story was so passive aggressive toward Stacey.
I also think it's incredibly weird that Kristy's parents sprung an ENTIRE CHILD on the family like it was a new puppy. Actually, I think they did more due diligence getting the puppy than they did adopting Emily.
April 10, 2022
I always liked Kristy's books - she is straight forward and generally pretty positive in her books - and never seems as obnoxious when you can see her motivation.
Personal summary in comments
Personal summary in comments
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June 13, 2024Kristy and the Mother’s Day Surprise
Kristy wonders what makes a family and then starts to think of her mixed up family. Karen knocks on the door and Kristy apologizes for shutting her out on thire first night there. Then David Micheal calls for Karen to come see a bug. As Kristy thinks of all her family (friends included) she falls asleep smiling.
At the Thursday meeting, There’s a lull between calls and they start talking about the summer coming up and then Mother’s Day. Mal ssays she never knows what to get her mom. Her brothers and sisters usually give her junk. Claudia says this year she’s going to give her mother the perfect gift. Then Maryanne says she doesn’t have that problem. Then they feel guilty. The phone breaks up the awkwardness. Mrs. Newton needs a sitter and Claudia takes the job. Then they start talking about gift ideas again. Flowers and candy are out. The meeting ends and Charlie comes to get Kristy. Sam says he doesn’t know how Kristy does it. He’s worn out from giving David Micheal, Andrew, and Karen cannon ball rides (but he gives Andrew another when he asks).
Mom gets a little emotional at dinner. Kristy thinks it’s because they’re allall there as a family. It’s the usually chaotic and noisy affair but there mom is smiling. Kristy’s mom starts talking about all the ways she’s lucky. Sam asks her if she’s pregnant. She says no but how would they feel about another baby. David Micheal and Karen are skeptical. Kristy wouldn’t mind. Andrew isn’t thrilled about it either. They all think there’s enough kids. Kristy, Sam, and Charlie are ok with it. Then Boo Boo brings in a mole (still alive) and this breaks up the discussion. Kristy later thinks about it and thinks it would make since for her mom and Watson to want a kid of their own. Then she starts to think about (and discard) ideas for a gift. Then she has an idea.
Kristy tells the BSC her idea at the meeting. She says they can giv the mothers a break and take their kids off their hands for a day. All the others approve of the idea. She says maybe they can take the kids on an outing and they can do it the day before Mother’s Day. Then the next day (Mother’s Day( Then they can spend Mother’s Day with their mothers. Jessi says Becca might want to come if Charlotte does. They all agree that they have the money to do something inexpensive. Claudia thinks they should send out invitations to the mothers. It’s agreed that Claudia will design the invitations. By the end of the meeting, they don’t have any ideas what the outing will be tho. Claudia is still going to make her mother something and she says she’ll help Dawn.
Claudia has her job at the Newtons. Mrs. Newston is impressed by Claudia’s sun bursts earrings (made by her). Jamiie is tunning around pretending to be a type rope walker. Claudia sees a flyer announcing there will be a carnival in town. Jamie says he wants to go but he can’t. He wants to buy balloons, play games, and win prizes (for Lucy0. Claudia tells Jaime he never knows. She tells him the story of when she wanted to go to a circus but she got the chicken pox. Then the circus stayed another week and she got to go with Mimi. She tries not to get his hopes up. She just says he never knows. They play circus again for a while and then Lucy wakes up. At first she’s upset about seeing a stranger but then she cheers up and quickly gets use to Claudia. Then Mrs. Newton comes home. Claudia is excited to get to the Friday meeting and tell the others about her idea.
At the meeting, they all love the idea to go to Sudsey’s carnival. Dawn says all day at the carnival might be too much for the little kids. (CORRECTION: Dawn went to Diensyland not a carnival). They agree they can play in the park for a little while for an hour like the play group. Then they can rest before they go home. Kristy doesn’t want to be bossy so she asks what they think and they all think the idea is great. Maryanne then makes a list of who to invite: Claire, Margo, Nickey, Becca, Charlotte, Jamie, Buddy, Susie, Myriah, and Gabbie, the Braddocks, the Rodowsky, Jenny, David, Karen, Andrew, Charlotte, Becca. It comes out to 29. Since even four kids they agree it a lot for one sitter each they decide to call the associate members. Claudia decies to ask Stacey. Stacey says she can come.
Kristy’s mom ogets her flyer and gets emotional again. Kristy asks again if her mother is pregnant. She says no but again asks how she’d feel about a brother or sister. Kristy says she wouldn’t mind. Then they start to talk about the upcoming event. Watson announces Kristy’s mom has an important call and she leaps up and rushes into the houee. The kids start arguing about which apparent slove who more. Each kid seems to think their real parent love them more.
At the next meeting they get a final count. It’s 21, Each sitter gets three kids each. The only ones who can’t come are the Arnold twins, Betsy, and the Delaney’s. Then they make up the groups. Beca and Charlotte should be in the same group. So should Matt and Heley. They finally get all the groups sorted. Stacey arrives early and is able to attend the Friday meeting. She and Jessi meet each other for the first time. Interestingly since Mrs. Barrett doesn’t have a husband Mr Pike will be dropping off the Baretts, making their lunches, and watching Marnie. Mimi wonders in (in) a daze and it takes her a minute to come back too. There’s a little awkawardness between Jessi and Stacey.
Mimi also gets confused the next day and forgets about the event they told her about a million times. She also starts mumbling about getting a box to the Planant. TBS make necklaces for the group in different colors so they can keep track of whose in whose group. Charlotte and Stacey have a teary reunite. It starts off rocky. A lot of the kids start crying. Jenny makes a comment about Matt coming and Heailey gets in her face. She shuts up after this. Then they head off to the carnival.
The forst tjomg tjeu d pos wa;l tjrpigj a jaimted jpise/ Karen gets so scared she does a “Danny Spencer” (Once when we went to Orlando we were in line for Back to the Future. When we got to the front of the ride we turned around and my Uncle had got the hell outta there). All the kids get balloons, but a lot of them let them go (to the moon). Some of the kids want to go on “The Whip”. Margo wants to go on it. Nit Mallory talks her out of it. Mal says she can go on the train but Margo says it’s for babies. So, Mal agrees to let Margo go on the Caroseul, but she gets dizzy and pukes.
Some of the kids then play games and win prizes. Some get their faces made up. The kids start begging for cotton candy and popcon nk so the sitters take them to the park. At the park, Mimi seems to be confused and starts rambling about tv people Karen seems to be developing a crush on Shea. Jackie has a lot of accidents (as usal). Kristy tells Margo to eat slow and she takes it to the extreme. Claire becomes the target of Nicky and Buddy who shoot water at her from a set of fountains, but she LOVES IT! Then they start getting tired and cranky. Jenny gets into it with Claire over why her sister is eating so slow and then Andrew trips up and bust up his knees.
So they take them back to Claidia and they all make mother’s day cards. Charlie comes to pick up Kristy, Karen, Andew, and David Micheal. Watson and Elizabeth tell them the big news. They’ve adopted a two year old girl from Vietnamese named Emily Michelle. They’ll be picking up the next day. They all get her room ready. (There are three spare bedooms). Andew doesn’t rally like the idea much and has a lot of questions.
The next day Watson and Elizabeth go to get there new baby while the other kids stay at home. Kristy invites the BSC over and they make a sign and chocolate chip cookies. Krostu dpes jer nest tp te;; Amrew tjat mp pme cam re[;ace jo, mp ,,atter jpw ,amu lods cp,e omtp the fa,o;u/ When Emily gets there they all go to the garage and hold up the sign and cookies but she’s asleep. (They’d been trying to adopt for a while but it kept falling through). Kristy goes into her room later and thinks as she watches her how lucky she is and how much love she has. She may not know it now but she will.
My Thoughts
This was touching! Adoption is something I’ve tought of off and on lately. Surprising to even myself. I come from a family where I have cousins with a lot of kids, but lately I’ve just felt like as much as I hear about these kids over and OVER and OVER and OVE (what they’ve done and what they say and etc) I find myself wishing I wish that I had one that felt special to ME that I could rave and boast and brag over. I know I’m not in any position financially to adopt and I do NOT want to have one. So that’s out, but ‘’I think that in a different time, space, and place (meaning if my life would have gone in better direction) I probably would have adopted a daughter. I bet a lot of people would be surprised to hear me say that . So, it was ironic to me to kind of have had these thoughts and then read this story. I knew about Emily Michelle (of course) but I’d forgotten this was the book that actually introduced her.
Rating: 7
Kristy wonders what makes a family and then starts to think of her mixed up family. Karen knocks on the door and Kristy apologizes for shutting her out on thire first night there. Then David Micheal calls for Karen to come see a bug. As Kristy thinks of all her family (friends included) she falls asleep smiling.
At the Thursday meeting, There’s a lull between calls and they start talking about the summer coming up and then Mother’s Day. Mal ssays she never knows what to get her mom. Her brothers and sisters usually give her junk. Claudia says this year she’s going to give her mother the perfect gift. Then Maryanne says she doesn’t have that problem. Then they feel guilty. The phone breaks up the awkwardness. Mrs. Newton needs a sitter and Claudia takes the job. Then they start talking about gift ideas again. Flowers and candy are out. The meeting ends and Charlie comes to get Kristy. Sam says he doesn’t know how Kristy does it. He’s worn out from giving David Micheal, Andrew, and Karen cannon ball rides (but he gives Andrew another when he asks).
Mom gets a little emotional at dinner. Kristy thinks it’s because they’re allall there as a family. It’s the usually chaotic and noisy affair but there mom is smiling. Kristy’s mom starts talking about all the ways she’s lucky. Sam asks her if she’s pregnant. She says no but how would they feel about another baby. David Micheal and Karen are skeptical. Kristy wouldn’t mind. Andrew isn’t thrilled about it either. They all think there’s enough kids. Kristy, Sam, and Charlie are ok with it. Then Boo Boo brings in a mole (still alive) and this breaks up the discussion. Kristy later thinks about it and thinks it would make since for her mom and Watson to want a kid of their own. Then she starts to think about (and discard) ideas for a gift. Then she has an idea.
Kristy tells the BSC her idea at the meeting. She says they can giv the mothers a break and take their kids off their hands for a day. All the others approve of the idea. She says maybe they can take the kids on an outing and they can do it the day before Mother’s Day. Then the next day (Mother’s Day( Then they can spend Mother’s Day with their mothers. Jessi says Becca might want to come if Charlotte does. They all agree that they have the money to do something inexpensive. Claudia thinks they should send out invitations to the mothers. It’s agreed that Claudia will design the invitations. By the end of the meeting, they don’t have any ideas what the outing will be tho. Claudia is still going to make her mother something and she says she’ll help Dawn.
Claudia has her job at the Newtons. Mrs. Newston is impressed by Claudia’s sun bursts earrings (made by her). Jamiie is tunning around pretending to be a type rope walker. Claudia sees a flyer announcing there will be a carnival in town. Jamie says he wants to go but he can’t. He wants to buy balloons, play games, and win prizes (for Lucy0. Claudia tells Jaime he never knows. She tells him the story of when she wanted to go to a circus but she got the chicken pox. Then the circus stayed another week and she got to go with Mimi. She tries not to get his hopes up. She just says he never knows. They play circus again for a while and then Lucy wakes up. At first she’s upset about seeing a stranger but then she cheers up and quickly gets use to Claudia. Then Mrs. Newton comes home. Claudia is excited to get to the Friday meeting and tell the others about her idea.
At the meeting, they all love the idea to go to Sudsey’s carnival. Dawn says all day at the carnival might be too much for the little kids. (CORRECTION: Dawn went to Diensyland not a carnival). They agree they can play in the park for a little while for an hour like the play group. Then they can rest before they go home. Kristy doesn’t want to be bossy so she asks what they think and they all think the idea is great. Maryanne then makes a list of who to invite: Claire, Margo, Nickey, Becca, Charlotte, Jamie, Buddy, Susie, Myriah, and Gabbie, the Braddocks, the Rodowsky, Jenny, David, Karen, Andrew, Charlotte, Becca. It comes out to 29. Since even four kids they agree it a lot for one sitter each they decide to call the associate members. Claudia decies to ask Stacey. Stacey says she can come.
Kristy’s mom ogets her flyer and gets emotional again. Kristy asks again if her mother is pregnant. She says no but again asks how she’d feel about a brother or sister. Kristy says she wouldn’t mind. Then they start to talk about the upcoming event. Watson announces Kristy’s mom has an important call and she leaps up and rushes into the houee. The kids start arguing about which apparent slove who more. Each kid seems to think their real parent love them more.
At the next meeting they get a final count. It’s 21, Each sitter gets three kids each. The only ones who can’t come are the Arnold twins, Betsy, and the Delaney’s. Then they make up the groups. Beca and Charlotte should be in the same group. So should Matt and Heley. They finally get all the groups sorted. Stacey arrives early and is able to attend the Friday meeting. She and Jessi meet each other for the first time. Interestingly since Mrs. Barrett doesn’t have a husband Mr Pike will be dropping off the Baretts, making their lunches, and watching Marnie. Mimi wonders in (in) a daze and it takes her a minute to come back too. There’s a little awkawardness between Jessi and Stacey.
Mimi also gets confused the next day and forgets about the event they told her about a million times. She also starts mumbling about getting a box to the Planant. TBS make necklaces for the group in different colors so they can keep track of whose in whose group. Charlotte and Stacey have a teary reunite. It starts off rocky. A lot of the kids start crying. Jenny makes a comment about Matt coming and Heailey gets in her face. She shuts up after this. Then they head off to the carnival.
The forst tjomg tjeu d pos wa;l tjrpigj a jaimted jpise/ Karen gets so scared she does a “Danny Spencer” (Once when we went to Orlando we were in line for Back to the Future. When we got to the front of the ride we turned around and my Uncle had got the hell outta there). All the kids get balloons, but a lot of them let them go (to the moon). Some of the kids want to go on “The Whip”. Margo wants to go on it. Nit Mallory talks her out of it. Mal says she can go on the train but Margo says it’s for babies. So, Mal agrees to let Margo go on the Caroseul, but she gets dizzy and pukes.
Some of the kids then play games and win prizes. Some get their faces made up. The kids start begging for cotton candy and popcon nk so the sitters take them to the park. At the park, Mimi seems to be confused and starts rambling about tv people Karen seems to be developing a crush on Shea. Jackie has a lot of accidents (as usal). Kristy tells Margo to eat slow and she takes it to the extreme. Claire becomes the target of Nicky and Buddy who shoot water at her from a set of fountains, but she LOVES IT! Then they start getting tired and cranky. Jenny gets into it with Claire over why her sister is eating so slow and then Andrew trips up and bust up his knees.
So they take them back to Claidia and they all make mother’s day cards. Charlie comes to pick up Kristy, Karen, Andew, and David Micheal. Watson and Elizabeth tell them the big news. They’ve adopted a two year old girl from Vietnamese named Emily Michelle. They’ll be picking up the next day. They all get her room ready. (There are three spare bedooms). Andew doesn’t rally like the idea much and has a lot of questions.
The next day Watson and Elizabeth go to get there new baby while the other kids stay at home. Kristy invites the BSC over and they make a sign and chocolate chip cookies. Krostu dpes jer nest tp te;; Amrew tjat mp pme cam re[;ace jo, mp ,,atter jpw ,amu lods cp,e omtp the fa,o;u/ When Emily gets there they all go to the garage and hold up the sign and cookies but she’s asleep. (They’d been trying to adopt for a while but it kept falling through). Kristy goes into her room later and thinks as she watches her how lucky she is and how much love she has. She may not know it now but she will.
My Thoughts
This was touching! Adoption is something I’ve tought of off and on lately. Surprising to even myself. I come from a family where I have cousins with a lot of kids, but lately I’ve just felt like as much as I hear about these kids over and OVER and OVER and OVE (what they’ve done and what they say and etc) I find myself wishing I wish that I had one that felt special to ME that I could rave and boast and brag over. I know I’m not in any position financially to adopt and I do NOT want to have one. So that’s out, but ‘’I think that in a different time, space, and place (meaning if my life would have gone in better direction) I probably would have adopted a daughter. I bet a lot of people would be surprised to hear me say that . So, it was ironic to me to kind of have had these thoughts and then read this story. I knew about Emily Michelle (of course) but I’d forgotten this was the book that actually introduced her.
Rating: 7
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 27, 2021
First of all, am I crazy? Isn't the first few paragraphs exactly the same as the ones in Kristy's Big Day? I had to double-check to make sure I hadn't recently reread this one.
Second of all, supposedly Kristy is the one with great ideas, but does it really count if she just comes up with a general big-picture idea and everyone else fills out the rest? Also, supposedly Krist doesn't care about clothes, but she sure goes into detail describing what the others are wearing!
Third of all, WTF Kristy. There's nothing wrong with Stacey saying "You must be Jessi" to a person she never officially met--Jessi being Black is irrelevant. What, would you think the same if Jessi was some white chick who happens to be the only one Stacey never met?
Fourth, the girls are terrible at having difficult conversations! When Mary Anne becomes sad because because she doesn't have a mother, when Claudia cries at the state of her grandmother... all they do is change the subject. Normally I'd give middle school kids a break, but these are people who talk ti toddlers like grown-ups. You would think those skills would carry over when they talk to their peers.
Fifth, we really don't get enough of Sam and Charlie. While reading the the Big Day book, I briefly wondered why Charlie would bother trying to adjust to his new home, if he would be off to college soon anyway. They also don't conform to my memories of how Kristy felt about his brothers: they're pretty laid-back and low-maintenance, given the teenage boy stereotype (I only remember that Charlie has a girlfriend at some point, but if he's still giving Kristy rides even then, well then). Sam, who I now really realize is just fourteen, is probably some kind of nerd at school, and although I know I think he and Stacy have a crush on each other at one point, isn't it also possible that he doesn't mind the guys? He sounds chill and open-minded enough for that.
Second of all, supposedly Kristy is the one with great ideas, but does it really count if she just comes up with a general big-picture idea and everyone else fills out the rest? Also, supposedly Krist doesn't care about clothes, but she sure goes into detail describing what the others are wearing!
Third of all, WTF Kristy. There's nothing wrong with Stacey saying "You must be Jessi" to a person she never officially met--Jessi being Black is irrelevant. What, would you think the same if Jessi was some white chick who happens to be the only one Stacey never met?
Fourth, the girls are terrible at having difficult conversations! When Mary Anne becomes sad because because she doesn't have a mother, when Claudia cries at the state of her grandmother... all they do is change the subject. Normally I'd give middle school kids a break, but these are people who talk ti toddlers like grown-ups. You would think those skills would carry over when they talk to their peers.
Fifth, we really don't get enough of Sam and Charlie. While reading the the Big Day book, I briefly wondered why Charlie would bother trying to adjust to his new home, if he would be off to college soon anyway. They also don't conform to my memories of how Kristy felt about his brothers: they're pretty laid-back and low-maintenance, given the teenage boy stereotype (I only remember that Charlie has a girlfriend at some point, but if he's still giving Kristy rides even then, well then). Sam, who I now really realize is just fourteen, is probably some kind of nerd at school, and although I know I think he and Stacy have a crush on each other at one point, isn't it also possible that he doesn't mind the guys? He sounds chill and open-minded enough for that.
December 5, 2022
This one isn’t really on theme for the month but it was the next in my series read-through and I was itching to get back to Stoneybrook. 🤣👏🏻
In this one, Kristy has another great idea… invite every single kid they babysit for to a day-off for all the moms. Stacey comes back from New York for the occasion, and they all take 21 children to a weekend carnival. Of course everything that can go wrong, does. 🎡🎠🎢
The B story is that the Brewer Thomases adopted baby Emily! I couldn’t remember which book it was that she appeared in, but apparently it was this one. Also Kristy’s mom is apparently about 38… and now with 5 kids and 2 steps. I can’t even imagine dealing with level kind of chaos. 😂
We also have some trouble with Mimi. Her confusion and speech is getting worse. I know what’s coming up in a few books and I’m not ready for that!! 😭😭😭
Overall not my favorite read of the series so far, but still fun. Kristy was bossy and over-talkative as usual. And so so so many outfit descriptions. I didn’t think Kristy cared about such things. 😂
In this one, Kristy has another great idea… invite every single kid they babysit for to a day-off for all the moms. Stacey comes back from New York for the occasion, and they all take 21 children to a weekend carnival. Of course everything that can go wrong, does. 🎡🎠🎢
The B story is that the Brewer Thomases adopted baby Emily! I couldn’t remember which book it was that she appeared in, but apparently it was this one. Also Kristy’s mom is apparently about 38… and now with 5 kids and 2 steps. I can’t even imagine dealing with level kind of chaos. 😂
We also have some trouble with Mimi. Her confusion and speech is getting worse. I know what’s coming up in a few books and I’m not ready for that!! 😭😭😭
Overall not my favorite read of the series so far, but still fun. Kristy was bossy and over-talkative as usual. And so so so many outfit descriptions. I didn’t think Kristy cared about such things. 😂
May 11, 2025
Almost saccharinely sweet, but I didn't mind that. It definitely had me tearing up a little at the end, both with Mary Anne deciding to give her dad a Mother's Day present (fuck gender roles!) and the heartwarming scene of the Brewer parents bringing home baby Emily at the end.
I do have to say I think it was a wild choice of Mr. and Mrs. Brewer to not tell their other kids they were adopting a baby until the day before they brought said baby home. Like, I definitely get their reasoning of not wanting to get the kids all excited before they knew it was a sure thing, but I still feel like there had to have been an earlier time they could have told everybody about that giant life change.
Also, reading about Mimi's declining health, especially the slipping of her cognitive abilities, was so sad :( Great foreshadowing, though. I am absolutely dreading reading about her death two books from now.
I do have to say I think it was a wild choice of Mr. and Mrs. Brewer to not tell their other kids they were adopting a baby until the day before they brought said baby home. Like, I definitely get their reasoning of not wanting to get the kids all excited before they knew it was a sure thing, but I still feel like there had to have been an earlier time they could have told everybody about that giant life change.
Also, reading about Mimi's declining health, especially the slipping of her cognitive abilities, was so sad :( Great foreshadowing, though. I am absolutely dreading reading about her death two books from now.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 18, 2019
It's close to Mother's Day in Stoneybrook, and the babysitters want to do something special for their moms. But what can they do?
Kristy comes up with a solution (aka "Her Next Great Idea"), which expands upon giving their Mothers a special day...by giving the mothers of their babysitting charges a special surprise day! And speaking of surprises...The Thomas/Brewer household is curious as to why Kristy's mom and Watson are so secretive...and why they are talking about babies.
I decided to read this because of Mother's Day last week (I originally read it in elementary school), and like the other books in the series, I'm always surprised at how much I remember from my original reads of the series. The only detail I forgot this time around was the addition of a new character. I won't give away any details.
Cute story, I highly recommend it!
Kristy comes up with a solution (aka "Her Next Great Idea"), which expands upon giving their Mothers a special day...by giving the mothers of their babysitting charges a special surprise day! And speaking of surprises...The Thomas/Brewer household is curious as to why Kristy's mom and Watson are so secretive...and why they are talking about babies.
I decided to read this because of Mother's Day last week (I originally read it in elementary school), and like the other books in the series, I'm always surprised at how much I remember from my original reads of the series. The only detail I forgot this time around was the addition of a new character. I won't give away any details.
Cute story, I highly recommend it!
November 9, 2024
This was lovely. I loved how Mother's Day was truly about the mothers and making them feel special as opposed to buying lots of things. While we have always celebrated Mother's Day it has often felt like an obligation more then anything. This is because our parents often talked about how commercialized these days are so I guess I grew up with a bit of a negative view of Mother's Day.
I love the idea Mother's day should simply be a reminder to spoilt your Mum a bit and give her a day off.
It did make me laugh though when Elizabeth and Watson sat their kids down and dropped the bombshell that the baby was arriving the next day, AND THEN asked them how they felt about having a new baby! Knowing how difficult adoption is and how you have to have the whole family involved makes me laugh that they kept it a secret.
I love the idea Mother's day should simply be a reminder to spoilt your Mum a bit and give her a day off.
It did make me laugh though when Elizabeth and Watson sat their kids down and dropped the bombshell that the baby was arriving the next day, AND THEN asked them how they felt about having a new baby! Knowing how difficult adoption is and how you have to have the whole family involved makes me laugh that they kept it a secret.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 23, 2024
Part of my BSC re-read as I run across books.
Okay, the Mother's Day plot is cute, but the thing that makes me wonder what the heck when reading this as an adult is the plot with Emily Michelle's adoption. Kristy's mom and stepdad tell the kids their new sister is arriving the next day when they haven't even broached the topic of adoption with the kids until then. Usually these people are the pretty good parents in the series, so I guess it was their turn for a yikes! parenting decision. I feel like integrating an adopted child into a family that already has bio and step kids is complicated enough--springing the news on those other kids and giving them very little time to respond is just going to make that process harder.
Okay, the Mother's Day plot is cute, but the thing that makes me wonder what the heck when reading this as an adult is the plot with Emily Michelle's adoption. Kristy's mom and stepdad tell the kids their new sister is arriving the next day when they haven't even broached the topic of adoption with the kids until then. Usually these people are the pretty good parents in the series, so I guess it was their turn for a yikes! parenting decision. I feel like integrating an adopted child into a family that already has bio and step kids is complicated enough--springing the news on those other kids and giving them very little time to respond is just going to make that process harder.
July 18, 2017
Kristy books are so hit or miss for me. Some of them are decent, but most of them are just sort of in between. It always feels like her books involve the big plots too, where the club takes care of a ton of kids at once. I know that's probably not the case and just feels that way...or maybe it IS the case. Who knows!
The one thing that always bothered me most about this, is that Watson and Elizabeth were pretty ho-hum about adopting Emily Michelle. There were already six kids in the family, so they could have brought it up earlier and had a real family talk about it. Instead of just being all "Oh, surprise, you're getting a siblings tomorrow!" about it. That was always weird for me.
The one thing that always bothered me most about this, is that Watson and Elizabeth were pretty ho-hum about adopting Emily Michelle. There were already six kids in the family, so they could have brought it up earlier and had a real family talk about it. Instead of just being all "Oh, surprise, you're getting a siblings tomorrow!" about it. That was always weird for me.
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June 25, 2025
oh, Watson and kristy's mum don't have enough kids with the six they have, so they inexplicably adopt a 2 year old girl from Vietnam and name her Emily?? EMILY? if she's two she definitely already has a name and you want to name her Emily? oh man. also featuring this problematic paragraph introducing the new baby; "She’s just ours. She belongs to Watson and Andrew and Karen, and she belongs to Mom and my brothers and me. She would bring us together. She would unite us. That was what Mom and Watson’s wedding was supposed to have done. But it hadn’t exactly worked. Emily just might do the trick." they got a mansion, a new dog and now a new baby, what next!
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July 29, 2020As a kid my best friends sister had the whole BSC series on a book shelf in her room. I thought she was so grown up. And I envied this bookshelf. And would often poke my head into that room just to look at it.
And when I read BSC, I felt like such a grown up.
And while I might have still been a little too young to understand some of the issues dealt with in these books, I do appreciated that Ann M. Martin tackled age appropriate issues, some being deeper than others, but still important.
January 11, 2022
One of the better BSC books sees a lot of activity and with a decent ending about adoption.
it is a shame that the publishers decided that the kids needed to stay the same age forever, it detracts from what could have been a brilliant way tom see them grow, introduce new characters and have the series evolve and change.
Anyway, publishers are usually hopeless and lack creativity so it is no surprise.
it is a shame that the publishers decided that the kids needed to stay the same age forever, it detracts from what could have been a brilliant way tom see them grow, introduce new characters and have the series evolve and change.
Anyway, publishers are usually hopeless and lack creativity so it is no surprise.
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