Karen's Little Sister

Baby-Sitters Little Sister #6

by Ann M. Martin

Everybody used to love Karen. She was cute. She was the littlest sister. But now baby Emily is in their family, and Karen feels left out.
Then Emily gets sick and everybody has to take care of her. Even Karen. And that's when Karen finds out being a big sister is the most fun of all!

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade, Juvenile, Chapter Books, Contemporary, Young Adult

101 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1989

About the author

Ann 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...

Reviews

[Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Karen is her usual bratty self in this one. I'm not sure why she's so upset given that Andrew is the youngest not her but oh well. Anyway Karen is upset that Emily gets all the attention cause God forbid she isn't the center of attention and spoiled by all around her. Emily has to have tubes put in her ears which I had at around her age it's not fun. Karen so realizes she can be a big sister and is happy. In the really infuriating plot her mom and stepdad get her a pet which is a terrible idea to get a young child a small pet. Small pets are not easy and they are not for kids either.

[A · Rating 1 out of 5]

Karen is extremely annoying in this book. She's being a whiny little brat because her family is too busy paying attention to her two-year-old baby sister who is having reoccurring ear infections. Lisa & Watson really need to take their hell spawn to the child psychologist because something ain't right with this kid.

Karen even boasts, "I just love being the center of attention. Someday I will be gigundo famous."

Yeah, she's def going to grow up to be Brittany Mahomes.

[Chloe (Always Booked) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really enjoying reading through this series with my daughter! They are really relatable for young kids. In this one, Karen's dad has adopted a young girl from Vietnam with Kristy's mom named Emily. She's 2 and now she's the youngest girl and gets all of the attention, causing a lot of jealousy in Karen. We see Karen work through that and also get her first pet. Cute story!

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this one, and now that I know how cute these are via audio, I'll be listening to more!

Karen can be a lot to take, but I totally got her side here. It would help if her "Big House" family paid any attention to her besides the two weekends a month, but except for Kristy they don't. I started noticing in BSC books that every time Karen and Andrew show up for their weekend, Watson and Elizabeth take off. It's even worse in this one, because not only have K&A just shown up, but Emily is sick with chronic ear infections - and they STILL leave.

This book establishes that Kristy calls her once a week to check in, which is really sweet. But you know who DOESN'T call her EVER? Her father. Seriously, I felt terrible for both Karen and Emily Michelle here.

[Camdyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked that the story about a girl who had an adopted sister, named Emily. Karen didn't like her at first, but in the end was really happy to have a little sister. I also really liked the lesson I learned about baby birds. Karen was very cautious about not touching a little bird, but was afraid her cat would get it, so she took care of the little bird until it was big enough to take care of itself.

[Maeve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Karen is struggling with all of the attention that Emily Michelle is receiving; but through caring for a baby bird, she realizes how much love she has for Emily.

[Sayo -bibliotequeish-]

As a child reading these books it just seemed normal.
But as an adult looking back on these books, they were kind of ahead of their time. I remember being one of the only mixed race family in my neighborhood. As a kid I knew where all the other mixed families were.
Now looking back at the BSC and BSLS books there is so much diversity and in the 80's!

When you were too old for childrens books, but too young for The Baby Sitters Club.
Ann M. Martin really is a genius to piggy back on the success of The Baby Sitters Club.

After reading the little sisters series I remember feeling like a real adult opening up that first BSC book.

[Brian Stout · Rating 4 out of 5]

Karen was not very nice to her little sister because she had a earache and Karen wanted the attention and she did not be very nice to her little sister and then for little sister went to the hospital because she had an earache. And then she was nice so and at the end she got a shirt from her big step sister. And then she was nicer to Emily Michelle her little sister and she gave her little sister a notebook and a pencil and the notebook had a picture of a bird in it.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Emily Michelle sort of reminded me of my little sister. My sister is four years younger than me (like Emily Michelle was four years younger than Karen) and both girls had chronic ear infections as toddlers. Karen already had a little brother, so I did not understand why she was so jealous of the attention Emily Michelle received. Apparently, Karen was upset that she was no longer the youngest girl in the family. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Bethany Cline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story, retro art

I loved Babysitters Little Sister as a child and now my own daughters (6&8) love the books too! We have enjoyed them on audible and in paperback but this was my first time on kindle. Although the cover of the kindle book is the new cover art the pictures inside the text are from the 1989 version, which was a fun blast from the past.

[Darcy Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's one of my favorite books that I read as a child and I enjoyed just as much as an adult. I really connected to Karen as a little girl and going back, I still do. I will be rereading this book again and again.

[Ebbi.Lauren99 · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was the first BSC Little Sister book I read and I loved it :)

[Ashley Paulsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book about Karen’s little sister!

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Baby-sitters club series! This was a really good book!

[Annora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Karen was a brat per usual but this was one of the better books

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOL I always thought that Magic Tastee was THE WORST name for a bird. Even when I was a kid I knew it was awful.

[Brooke Lieder]

Read with Ruby!

[Molly Simonsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 🌟

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second read aloud chapter book for my little kinder. These books are so nostalgic for me. I love that they hold multiple plot lines, even in an earlier chapter book.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was kind of boring like most books in this series.

I didn't really like this book either. Big surprise right? Anyway like I say in all my review for the Baby Sitters Little Sister books I think younger girls would like them (6 and up) Anyway I give this book 2 out of 5 stars.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

When, exactly, was Emily Michelle adopted? Nobody knows. I also don't know why she has this visceral reaction to EM, when she already had a younger brother.

She gets a rat though. Rats are awesome.

[Luna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Emily Michelle, Karen's adopted little sister from Vietnam, is having an identity crisis. She wants to be a bird. She goes to hospital to have a procedure, and becomes a sparrow that now lives in Karen's mother's yard. The end.

[Sally · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't get past Kristy's super-high-waisted jeans (complete with tucked in t-shirt) on the front cover. Was that really ever fashionable? Really??

[Aesha☆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

that its not such a good idea to have a wedding next to a witchs [morbid dentisty} house!

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this right when I was discovering people adopted kids from other countries. My mind exploded.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

In which Karen's millionaire father adopts a baby girl from Vietnam named Emily - not many more in this series that mirror events that occur during Kristy's books from the BSC series.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first Little Sister book I ever owned.

[Jackie Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

What young girl did not love the Baby-Sitters Club and Karen, the Baby-Sitters Little Sister?

[Melenia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved these books as a child

[christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

read for S.S.R. time in 5th grade, I was a baby sitter's club fiend!