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The Baby-Sitters Club #10
Logan Likes Mary Anne! (The Baby-Sitters Club #10)
Mary Anne used to have to wear her hair in braids, keep her room painted pink, and ask her dad before she did anything. But not anymore. Mary Anne's been growing up . . . and the Baby-sitters Club members aren't the only ones who have noticed.Logan Bruno likes Mary Anne! He has a dreamy southern accent, he's awfully cute--and he wants to join the Baby-sitters Club.The Baby-sitters aren't sure Logan will make a good club member. And Mary Anne thinks she's too shy for Logan. Life in the BSC has never been this complicated--or this fun!
140 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 1988
239 people are currently reading
1783 people want to read
About the author
Ann M. Martin
1,102 books3,047 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 248 reviews
February 8, 2023
4.5 stars. An extra half a star for Mary Anne getting so embarrassed about kicking off her shoe at the dance that she refuses to budge from the bleachers for the rest of the evening. I am SUCH a Mary Anne. Also, how cute is Mary Anne’s new kitten, Tigger?
October 19, 2014
Rereading my way through my childhood one book at a time. Don't judge.
October 26, 2018
Awwww... Logan and Mary Anne! One of those wonderful fictional pairs! Who would have thought that the first babysitter to get a permanent boyfriend would be quiet and shy Mary Anne!! It's also in this particular book we meet the BSC's most accident prone charge- red-headed Jackie Rodowsky!
July 1, 2018
First of all, I find that exclamation point pretty insulting, and so should Mary Anne. Try to dial down the surprise.
Here's an unique opinion: I don't think Mary Anne is the least interesting member of The Babysitter's Club. (It's Dawn, and I will fight anyone who disagrees) I see how people think that she is, because her defining character traits are, in order, that she's shy. Full stop. I guess you could add in that she has brown hair and a strict father, but it's all part and parcel.
So, the set-up is that there's a new boy on the first day of 8th grade (they are, you'll recall, eternally in 8th grade) named Logan, and he is a stone cold fox, apparently. There's some early messaging that maybe Stacey's going to make a play for him, because they are in the same homeroom (and good luck competing with New York, Spier), but Stacey respectfully pulls out of the race. The BSC has over-advertised and have too many new clients, and they need spare sitters. Enter Logan, who is sitting nearby at lunch as they discuss it and volunteers his services.
He comes to a club meeting in Claudia's room and Claudia mentions bras and everyone is MORTIFIED. Things aren't looking good for Logan, but they let him babysit Jackie Rodowsky with a supervising sitter in tow. And. Guess. Who. It. Is?
It's Mary Anne. Obviously. This is her book.
The babysitting goes okay, but the big news is Logan asks Mary Anne to a dance (one of hundreds they'll go to in the 8th grade year that never ends).
Mary Anne loses her shoe and has a freak out, then Stacey throws her a party and she has another freak out, and Logan tells her she might be too shy for him. Mary Anne thinks about this, and decides to become less shy.
So, joking aside, Mary Anne experiences a fair amount of growth in this book. I wish Logan didn't direct so much of it, but, such is life in Stonybook, CT. There are also some interesting themes about growing up and being left behind, and Mary Anne talks about getting a bra, which kind of surprised me, because few of the other books deal with anyone's changing body (that's not a complaint).
Finally, Kristy asks Alan Grey to be her date for Stacey's boy/girl party, and I'm just like, WHEN is she going to meet Bart so we can ditch Alan?
Here's an unique opinion: I don't think Mary Anne is the least interesting member of The Babysitter's Club. (It's Dawn, and I will fight anyone who disagrees) I see how people think that she is, because her defining character traits are, in order, that she's shy. Full stop. I guess you could add in that she has brown hair and a strict father, but it's all part and parcel.
So, the set-up is that there's a new boy on the first day of 8th grade (they are, you'll recall, eternally in 8th grade) named Logan, and he is a stone cold fox, apparently. There's some early messaging that maybe Stacey's going to make a play for him, because they are in the same homeroom (and good luck competing with New York, Spier), but Stacey respectfully pulls out of the race. The BSC has over-advertised and have too many new clients, and they need spare sitters. Enter Logan, who is sitting nearby at lunch as they discuss it and volunteers his services.
He comes to a club meeting in Claudia's room and Claudia mentions bras and everyone is MORTIFIED. Things aren't looking good for Logan, but they let him babysit Jackie Rodowsky with a supervising sitter in tow. And. Guess. Who. It. Is?
It's Mary Anne. Obviously. This is her book.
The babysitting goes okay, but the big news is Logan asks Mary Anne to a dance (one of hundreds they'll go to in the 8th grade year that never ends).
Mary Anne loses her shoe and has a freak out, then Stacey throws her a party and she has another freak out, and Logan tells her she might be too shy for him. Mary Anne thinks about this, and decides to become less shy.
So, joking aside, Mary Anne experiences a fair amount of growth in this book. I wish Logan didn't direct so much of it, but, such is life in Stonybook, CT. There are also some interesting themes about growing up and being left behind, and Mary Anne talks about getting a bra, which kind of surprised me, because few of the other books deal with anyone's changing body (that's not a complaint).
Finally, Kristy asks Alan Grey to be her date for Stacey's boy/girl party, and I'm just like, WHEN is she going to meet Bart so we can ditch Alan?
September 5, 2021
In this installment we meet one of my favourite of the babysitting charges - Jackie Radowsky, the walking disaster magnet. Mary Anne also gets a boyfriend. To be honest, I would have preferred a book just about Jackie. Mary Anne's not a bad character, but she's not exactly enthralling. Still better than Dawn though, and I can understand her response to the surprise party. Her friend's are pretty insensitive given that they know she's so shy.
Highly recommend the audio book though. The narrator's attempt at a Southern accent is top tier cringe. Plus we get the introduction of kitten Tigger!
Pretty standard BSC fodder.
Highly recommend the audio book though. The narrator's attempt at a Southern accent is top tier cringe. Plus we get the introduction of kitten Tigger!
Pretty standard BSC fodder.
February 5, 2023
Before you get all swoony over Logan Bruno from Louisville, Kentucky (complete with southern accent), make sure you’ve read Kristy’s Big Day, Claudia and Mean Janine, Boy-Crazy Stacey and The Ghost at Dawn’s House as there are spoilers for all of these in the intro.
Mary Anne, the romantic of the BSC, was already pretty swoony about Cam Geary so you can imagine the effect encountering his lookalike at school has on her. It’s essentially love at first drool.
Mary Anne isn’t the only one swooning over Logan, though. All of the BSC members do and if you look at the original cover illustration, it looks like Jackie Rodowsky is a bit swoony as well.
This isn’t the first time Mary Anne’s hormones have kicked in. Remember Sea City? But Logan isn’t a summer fling, even though it would have been all sorts of lovely if he’d been her first kiss.
We babysit Jenny Prezzioso, David Michael Thomas, Karen and Andrew Brewer, Charlotte Johanssen, Buddy, Suzi and Marni Barrett, the Pikes, the Marshalls, Myriah and Gabbie (plus Chewy the dog) Perkins, Jamie (“hi-hi!”) and Lucy Newton, the two Ohdner girls (no, we haven’t met them before), Jackie Rodowsky (the Rodowsky’s are also newbie BSC clients) and four Morgan boys.
Dawn wears a “pretty snappy outfit - hot-pink shorts with a big, breezy island-print shirt over a white tank top.”
Mary Anne comes up with her very own great idea but Kristy comes up with the name “associate member” for Logan. I’d forgotten that he’d said he had some guy friends who might want to babysit for the BSC as well. I don’t remember that ever eventuating.
Claudia servesrefreshments junk food. She also almost commits the apparently unpardonable sin of saying “bra strap in front of a boy.”
Stacey does a Porky Pig impressions. That’s all folks.
Mary Anne gets her first bra on the first day of eighth grade. Now Kristy is the only braless BSC member.
Kristy has to take a bus to school instead of walking with ex-next door neighbour, Mary Anne, like every other first day of school. Incidentally, the first day of school is a Thursday.
When I first read this book, I didn’t realise that Chewbacca Perkins was named after someone…
The BSC members hold an emergency meeting (naturally) but this one is called by Claudia. They even cancel a meeting; getting Mary Anne ready for the dance is more important, even for Kristy, who is the one to suggest cancelling the meeting.
The school cafeteria food includes “a dirty sock that’s been left out in the rain and then hidden in a dark closet for three weeks” and “steamed rubber in Turtle Wax”.
Mary Anne’s classes are English, math, gym, social studies, science, French and she has homeroom, lunch and study hall.
I looked forward to using a folder with looseleaf paper, just like Mary Anne, when I first read this book. At the time it felt like a more mature way of doing school than the exercise books I was used to.
If I was Mary Anne, my favourite birthday present (besides Tigger) would have been the wind-up dinosaur that shoots sparks out of its mouth. Good one, Alan Gray, you pest.
By the numbers: Mary Anne’s locker combination is 132, her homeroom number is 216, the club members each pay $1 per week in club dues, Logan’s phone number (in case you want to call him and swoon) is KL51018, Mary Anne has a 10 minute phone call limit and Stacey has a 5 minute phone call limit when she’s calling Laine in New York (she’s found a loophole, though).
Stoneybrook Central Time: At the beginning of this book, it’s been over two months since the end of seventh grade and it’s the final day of summer vacation. Stacey and her family have lived in Stoneybrook for a year now. Mary Anne, the youngest current BSC member, won’t turn 13 for a few weeks.
Up next: Kristy gets to know some snobs and Ann M. Martin traumatises me for life.
Blog - https://schizanthusnerd.com
Mary Anne, the romantic of the BSC, was already pretty swoony about Cam Geary so you can imagine the effect encountering his lookalike at school has on her. It’s essentially love at first drool.
Mary Anne isn’t the only one swooning over Logan, though. All of the BSC members do and if you look at the original cover illustration, it looks like Jackie Rodowsky is a bit swoony as well.
This isn’t the first time Mary Anne’s hormones have kicked in. Remember Sea City? But Logan isn’t a summer fling, even though it would have been all sorts of lovely if he’d been her first kiss.
We babysit Jenny Prezzioso, David Michael Thomas, Karen and Andrew Brewer, Charlotte Johanssen, Buddy, Suzi and Marni Barrett, the Pikes, the Marshalls, Myriah and Gabbie (plus Chewy the dog) Perkins, Jamie (“hi-hi!”) and Lucy Newton, the two Ohdner girls (no, we haven’t met them before), Jackie Rodowsky (the Rodowsky’s are also newbie BSC clients) and four Morgan boys.
Dawn wears a “pretty snappy outfit - hot-pink shorts with a big, breezy island-print shirt over a white tank top.”
Mary Anne comes up with her very own great idea but Kristy comes up with the name “associate member” for Logan. I’d forgotten that he’d said he had some guy friends who might want to babysit for the BSC as well. I don’t remember that ever eventuating.
Claudia serves
Stacey does a Porky Pig impressions. That’s all folks.
Mary Anne gets her first bra on the first day of eighth grade. Now Kristy is the only braless BSC member.
Kristy has to take a bus to school instead of walking with ex-next door neighbour, Mary Anne, like every other first day of school. Incidentally, the first day of school is a Thursday.
When I first read this book, I didn’t realise that Chewbacca Perkins was named after someone…
The BSC members hold an emergency meeting (naturally) but this one is called by Claudia. They even cancel a meeting; getting Mary Anne ready for the dance is more important, even for Kristy, who is the one to suggest cancelling the meeting.
“I say we cancel today’s club meeting and go over to Mary Anne’s instead.”Then Stacey calls a special BSC meeting at Mary Anne’s house on a Sunday. Has Kristy lost all control?
The school cafeteria food includes “a dirty sock that’s been left out in the rain and then hidden in a dark closet for three weeks” and “steamed rubber in Turtle Wax”.
Mary Anne’s classes are English, math, gym, social studies, science, French and she has homeroom, lunch and study hall.
I looked forward to using a folder with looseleaf paper, just like Mary Anne, when I first read this book. At the time it felt like a more mature way of doing school than the exercise books I was used to.
If I was Mary Anne, my favourite birthday present (besides Tigger) would have been the wind-up dinosaur that shoots sparks out of its mouth. Good one, Alan Gray, you pest.
By the numbers: Mary Anne’s locker combination is 132, her homeroom number is 216, the club members each pay $1 per week in club dues, Logan’s phone number (in case you want to call him and swoon) is KL51018, Mary Anne has a 10 minute phone call limit and Stacey has a 5 minute phone call limit when she’s calling Laine in New York (she’s found a loophole, though).
Stoneybrook Central Time: At the beginning of this book, it’s been over two months since the end of seventh grade and it’s the final day of summer vacation. Stacey and her family have lived in Stoneybrook for a year now. Mary Anne, the youngest current BSC member, won’t turn 13 for a few weeks.
Up next: Kristy gets to know some snobs and Ann M. Martin traumatises me for life.
Blog - https://schizanthusnerd.com
October 17, 2018
This is a special book to me because it's when Mary Anne adopts her kitten, Tigger. When I got my childhood kitten, I named him Tigger after Mary Anne's cat. On the car ride home the name devolved into Tiggy, and it stuck for the next eighteen years. Five stars in memory of Tiggy Brody.
January 22, 2010
so glad we don't have a pike storyline in this one. instead, the main babysitting charge is poor jackie rodowsky, the BSC punching bag for the rest of the series. but first, the set-up:
it's the first round of eighth grade for the BSC. mary anne goes to school with a poster of cam geary & a stick of gum so she can put the poster up in her locker with buts of chewed gum. yeah, i tried that when i was kid. the gum eventually loses its sticking power...after like twenty minutes. this would never work. anyway.
stoneybrook middle school has a new student, logan bruno. mary anne thinks he looks just like cam geary. she is instantly in love. it's weird how these BSc girls are always falling in love at first sight just because the boy they like is cute. the world is full of cute boys. it takes more than cute to turn my head...& it always has. lucky for the girls that none of these cute boys turns out to be a sexual predator or a serial killer or something. anyway. all the other BSC girls also think logan is cute, but for some reason, when they realize that mary anne likes him (even though she denies it), they back off & let her have him. i really don't get that part. i mean, it works out, because logan likes mary anne back (hence the title of the book), but it seems uncharacteristic of some of the more "boy-crazy" members of the club. & i don't entirely understand WHY logan likes mary anne. he explains at one point that he likes that she takes people seriously & seems kind, but for most of the book, she is too flustered & tongue-tied to say two words to him. seems like a dude would get bored with that pretty quick. but i guess this is all supposed to play on the tween girl fantasy of meeting a nice, cute boy who everyone else also finds cut & nice, but who picks you because he sees your real self even when you are bad at letting it out. kind of the whole edward/bella thing, now that i think about it more...minus the vampirism.
logan says he used to babysit in kentucky, so the girls invite him to try out the club & take a sitting job. he & mary anne sit for jackie, who manages to pull down the shower curtain trying to do a chin-up, gets his hand stuck in a jar, spills a glass of grape juice all over the carpet, alomst cannonballs into a side table, falls off his bike, & knocks mary anne backwards into logan's waiting arms. sounds like a pretty typical kid to me. logan decides not to join the club as a full-fledged member because it's awkward when they talk about girly stuff at meetings. he signs on as an associate member & he & mary anne start dating.
the thing everyone always remembers about this book is the famous cities skirt that mary anne bought for the remember september dance she attends with locan. "sketchy pink & blue drawings of landmarks like the eiffel tower & london bridge on a white background." she teams it up with a pink sweater & white shoes with pink & blue edging--a classic moment in 80s tackiness. i swear they sported a similar look on "designing women" or "golden girls" at some point. she likes the outfit so much (even though she said previously that she hates pink) that she wears it to the party stacey throws, not knowing that it's a secret birthday party for mary anne. when they bring out the cake & gifts, she turns tail & runs all the way home. & then her dad lets her get a kitten. what? there's a lot happening here.
anyway, she makes up with her friends, they rush over to meet the kitten, she gets famous cities socks for her birthday, & know she will forever be introduced as having a steady boyfriend, like it's some epic accomplishment that junior high girls should measure themselves against. yuck.
it's the first round of eighth grade for the BSC. mary anne goes to school with a poster of cam geary & a stick of gum so she can put the poster up in her locker with buts of chewed gum. yeah, i tried that when i was kid. the gum eventually loses its sticking power...after like twenty minutes. this would never work. anyway.
stoneybrook middle school has a new student, logan bruno. mary anne thinks he looks just like cam geary. she is instantly in love. it's weird how these BSc girls are always falling in love at first sight just because the boy they like is cute. the world is full of cute boys. it takes more than cute to turn my head...& it always has. lucky for the girls that none of these cute boys turns out to be a sexual predator or a serial killer or something. anyway. all the other BSC girls also think logan is cute, but for some reason, when they realize that mary anne likes him (even though she denies it), they back off & let her have him. i really don't get that part. i mean, it works out, because logan likes mary anne back (hence the title of the book), but it seems uncharacteristic of some of the more "boy-crazy" members of the club. & i don't entirely understand WHY logan likes mary anne. he explains at one point that he likes that she takes people seriously & seems kind, but for most of the book, she is too flustered & tongue-tied to say two words to him. seems like a dude would get bored with that pretty quick. but i guess this is all supposed to play on the tween girl fantasy of meeting a nice, cute boy who everyone else also finds cut & nice, but who picks you because he sees your real self even when you are bad at letting it out. kind of the whole edward/bella thing, now that i think about it more...minus the vampirism.
logan says he used to babysit in kentucky, so the girls invite him to try out the club & take a sitting job. he & mary anne sit for jackie, who manages to pull down the shower curtain trying to do a chin-up, gets his hand stuck in a jar, spills a glass of grape juice all over the carpet, alomst cannonballs into a side table, falls off his bike, & knocks mary anne backwards into logan's waiting arms. sounds like a pretty typical kid to me. logan decides not to join the club as a full-fledged member because it's awkward when they talk about girly stuff at meetings. he signs on as an associate member & he & mary anne start dating.
the thing everyone always remembers about this book is the famous cities skirt that mary anne bought for the remember september dance she attends with locan. "sketchy pink & blue drawings of landmarks like the eiffel tower & london bridge on a white background." she teams it up with a pink sweater & white shoes with pink & blue edging--a classic moment in 80s tackiness. i swear they sported a similar look on "designing women" or "golden girls" at some point. she likes the outfit so much (even though she said previously that she hates pink) that she wears it to the party stacey throws, not knowing that it's a secret birthday party for mary anne. when they bring out the cake & gifts, she turns tail & runs all the way home. & then her dad lets her get a kitten. what? there's a lot happening here.
anyway, she makes up with her friends, they rush over to meet the kitten, she gets famous cities socks for her birthday, & know she will forever be introduced as having a steady boyfriend, like it's some epic accomplishment that junior high girls should measure themselves against. yuck.
October 9, 2010
I bought a hell of a lot of BSC and Sweet Valley High books at the last library sale. Mostly for my niece, if she'll read them. But also for me.
Why, you may ask, would I re-read Babysitter's Club when I'm 28 years old and have hundreds of books waiting to be read?
Allow me to provide a quote:
"I thought we made a pretty good-looking group. Claudia was wearing short, tight-fitting black pants and a big white shirt that said BE-BOP all over it in between pictures of rock and roll dancers. She had fixed a floppy blue bow in her hair. Stacey was wearing a white T-shirt under a hot pink jumpsuit. Dawn and Kristy looked more casual. Dawn was wearing a green and white oversized sweater and stretchy green pants. Kristy was wearing a white turtleneck shirt under a pink sweater with jeans."
OH YEAH.
I'm having WAY too much fun re-reading these.
Why, you may ask, would I re-read Babysitter's Club when I'm 28 years old and have hundreds of books waiting to be read?
Allow me to provide a quote:
"I thought we made a pretty good-looking group. Claudia was wearing short, tight-fitting black pants and a big white shirt that said BE-BOP all over it in between pictures of rock and roll dancers. She had fixed a floppy blue bow in her hair. Stacey was wearing a white T-shirt under a hot pink jumpsuit. Dawn and Kristy looked more casual. Dawn was wearing a green and white oversized sweater and stretchy green pants. Kristy was wearing a white turtleneck shirt under a pink sweater with jeans."
OH YEAH.
I'm having WAY too much fun re-reading these.
October 1, 2019
Logan Likes Mary Anne!
No he fucking doesn't!
*************************************
Homework: Don't talk to me.
<< #9: The Ghost at Dawn's House
#11: Kristy and the Snobs >>
No he fucking doesn't!
*************************************
Homework: Don't talk to me.
<< #9: The Ghost at Dawn's House
#11: Kristy and the Snobs >>
July 27, 2025
Logan's like, like... totally obvious. Mary Anne and her little heart take a full book to catch on, proving even fictional tweens need a hint.
January 23, 2016
this is another favorite of mine, so this one might also be really long. mary anne is already getting a little less shy and opening up to the prospect of boy-liking. when logan bruno, a kid who looks just like movie star cam geary, moves to town, mary anne is in LUV. even better, she discovers logan is into baby-sitting and may want to join the baby-sitters club. but can the baby-sitters hang with a boy when that limits their ability to talk about bra straps? and can mary anne get over her shy kid syndrome enough to date logan/function in the world?
highlights:
-introduction to baby-sitting jackie rodowsky
-at the rodowsky's logan notes a painting on the wall with a house (red square and black triangle on top), green line for grass, blue line for sky, yellow sun in the corner. logan says they have a painting just like that at his house but it says logan on it instead of jackie and he thought it was an original. what a charming goofball!
-claudia, in a profound moment, says that it must be hard to be a parent when gabbie perkins puts stickers all over her door, knowing that gabbie had good intentions (to make her door beautiful) but that the stickers would take a lot of work to scrape off.
-mary anne kicks her shoe off at the dance and almost hits mr. kingbridge, the vice principal (when copying logan's goofy dancing and doing rockette-style leg kicks). what a perfect embarrassing moment for a tweenager!
-mary anne also is mortified by the surprise birthday cake at a non-surprise party for her, and she runs home without a word to anyone. it is kind of incredible and really just a great teen magazine embarrassing story situation.
-richard spier makes mary anne get a cat from a shelter. he says "give a home to a pet that really needs one." nicely done, ann, putting a subtle message in here and training kids for proper pet adoption in the future.
-introduction of the position associate member, for logan bruno.
-mary anne adopts tigger! she's always wanted a gray tiger cat and always wanted to name it tigger.
low?lights/nitpicks:
-typically when ann writes about celebrities and their tv shows/movies, she makes them up (except the movie meatballs). I don't think she realized that out of this world was an actual show that had just started airing shortly before this book came out. the reason I don't think she knew is because claudia mentions having a crush on max morrison, who is from that show, but nobody by that name was actually on the show. I always noticed this because I loved out of this world when I was growing up, for which the theme song was an updated version of "swingin on a star" by bing crosby.
-stacey says she didn't know that cam geary goes out with corrie lalique (another actor), but they talked about it in the previous book, The Ghost at Dawn's House (when suggesting that they make mary anne up to look like corrie lalique).
claudia outfit (at the remember september dance):
-"Claudia was wearing short, tight-fitting black pants and a big white shirt that said BE-BOP all over it in between pictures of rock and roll dancers. She had fixed a floppy blue bow in her hair."
other outfits:
-mary anne (remember september dance): "Claudia handed me a full white skirt with the words Paris, Rome, and London, and sketchy pink and blue pictures of the Eiffel Tower, the Tower Bridge, and other stuff scrawled all over it. She matched it up with a pink shirt and a baggy pink sweater...In the shoe department we found white slip-ons with pink and blue edging that matched the pink and blue in the skirt."
-dawn: "She was wearing a pretty snappy outfit -- hot-pink shorts with a big, breezy island-print shirt over a white tank top.
jackie rodowsky's walking disaster moments:
-almost crashes into the piano while jumping off the couch
-falls in the bathroom when chinning on the curtain rod
-spills grape juice in the living room
-gets his hand stuck in a jar
-falls off his bicycle
-rips his jeans
-knocks mary anne into logan's arms
-falls out of a tree
-falls down the front steps
-falls off the bed
this is the first book where kristy eats the school lunch and describes it in disgusting ways, such as:
-"it tastes like a dirty sock that's been left out in the rain and then hidden in a dark closet for three weeks."
-"smells like steamed rubber in turtle wax."
items in stacey's kid kit:
-Paddington Takes the Air
-Tik-Tok of Oz
-coloring book
-connect-the-dots book
-crayons
-magic markers
-drawing paper
-candyland
-spill and spell
-barbie doll
-Happy Birthday to You!
snacks in claudia's room:
-gumdrops in her pillowcase
-pretzels in her pillowcase
-doritos (not specified)
highlights:
-introduction to baby-sitting jackie rodowsky
-at the rodowsky's logan notes a painting on the wall with a house (red square and black triangle on top), green line for grass, blue line for sky, yellow sun in the corner. logan says they have a painting just like that at his house but it says logan on it instead of jackie and he thought it was an original. what a charming goofball!
-claudia, in a profound moment, says that it must be hard to be a parent when gabbie perkins puts stickers all over her door, knowing that gabbie had good intentions (to make her door beautiful) but that the stickers would take a lot of work to scrape off.
-mary anne kicks her shoe off at the dance and almost hits mr. kingbridge, the vice principal (when copying logan's goofy dancing and doing rockette-style leg kicks). what a perfect embarrassing moment for a tweenager!
-mary anne also is mortified by the surprise birthday cake at a non-surprise party for her, and she runs home without a word to anyone. it is kind of incredible and really just a great teen magazine embarrassing story situation.
-richard spier makes mary anne get a cat from a shelter. he says "give a home to a pet that really needs one." nicely done, ann, putting a subtle message in here and training kids for proper pet adoption in the future.
-introduction of the position associate member, for logan bruno.
-mary anne adopts tigger! she's always wanted a gray tiger cat and always wanted to name it tigger.
low?lights/nitpicks:
-typically when ann writes about celebrities and their tv shows/movies, she makes them up (except the movie meatballs). I don't think she realized that out of this world was an actual show that had just started airing shortly before this book came out. the reason I don't think she knew is because claudia mentions having a crush on max morrison, who is from that show, but nobody by that name was actually on the show. I always noticed this because I loved out of this world when I was growing up, for which the theme song was an updated version of "swingin on a star" by bing crosby.
-stacey says she didn't know that cam geary goes out with corrie lalique (another actor), but they talked about it in the previous book, The Ghost at Dawn's House (when suggesting that they make mary anne up to look like corrie lalique).
claudia outfit (at the remember september dance):
-"Claudia was wearing short, tight-fitting black pants and a big white shirt that said BE-BOP all over it in between pictures of rock and roll dancers. She had fixed a floppy blue bow in her hair."
other outfits:
-mary anne (remember september dance): "Claudia handed me a full white skirt with the words Paris, Rome, and London, and sketchy pink and blue pictures of the Eiffel Tower, the Tower Bridge, and other stuff scrawled all over it. She matched it up with a pink shirt and a baggy pink sweater...In the shoe department we found white slip-ons with pink and blue edging that matched the pink and blue in the skirt."
-dawn: "She was wearing a pretty snappy outfit -- hot-pink shorts with a big, breezy island-print shirt over a white tank top.
jackie rodowsky's walking disaster moments:
-almost crashes into the piano while jumping off the couch
-falls in the bathroom when chinning on the curtain rod
-spills grape juice in the living room
-gets his hand stuck in a jar
-falls off his bicycle
-rips his jeans
-knocks mary anne into logan's arms
-falls out of a tree
-falls down the front steps
-falls off the bed
this is the first book where kristy eats the school lunch and describes it in disgusting ways, such as:
-"it tastes like a dirty sock that's been left out in the rain and then hidden in a dark closet for three weeks."
-"smells like steamed rubber in turtle wax."
items in stacey's kid kit:
-Paddington Takes the Air
-Tik-Tok of Oz
-coloring book
-connect-the-dots book
-crayons
-magic markers
-drawing paper
-candyland
-spill and spell
-barbie doll
-Happy Birthday to You!
snacks in claudia's room:
-gumdrops in her pillowcase
-pretzels in her pillowcase
-doritos (not specified)
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!
September 10, 2007
oh babysitters club, heck yeah! i read every single one of these, dare I admit it? (And which one of us hasn't wanted to start our own babysitters club after reading about its awesomeness??)
February 19, 2022
Before I get to my actual review, a quick disclaimer: Ever since I learned that Netflix was reimagining one of my favorite childhood book series, I had decided that I would be embarking on a re-read of this series, reliving a series of books that helped to shape me into a voracious reader. I am so excited to embark on this travel back in time. I don't expect to be mentally stimulated -- I mean, I'm not exactly a pre-teen middle-schooler these days -- but I make no apology for choosing to enjoy this series from the perspective of adulthood. Don't expect me to have any sort of psychoanalyst or feminist sermonizing on the appropriateness of the situations or the effects on a young girl reading these books; there's plenty of that to go around already. I'm here for the nostalgia and the meander down memory lane.
**********
Sometimes I forgot just how much I loved certain books from this series growing up, and also why I did. This one was such a joy to re-read.
What I liked about Logan Likes Mary Anne!:
Mary Anne - It's always so clear to me why Mary Anne was my favorite. So much about her personality is like my own. Not just as a child but even now. I could relate to everything from her overthinking to her hatred of surprises. I also feel like her character started to gain a little more depth here...and I cannot believe I'm saying this about a children's series.
Some of the turns of phrase - I love being reminded about where parts of my personal vernacular originated. For instance, from this one came "pull up a patch of floor." It makes me chuckle.
What I didn't care for:
The record book entries - It has its charm, I suppose, but it hurts my head to decipher Claudia's spelling. I don't recall struggling with this as a kid, but it's not my favorite now.
My recollection pointed me toward a 5-star rating, and I am going to stick with it. So much about this book still struck a chord with me and I am sure that it bore some weight on me in my formative years.
**********
Sometimes I forgot just how much I loved certain books from this series growing up, and also why I did. This one was such a joy to re-read.
What I liked about Logan Likes Mary Anne!:
Mary Anne - It's always so clear to me why Mary Anne was my favorite. So much about her personality is like my own. Not just as a child but even now. I could relate to everything from her overthinking to her hatred of surprises. I also feel like her character started to gain a little more depth here...and I cannot believe I'm saying this about a children's series.
Some of the turns of phrase - I love being reminded about where parts of my personal vernacular originated. For instance, from this one came "pull up a patch of floor." It makes me chuckle.
What I didn't care for:
The record book entries - It has its charm, I suppose, but it hurts my head to decipher Claudia's spelling. I don't recall struggling with this as a kid, but it's not my favorite now.
My recollection pointed me toward a 5-star rating, and I am going to stick with it. So much about this book still struck a chord with me and I am sure that it bore some weight on me in my formative years.
October 20, 2018
Mary Ann just recently started liking boys and when one of the most CUTEST boys she has ever seen moves to her home town she can’t believe it! He looks just like a movie star. But being shy and trying to befriend a boy is really difficult. Can she make it work? Also she is about to turn 13, can you believe it! Growing up is fun when you fill your time with babysitting, friends, and love interests.
March 27, 2021
3.5 Stars. When I was a child, I loved the Babysitters Club books. I devoured them. I read those, along with the Super Specials, Mysteries, Little Sister books, etc. In fact, I still have all of them to this day in paperback. They were such a big part of my love of reading, I could not part with them. So now that they have come out on Audiobook, I had to check them out.
Logan Likes Mary Anne is book 10 in the Baby-Sitters Club series. In this book, a new boy has moved to Stoneybrook. His name is Logan and he has eyes for Mary Anne. As it turns out, Logan is also a baby sitter, so he asks about joining the club when he hears the girls talking about how stressed they are with being so busy. In this book, Mary Anne goes to her first school dance with a boy and she also turns 13.
Even though I have really enjoyed catching up with the series thirty years after enjoying it the first time, I think I will probably stop here. As a child, it never really dawned on me that these girls have all these experiences over the course of more than 100 books written over 13 years and never actually age or go through high school. They have multiple holidays, go through many new school years, have mature hobbies and activities, and older teenager appropriate experiences such as boyfriends...yet they never actually get older than 13 and they never move from middle school to high school. That is weird to me now and bugs me.
I absolutely recommend these books to young children, though a few books are inappropriate in the current day and culture (see my review for book 8 Boy Crazy Stacey here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ) and really just came off as dangerous and icky. Outside of some one off comments or moments, here and there, it is pretty wholesome.
The narration for this book was good. The narrator was easy to listen to and understand. It is a quick listen at only 2 hours and 56 minutes.
Logan Likes Mary Anne is book 10 in the Baby-Sitters Club series. In this book, a new boy has moved to Stoneybrook. His name is Logan and he has eyes for Mary Anne. As it turns out, Logan is also a baby sitter, so he asks about joining the club when he hears the girls talking about how stressed they are with being so busy. In this book, Mary Anne goes to her first school dance with a boy and she also turns 13.
Even though I have really enjoyed catching up with the series thirty years after enjoying it the first time, I think I will probably stop here. As a child, it never really dawned on me that these girls have all these experiences over the course of more than 100 books written over 13 years and never actually age or go through high school. They have multiple holidays, go through many new school years, have mature hobbies and activities, and older teenager appropriate experiences such as boyfriends...yet they never actually get older than 13 and they never move from middle school to high school. That is weird to me now and bugs me.
I absolutely recommend these books to young children, though a few books are inappropriate in the current day and culture (see my review for book 8 Boy Crazy Stacey here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ) and really just came off as dangerous and icky. Outside of some one off comments or moments, here and there, it is pretty wholesome.
The narration for this book was good. The narrator was easy to listen to and understand. It is a quick listen at only 2 hours and 56 minutes.
February 19, 2009
I just re-read this BSC book. It's been 18 years (omg!) and I still love it. I want Mary Anne's Eiffel tower skirt! I want to kitten named Tigger! I want a bff from California named Dawn! It is seriously awesome.
June 1, 2020
I like that the way they write out Logan’s accent makes him sound like Foghorn Leghorn.
February 24, 2022
This is one of my favorite baby sitter club books! I could read this book over and over again. It is real a really good book.
April 19, 2022
One of my favourites - 💜 love Logan
December 31, 2011
This was the first Baby-sitters Club I ever re-read. I did so with the express intent of making fun of it for Childhood Trauma, so you should take that into consideration as you read my review. Also, the fact that I'm 25 and not in fifth grade. Also, also, the fact that I once loved these books with the indiscriminate love of a fifth grader.
Onward.
Mary Anne Spier is the most boring member of the Baby-Sitters club and according to fellow Snark Squad-er Sweeney, the most boring character in the history of ever.
This, however, is her shining moment, and the moment that defined romance for a shit ton of pre-pubescent girls. First, though, it is necessary to mention that the Baby-Sitters Club WAS ALL KRISTY'S GREAT IDEA. Because we must mention that in every. single. freakin'. book.
The bulk of all Baby-Sitter's Club books are comprised of absolutely useless details, like who called when and what atrocities everyone was wearing or what sugar free snack Stacey the DIABETIC! is eating. In this book we learn that you aren't allowed to tape up pictures in your locker in Stoneybrook Middle, so the kids all used chewed gum. Uh... ew.
Logan goes on a trial baby-sitting job and does a really good job. The girls are all really uncomfortable around him though, since they can no longer talk about bra straps and cute boys. It is decided that Logan cannot join the club.
He can ask Mary Anne out though! Yay.
Meanwhile, Stacey is planning the first boy/girl party of their age group and is planning on surprising Mary Anne with a birthday cake while at the party.
Mary Anne sucks though, and is a little like those goats that faint when they get scared. Things do not go as planned.
Has Mary Anne lost her friends forever? Will Logan ever ask her out again? WILL SHE EVER GET A CAT.
These are the big questions in "Logan Likes Mary Anne."
To read our full recap, visit: "Logan Likes Mary Anne" - Because She Wants to Hug Every Cat.
Good quotes from that recap:
Lorraine: Which leaves Stacey, who Mary Anne informs us is super flashy and exciting and likes "doing things to her hair." Uh, like combing it? Or is she doing dirty things to her hair? I don't get what's going on here.
Sweeney: Mary Anne has a serious girl crush on Stacey. Because she's from New York. I wonder if Mary Anne knows that her New Yorker self would totally be a crazy cat lady on the outskirts of the city.
"We get to talk about little puberty boobs now. This isn't awkward AT ALL. See, Mary Anne finally bought a bra because she'd begun to grow boobs over the summer. This leaves Kristy as the only flat chested member. Aw. Hope your ideas keep you warm at night, Kristy."
"Wait, my sarcastic judgment has notches?!? My life is changed."
Onward.
Mary Anne Spier is the most boring member of the Baby-Sitters club and according to fellow Snark Squad-er Sweeney, the most boring character in the history of ever.
This, however, is her shining moment, and the moment that defined romance for a shit ton of pre-pubescent girls. First, though, it is necessary to mention that the Baby-Sitters Club WAS ALL KRISTY'S GREAT IDEA. Because we must mention that in every. single. freakin'. book.
The bulk of all Baby-Sitter's Club books are comprised of absolutely useless details, like who called when and what atrocities everyone was wearing or what sugar free snack Stacey the DIABETIC! is eating. In this book we learn that you aren't allowed to tape up pictures in your locker in Stoneybrook Middle, so the kids all used chewed gum. Uh... ew.
Logan goes on a trial baby-sitting job and does a really good job. The girls are all really uncomfortable around him though, since they can no longer talk about bra straps and cute boys. It is decided that Logan cannot join the club.
He can ask Mary Anne out though! Yay.
Meanwhile, Stacey is planning the first boy/girl party of their age group and is planning on surprising Mary Anne with a birthday cake while at the party.
Mary Anne sucks though, and is a little like those goats that faint when they get scared. Things do not go as planned.
Has Mary Anne lost her friends forever? Will Logan ever ask her out again? WILL SHE EVER GET A CAT.
These are the big questions in "Logan Likes Mary Anne."
To read our full recap, visit: "Logan Likes Mary Anne" - Because She Wants to Hug Every Cat.
Good quotes from that recap:
Lorraine: Which leaves Stacey, who Mary Anne informs us is super flashy and exciting and likes "doing things to her hair." Uh, like combing it? Or is she doing dirty things to her hair? I don't get what's going on here.
Sweeney: Mary Anne has a serious girl crush on Stacey. Because she's from New York. I wonder if Mary Anne knows that her New Yorker self would totally be a crazy cat lady on the outskirts of the city.
"We get to talk about little puberty boobs now. This isn't awkward AT ALL. See, Mary Anne finally bought a bra because she'd begun to grow boobs over the summer. This leaves Kristy as the only flat chested member. Aw. Hope your ideas keep you warm at night, Kristy."
"Wait, my sarcastic judgment has notches?!? My life is changed."
April 28, 2020
This book is very sweet and cute. It is hard to believe that Mary Anne is the first one in the babysitters club to have a steady boyfriend. You will enjoy this book. Happy reading!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 13, 2022
Logan Likes Maryanne
Maryanne has a crush on gorgeous teen actor Cam Gary. So imagine her surprise when she starts back as an eighth-grader and sees his dopple-ganger (Logan Bruno). Only she doesn’t have any classes with him so how will she ever manage to say something to him?
There’s a PTA meeting coming up, and Kristy (always thinking ahead) decides the BSC needs to up their game and start getting in some fliers to attract new clients.
But Claudia calls an emergency meeting at school because they seem to have bitten off a little more than they can chew. Calls are coming in like crazy during non-meeting hours.
Logan overhears and mentions that he’s done some sitting where he used to live and for his brother and sister. And they all hop on this and invite him to a meeting.
But because he’s a guy and they’re all female it kinda gets a little awkward when some topics come up. Not to mention Maryanne is a little flustered with him there and either is quiet or (and) klutzy.
A call comes in for a new client (Rodowsky) that has three boys and he needs a sitter for the 7-year-old. Kristy offers Logan the job but says one of them will have to come and check him out. It turns out Maryanne is the only one free.
The kid’s name is Jackie and while sitting for him he knocks over a shower curtain trying to climb it, spills juice all over the rug, gets his hand stuck in a jar, falls off his bike, rips his jeans, and make Maryanne fall into Logan’s arms. But it’s not all bad. At the end of the job he compliments her smile.
Claudia has a sitting job where she ends up chasing Chewy all around the neighborhood after she mistakenly takes him to meet Myriah at the bus stop and lets go of his leash and he takes off with her book bag. Only later does she catch him after he’s stolen a road worker’s cone.
The BSC can’t decide what to do about Logan. Even though he made a couple of mistakes on the job, he still proved to be a good sitter. The Rodowsky’s call, again and again, they’re all busy. Maryanne says she can rearrange her plans and they all vote that she should be the one to tell Logan about the job and the club, but when she does call, he says he’s changed his mind about the club. But he wants her to go to the Remember September dance with him. She accepts, but it bugs her that he turned the club down.
Stacey sits for Charlotte and gets the idea from her (after reading a book about birthdays) to throw Maryanne, not a surprise party (because she knows she’s shy) but to give her a surprise “cake”. Stacey tells Maryanne about the party and to invite Logan. Maryanne has no idea the party is for her.
The BSC goes shopping with Maryanne (her outfit sounds really cute) and preps her on her date. It gets off to an awkward start (Logan’s flower clashes with her outfit) and she’s nervous about dancing. But when she does start dancing with him, they’re fooling around and having fun, then her shoe flies off and almost hits the VP. Some kids see it and laugh and Maryanne (mortified) sits on the bleachers the rest of the night, while Logan dances with the other BSC girls. It’s all good with him tho, cause after the dance he tells her he’s glad he came with her because dancing with her was fun.
Logan and Maryanne start to date (go to movies and games). Kristy invites Dawn to a sleepover and admits she feels left out. They talk about her upcoming party (who they’ll go with, what they’ll get her).
At the party, Logan and Maryanne spend hours talking and he admits he likes her (she’s caring, she’s funny) but he didn’t know how it would go because she’s so shy. Then to make matter’s worse, Stacey turns down the lights and everyone starts to sing happy birthday. Maryanne gets the hell out of there. Maryanne waits at home for them to call or stop by and apologize. They don’t.
The next morning her Dad agrees to let her get a pet. So she and Logan go to the shelter and pick a gray tiger kitten and she names it Tigger. He also gives her a silver bracelet and invites her to another dance.
Maryanne and the others make up and they bring all her presents over and meet Tigger. They all decide that Logan can be an associate member so he won’t have to come to the meetings and they set him up with someone the Rodowsky’s know (to sit).
My Thoughts:
WHY THO ?! Why do extroverts always seem to get so PUSHY and AGGRESSIVE about throwing parties? I saw this in my own family just this year. I have a cousin that’s just 3 years old and already he’s “different”. He will talk to you (if there’s not a whole lot of people around). But then you just might find him in a room by himself playing a game on his phone.
His father himself turned down a surprise party a while back his wife and mother had tried to plan for him and he told them if they had the party he wasn’t coming.
So when they asked my little cousin, King, if he wanted a party he said NO. My cousin threw him a party anyway. And do you know what my little cousin King did? He stayed in his room, while the party went on outside.
I was so impressed with the fact that he could stand up for what he didn’t want and make them “hear him” at the age three. It’s something *I* myself didn’t learn how to do FAR into my adulthood because my family has SO many social outings.
Even today they don’t seem to understand sometimes that I’m just not gonna be at all the things they throw. They may make remarks but I’m comfortable now with just saying “Oh well”.
Which is why what Stacey and the rest of the BSC didn’t make ANY SENSE to me. Stacey didn’t want to throw Maryanne a surprise PARTY, but how did she think CALLING ATTENTION TO HER AND SIGNING TO HER IN FRONT OF A BUNCH OF PEOPLE was any better than having them flood her with lights and yell SURPRISE?! REALLY STACEY, DAWN, KRISTY, AND CLAUDIA. I don’t blame Maryanne for bolting!
I definitely don’t think she should have had guilt for ruining something her friends KNEW she wouldn’t like. It’s kinda like when my Dad had a party this year and my mom rented a party bus. I was having fun and dancing (in my seat) but then she got up and started dancing and tried to pull me up and I firmly danced with her (but in my seat).
You would *THINK* that if people know you for some years they’d know what you are and are not comfortable with and not everyone likes attention on them like that.
I applaud Maryanne tho for stepping out of her comfort zone. She did go to the Remember September dance and she agreed to go to the Fifties dance with Logan.
But you really shouldn’t have to compromise *who* you are. (When Maryanne tells Stacey she’ll be more outgoing). You don’t have to promise Stacey ANYTHING if that’s not who you are. (And trust me I’ve had people in my life to try to FORCE me to be someone I’m not). But the REAL people in your life will accept you in all your AWESOME INTROVERTNESS!
I did also relate to Kristy when she feels like Maryanne is moving on and leaving her behind. I have felt that with my best friend who got the good job, in another state, and the marriage. But I also learned like Dawn said no matter how far away from our city he may have gone, he never went that far from me at all.
I do like Logan for Maryanne. And then Logan gives some GOOD PRESENTS! Older adult men I’ve known don’t give the kinds of presents Logan does.
Also, I kinda loved that she got Tigger. I know it may sound funny but this year I got a stuffed, black, kitty and named him Tarot as a random gift from a family member and I’ve loved him so I can imagine how much Maryanne loved Tigger.
Even though this book is meant to show Maryanne’s growth as a character, you also cannot ignore Mr. Spier’s growth. He’s cool with her going on her first date. He’s cool with her dating Logan. He’s cool about her going to the party. He’s EXTREMELY cool about getting a pet! Mr. Spier is the real VIP in Logan likes Maryanne.
Rating: 8
Because I really understand this book I’ll give it a little higher rating. People really SHOULD NOT do this kind of stuff. It’s just NOT OK!
Maryanne has a crush on gorgeous teen actor Cam Gary. So imagine her surprise when she starts back as an eighth-grader and sees his dopple-ganger (Logan Bruno). Only she doesn’t have any classes with him so how will she ever manage to say something to him?
There’s a PTA meeting coming up, and Kristy (always thinking ahead) decides the BSC needs to up their game and start getting in some fliers to attract new clients.
But Claudia calls an emergency meeting at school because they seem to have bitten off a little more than they can chew. Calls are coming in like crazy during non-meeting hours.
Logan overhears and mentions that he’s done some sitting where he used to live and for his brother and sister. And they all hop on this and invite him to a meeting.
But because he’s a guy and they’re all female it kinda gets a little awkward when some topics come up. Not to mention Maryanne is a little flustered with him there and either is quiet or (and) klutzy.
A call comes in for a new client (Rodowsky) that has three boys and he needs a sitter for the 7-year-old. Kristy offers Logan the job but says one of them will have to come and check him out. It turns out Maryanne is the only one free.
The kid’s name is Jackie and while sitting for him he knocks over a shower curtain trying to climb it, spills juice all over the rug, gets his hand stuck in a jar, falls off his bike, rips his jeans, and make Maryanne fall into Logan’s arms. But it’s not all bad. At the end of the job he compliments her smile.
Claudia has a sitting job where she ends up chasing Chewy all around the neighborhood after she mistakenly takes him to meet Myriah at the bus stop and lets go of his leash and he takes off with her book bag. Only later does she catch him after he’s stolen a road worker’s cone.
The BSC can’t decide what to do about Logan. Even though he made a couple of mistakes on the job, he still proved to be a good sitter. The Rodowsky’s call, again and again, they’re all busy. Maryanne says she can rearrange her plans and they all vote that she should be the one to tell Logan about the job and the club, but when she does call, he says he’s changed his mind about the club. But he wants her to go to the Remember September dance with him. She accepts, but it bugs her that he turned the club down.
Stacey sits for Charlotte and gets the idea from her (after reading a book about birthdays) to throw Maryanne, not a surprise party (because she knows she’s shy) but to give her a surprise “cake”. Stacey tells Maryanne about the party and to invite Logan. Maryanne has no idea the party is for her.
The BSC goes shopping with Maryanne (her outfit sounds really cute) and preps her on her date. It gets off to an awkward start (Logan’s flower clashes with her outfit) and she’s nervous about dancing. But when she does start dancing with him, they’re fooling around and having fun, then her shoe flies off and almost hits the VP. Some kids see it and laugh and Maryanne (mortified) sits on the bleachers the rest of the night, while Logan dances with the other BSC girls. It’s all good with him tho, cause after the dance he tells her he’s glad he came with her because dancing with her was fun.
Logan and Maryanne start to date (go to movies and games). Kristy invites Dawn to a sleepover and admits she feels left out. They talk about her upcoming party (who they’ll go with, what they’ll get her).
At the party, Logan and Maryanne spend hours talking and he admits he likes her (she’s caring, she’s funny) but he didn’t know how it would go because she’s so shy. Then to make matter’s worse, Stacey turns down the lights and everyone starts to sing happy birthday. Maryanne gets the hell out of there. Maryanne waits at home for them to call or stop by and apologize. They don’t.
The next morning her Dad agrees to let her get a pet. So she and Logan go to the shelter and pick a gray tiger kitten and she names it Tigger. He also gives her a silver bracelet and invites her to another dance.
Maryanne and the others make up and they bring all her presents over and meet Tigger. They all decide that Logan can be an associate member so he won’t have to come to the meetings and they set him up with someone the Rodowsky’s know (to sit).
My Thoughts:
WHY THO ?! Why do extroverts always seem to get so PUSHY and AGGRESSIVE about throwing parties? I saw this in my own family just this year. I have a cousin that’s just 3 years old and already he’s “different”. He will talk to you (if there’s not a whole lot of people around). But then you just might find him in a room by himself playing a game on his phone.
His father himself turned down a surprise party a while back his wife and mother had tried to plan for him and he told them if they had the party he wasn’t coming.
So when they asked my little cousin, King, if he wanted a party he said NO. My cousin threw him a party anyway. And do you know what my little cousin King did? He stayed in his room, while the party went on outside.
I was so impressed with the fact that he could stand up for what he didn’t want and make them “hear him” at the age three. It’s something *I* myself didn’t learn how to do FAR into my adulthood because my family has SO many social outings.
Even today they don’t seem to understand sometimes that I’m just not gonna be at all the things they throw. They may make remarks but I’m comfortable now with just saying “Oh well”.
Which is why what Stacey and the rest of the BSC didn’t make ANY SENSE to me. Stacey didn’t want to throw Maryanne a surprise PARTY, but how did she think CALLING ATTENTION TO HER AND SIGNING TO HER IN FRONT OF A BUNCH OF PEOPLE was any better than having them flood her with lights and yell SURPRISE?! REALLY STACEY, DAWN, KRISTY, AND CLAUDIA. I don’t blame Maryanne for bolting!
I definitely don’t think she should have had guilt for ruining something her friends KNEW she wouldn’t like. It’s kinda like when my Dad had a party this year and my mom rented a party bus. I was having fun and dancing (in my seat) but then she got up and started dancing and tried to pull me up and I firmly danced with her (but in my seat).
You would *THINK* that if people know you for some years they’d know what you are and are not comfortable with and not everyone likes attention on them like that.
I applaud Maryanne tho for stepping out of her comfort zone. She did go to the Remember September dance and she agreed to go to the Fifties dance with Logan.
But you really shouldn’t have to compromise *who* you are. (When Maryanne tells Stacey she’ll be more outgoing). You don’t have to promise Stacey ANYTHING if that’s not who you are. (And trust me I’ve had people in my life to try to FORCE me to be someone I’m not). But the REAL people in your life will accept you in all your AWESOME INTROVERTNESS!
I did also relate to Kristy when she feels like Maryanne is moving on and leaving her behind. I have felt that with my best friend who got the good job, in another state, and the marriage. But I also learned like Dawn said no matter how far away from our city he may have gone, he never went that far from me at all.
I do like Logan for Maryanne. And then Logan gives some GOOD PRESENTS! Older adult men I’ve known don’t give the kinds of presents Logan does.
Also, I kinda loved that she got Tigger. I know it may sound funny but this year I got a stuffed, black, kitty and named him Tarot as a random gift from a family member and I’ve loved him so I can imagine how much Maryanne loved Tigger.
Even though this book is meant to show Maryanne’s growth as a character, you also cannot ignore Mr. Spier’s growth. He’s cool with her going on her first date. He’s cool with her dating Logan. He’s cool about her going to the party. He’s EXTREMELY cool about getting a pet! Mr. Spier is the real VIP in Logan likes Maryanne.
Rating: 8
Because I really understand this book I’ll give it a little higher rating. People really SHOULD NOT do this kind of stuff. It’s just NOT OK!
December 1, 2021
A fun and quick read to end the month of November with.
November 29, 2022
Read via audio (narrated by Emily Bauer).
October 21, 2020
Ahh Logan Bruno and Mary Anne Spier were #relationshipgoals back in the day. Five stars for the nostalgia factor.
February 5, 2025
What a fun trip down memory lane! I wish all the audiobooks were available from the library so I could listen to more.
February 4, 2021
It was a good book, showing the start of one of the original relationships of the babysitter club.
May 18, 2019
A few podcasts I listen to have mentioned the BSC, which made me want to take a nostalgic trip of my own. So I picked a random book from the pile I rescued from my mom's book purge and channeled my 10-year-old self for 90 minutes. So much fun. This book brought back little nuances of my childhood: how much I loved the word "sophisticated" (so grown up!), how I pronounced "snob" as "snobe" for the longest time, how I burned with envy every time it's mentioned that Claudia has her own private phone line, the anxiety and excitement you feel on your first day of school. The Baby-Sitters Club idea is just good business sense and I still wish it could be a real thing. And stumbling on the name Morbidda Destiny again was a delight. PERFECT name for a villain. Growing up I was convinced that the old lady next door to my cousins' house was Morbidda Destiny. Kinda feel bad about that now...
So it was a fun experience from a nostalgia standpoint, obviously. But I was pleasantly surprised by how well written the book was. Written for a younger audience, sure, but not dumbed down. The girls deal with relatable, realistic challenges. A lot of the classics my generation grew up on I wouldn't feel comfortable passing on to the next generation, but I wouldn't hesitate to put these books into a child's hands today. These books are a product of their time, but that's no reason to stop loving them.
So it was a fun experience from a nostalgia standpoint, obviously. But I was pleasantly surprised by how well written the book was. Written for a younger audience, sure, but not dumbed down. The girls deal with relatable, realistic challenges. A lot of the classics my generation grew up on I wouldn't feel comfortable passing on to the next generation, but I wouldn't hesitate to put these books into a child's hands today. These books are a product of their time, but that's no reason to stop loving them.
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