BSC AG

Girl of the Year 2026: Raquel Reyes Saves the Wedding

2026-10-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Angela Cervantes

Illustrators: Fatima Anaya and Maike Plenzke

Published: 2026

Summary

Raquel is ready to help her family kick off summer at the family paleta (frozen dessert) shop. She's got the deejay set she was given for her recent tenth birthday, and the Kansas City sun is bringing the heat. It's a great way to start an exciting summer. And in a few days, Raquel and her family are heading to New England for a wedding on her mother's side (her abuela will manage the store while the others are gone). Raquel's especially hopeful she'll be able to reconnect with her cousin Sloan: they always had a good time as younger kids, but it's been half a decade since they've seen each other.

The wedding will be held at the family mansion in Mount Bedford--yes, Samantha Parkington's home. Raquel, her brother, and her cousins are Samantha's great-great-grandchildren. Raquel and Harper (the cousin who's getting married) go to the mansion to look for a "something old" for the wedding, and in searching, Raquel finds Samantha's diary from 1906. She quickly gets to reading it, feeling a deeper connection with her ancestor.

And it turns out to be very handy as well. Sloan seems to run hot and cold, excited to see Raquel at one moment and then cold the next. It's through Samantha's advice of patience that Raquel is finally able to get Sloan to open up: Sloan's birth mother (she was adopted as a baby) has reached out to see if she and Sloan can meet, and now Sloan is worried that she's not really part of her adoptive family. Raquel helps Sloan feel wanted and loved--just in time for them to help a pair of dolphins stranded on the beach. They call Harper (she and her fiancé are marine biologists) and are able to keep the gathering crowd from worsening the situation until professional help arrives.

Raquel and her family are in New England for a long time for the wedding, enough for Raquel to cheer on Sloan and another cousin in a pickleball tournament. Raquel deejays during the event, offering song requests for donations to help dolphin rescue. Her cousins come in second, and donate their $200 prize to funds--and the first-place team does the same with the $500 prize! Raquel and her cousins and brother are able to give the bride and groom over $800 for the dolphin rescue as a wedding present.

And that's not all: just like Samantha Saves the Wedding, there's a problem with the bride's veil: the dry cleaner lost it. Raquel and Sloan remember that they saw a lacy item in the attic, and it turns to be the very same veil worn in the other book's wedding. AND the wedding band comes down with food poisoning, so Raquel does the music for the wedding as well!

Misc

The author dedicates her book to "my primas, who make life more fun!"

Harper (the cousin getting married) gives a brief biography of Samantha Parkington. Most of what she tells we know from the earlier books, but we also learn that Samantha was a teacher who founded a school for girls.

Raquel takes her Pomeranian on the trip... but also on the whale-watching boat tour. That seems like a terrible idea!

Sloan teaches Raquel pickleball. Pickleball is the official state sport of Washington, and was invented on Bainbridge Island (across Puget Sound from Seattle). It's named for the inventor's dog.

Dawn on the Coast (GN#19)

2026-08-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Publication Date: 2026

Ghostwriter? The original novel was ghostwritten by Jan Car, but the text copyright is still given to Ann M. Martin

Illustrator: Arley Nopra

Synopsis:

No real changes from the original book.

Established or continued in this book:

The Girls (and Logan):

Claudia candy: none mentioned, but at a meeting of the We ♥ Kids Club, Dawn enjoys apple slices with natural peanut butter (the girl offering them specifies that it's natural peanut butter--awkward, as it would be normal for her, but making a point to the reader about healthy snacks being more common with Dawn's California friends), as well as carrot sticks.

Dawn in her room:

I like the illustration of the BSC hanging out, showcasing their different interests and personalities:

Their Families:

Trip-man mention!

The Pike family:

The Club (and clients):

The Perkinses, Newtons, and Feldmans:

SMS: school break

PSA Time: nothing stood out

Misc:

Martin uses the dedication page to state "I would like to thank Jan Carr for her help in writing this book."

Nopra dedicates the book to "my family outside Ontario--the Sangalangs, Rullodas, Magnos, Asodisens, Reyeses, Duldulaos, Laurentes, Hernandezes, Fajardos, and Nopras: I fondely remembered our vacations together while working on this book. I treasure all the joyful moments we've shared and look forward to our next reunion!"

In the Karen's Surprise (the Baby-sitters Little Sister graphic novel published the same year as this), a classmate mentions visiting "Wander World" in Florida. Dawn goes to "Wander Land" in California. In the original BSC book, it's just Disneyland. And that font sure is reminiscent of something...

The We ♥ Kids Club, with (left to right) Maggie, Sunny, and Jill.

Dawn baby-sitting for her old charges, Clover and Daffodil:

The secret tunnel at Dawn's house (I'm still sad The Ghost at Dawn's House wasn't adapted to a graphic novel):

Karen's Surprise (LSGN#12)

2026-06-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Publication date: 2026

Illustrator: Shauna Grant

Synopsis:

Karen's class is putting on a school play for Thanksgiving. Rather than have tryouts, names are simply drawn out of a hat for the different parts. Karen's annoyed to be assigned the role of turkey (a roast turkey; most of the class are various Thanksgiving dinner foods) and only be able to be on stage for a little bit. With some inspiration from Kristy, Karen writes a little song for the food to sing. Everyone's happy with it, especially the students now get to have a more satisfying part in the play.

But Karen surprises everyone during the play by busting out a long solo (everyone had a line or two; Karen does a whole dance number). Her classmates and teacher are upset with her, but no one in the audience knows she wasn't supposed to do that. Her teacher talks to Karen about the importance of staying in her lane and not potentially causing a group effort to go off the rails, and Karen seems to understand.

Meanwhile, there's the question of what to do for the holiday itself. Both Karen's mom and Karen's dad want her and Andrew to have Thanksgiving dinner with them, and on the actual date, so Karen and Andrew are going to have two Thanksgiving dinners. Two little kids, with (age-appropriate) poor self-control, given access to a bunch of their favorite foods, and rushed from one place to another and back (not evening spending the night at their dad's). Maybe this sort of thing is why Karen and Andrew's parents divorced.

After Karen and Andrew feel guilty for leaving their grandparents at their mom's house and delaying dinner for the hungry family at their dad's house, and then being too tired and full to enjoy anything, their parents do realize their mistake and apologize for putting their wants ahead of the kids' needs. They promise to be more careful the future.

Continuity related to BSC books:

The Baby-sitters Club is mentioned in passing.

Misc:

Martin dedicates the book to "Susan and Ashley, who keep my life from being too surprising. Thank you."

Grant dedicates the book to "Nola, Lola, and the niblings in my life. Keep reaching for your dreams!"

While she can be a brat, it's easy to feel bad for Karen when you see how often she has to comfort her brother who's not that much younger than she is.

Karen and her class in costume:

Jessi Ramsey, Pet Sitter (GN#18)

2026-01-01T07:30:00.000-08:00

Publication Date: 2025

Ghostwriter? No, the text copyright is for Ann M. Martin.

Illustrator: Ellen T. Crenshaw with color by Braden Lamb and Beniam C. Hollman

Synopsis:

No real changes from the original book, just a few "modern" updates like the talking parrot mimicking a commercial that's clearly for cell phones, and Jessi's mom having a cell phone. The drawings of the pets are great!

Established or continued in this book:

The Girls (and Logan):

Claudia candy:

Jessi's oft-forgotten reading glasses!

Their Families:

Jessi and Becca with their first pet, Misty the hamster. I like that Becca is sporting a protective hairstyle:

The Club (and clients):

Jamie Newton and Nina Marshall, with Mrs. Perkins (her dog escaped):

Gabby and Myriah Perkins, with the Mancusis' snake:

The club voting on whether they should switch roles:

SMS: nothing stood out

PSA Time: nothing stood out

Misc:

Martin dedicates this book to her friends "Nicole, Anna, Rebecca, Katie, and Alison" and Crenshaw to "Paloma, Sam, and Rini. You bring me joy and inspiration every day!"

The menagerie:

Karen's Ghost (LSGN #11)

2025-09-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Publication date: 2025

Illustrators: D. K. Yingst, with color by Braden Lamb

Synopsis:

Halloween is coming, and Karen could hardly be more excited. Her class is going to mark the occasion by telling scary stories. Despite it not being a competition, Karen is determined to have the scariest one. With Kristy's help, she researches her great-grandfather, Ben Brewer, whose ghost is said to haunt the attic of her father's house. According to a diary (written by Ben's son) that they find, Ben's ghost holds a birthday party every ten years on his birthday--this Halloween is the next one!

When the night finally arrives, Karen lays awake (sneaking a bit of candy), and sure enough, she hears noises and even smells cake baking. And the diary is in her room when she wakes up. In the morning, she reports this to her family, only to find mundane explanations for everything--her stepmother baked a cake in the middle of the night to celebrate Emily Michelle being able to count to ten (...'kay), older kids were setting off fireworks, etc.

However, the diary itself is left unexplained, as is the fact that Karen notices a few pages stuck together that she and Kristy hadn't seen before. Peeling them apart, Karen learns that as a child, Ben had a fight with a close friend and uninvited him from his tenth birthday party. Before they could make, the friend died. According to the diary, that friend's ghost haunted Ben for the rest of this life, and in death, Ben has a party every ten years to appease his friend's ghost.

Continuity related to BSC books:

Stoneybrook having been originally spelled with an E ("Stoneybrooke") comes up from time to time in the BSC books.

Misc:

Martin dedicates the book to Paula.

Grant dedicates the book to "my mom, who handmade all my Halloween costumes, and my dad, who firmly believes full-size candy bars are the best treats. And thank you to Rachael and Karmyn; I enjoyed going trick-or-treating with you as I wrote this book."

Emily Michelle is in this book more than she has been in most others (including most of the Baby-sitter Club books).

My brother's birthday is on Halloween, like Ben Brewer. Mine is shortly after--my mom dressed as a jack-o-lantern the year I was born.

Karen's Prize (LSGN#10)

2025-08-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Publication date: 2025

Ghostwriter for the original novel: Stephanie Calmenson

Illustrators: Shauna J. Grant, with color by Braden Lamb

Synopsis:

Karen's class is going to have a spelling bee, and the winner will go on compete in a school-wide bee, and the winner in a county-wide bee, and the winner of THAT one will compete for the state title. Karen, being not only a good speller but also competitive, is beyond excited. She studies hard, and wins the class bee.

Karen has every right to be proud of her hard work, but she quickly gets obnoxious and condescending about it. Andrew rightly calls her out on being a sore winner, and while Karen briefly thinks about not letting it go to her head, the lesson doesn't stick long. In her defense, Karen gets some pretty mixed signals from her teacher after winning the next round: the same day the teacher has a party specifically to honor Karen's achievements, she ineffectually makes a vague attempt to talk about winning graciously. Her friends start to get tired of the bragging--being proud is one thing, but Karen is being prideful. Karen goes on to win the county spelling bee, despite nearly losing her concentration when she hears Emily Michelle crying in the audience. After, the preschooler cheers for Karen, who immediately berates her for the interruption. Ouch.

Karen must feel a little chagrined; she resolves to not bring up the spelling bee and just politely say "thank you" when congratulated. Her friend thaw a bit toward her, but Karen can't control her competitive streak and tries to make contest out of simple playground games. Her friends give her the cold shoulder again.

Finally, it's the night of the state spelling bee. Karen feels confident, even cocky, but comes in second. She has a heart-to-heart with Kristy, who both helps her figure out how to make up for being a sore winner and feel good about herself for doing as well as she did. Second-best speller in the state is nothing to sneeze at!

Continuity related to BSC books: brief mention of the BSC

Misc:

Grant dedicates the book to "my friends, my sisters. Thank you for your endless love and support."

Unlike the others, this book is written in present tense. It's weird.

In second or third grade, my teacher held the spelling bee a few days early, to pass time during a power outage. I won it, but a classmate's mother complained about it being held early which she found unfair and we had to redo it. I didn't win that time. Neither did the classmate. For the record, that classmate wasn't upset and tried to stop her mom from complaining. She and I are actually friends to this day; she's a very nice person.

There were a couple words I misspelled while typing this. It bothered me more than it should have!

At first I thought it was odd that there were only eight contestants in the final round, but it turns out Connecticut only had eight counties when this was published as a chapter book in 1990. It now has nine "councils of government" which replaced its eight counties in 2022. The only states with fewer counties are Delaware (three), Hawaii (five), and Rhode Island (five). The average number of counties or equivalents per state is 62. Texas has the most with 254, while Georgia is a distant second at 159. My state, Washington, has 39.

One of my nephews has won his school's spelling bee (all grades competing kindergarten though eighth grade) a couple times. But his classmates happily cheer him on, so he must not be a sore winner; good for him!

Karen's Grandmothers (LSGN #9)

2025-07-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Publication date: 2024

Ghostwriter? No, the text copyright is for Ann M. Martin

Illustrators: D.Y. Yingst, with color by Braden Lamb

Synopsis:

Karen's class is participating in an "adopt a grandparent" program, pairing the students with residents at a nearby nursing home. Karen's excited, figuring she'll set a record for number of grandmothers, since she already has four: her parents' two mothers and her stepparents' two mothers. But why is Nancy so reluctant? She has such a small family--just her and her parents. Surely she'd want a grandparent, right?

Turns out, Nancy is afraid of old people. She says sometimes she wishes she had grandparents, but she also worries she'd be afraid of them, too. Determined to help her friend, Karen writes to her granny (her stepdad's mother, in Nebraska), describing Nancy and asking if Granny would like to be a penpal grandmother. That would help feel connected to someone and gradually get used to older people.

Meanwhile, Karen gets to know Grandma B, her adopted grandmother at the nursing home. When she returns home one day, there's a letter from Granny--she's agreed to be Nancy's penpal grandmother, and sent her a letter! Full of pictures... Karen didn't get a nice long letter with pictures from Grandma B. And Granny sends Nancy personalized mittens that she knit. Grandma B just talks about her other grandchildren (who live in another state). But Nancy is excited, so Karen tries not to feel jealous.

A solution presents itself when Karen's class visits the nursing home to put on a play for the residents. Though nervous, Nancy soldiers on, even meeting Grandma B--who, it turns out, is Jewish, just like Nancy and her family. They actually have quite a bit in common, far more than Karen did, and they get along really well. It doesn't take long for Grandma B to be invited to temple with the Dawes family, and when Karen starts a different extracurricular activity, Nancy has officially adopted Grandma B, and Karen's back to four grandmothers.

Continuity related to BSC books: nothing stood out beyond the description of the family dynamics of the Brewer household.

Misc:

Martin dedicates this book to Bethany Buck, "who helps make Karen come alive." Yingst dedicates it to "my mom and dad. Congratulations on the birth of your first grandchild, my niece, Eloise Rose."

Karen may have five grandmothers, but I've had six with an argument to be made for seven. Not all at once though: my paternal grandfather survived his first two wives, marrying again after they died. My maternal grandparents divorced and both remarried. My maternal grandfather married a third time after his second wife died, and my mom's stepdad also remarried after her mom died. Her stepdad and his second wife don't have a traditional grandparent relationship with me, but they are definitely part of the family as well as very nice people.

I do love that Karen thinks of her stepgrandparents as family, and vice versa. While my household is the "traditional" nuclear family, my parents grew up in blended families (their siblings include full, half, step, and adopted siblings). But beyond it being a trivia point, it's never mattered to use whether we're related by blood, and I love seeing that attitude presented so casually. (One of them went by Granny to pretty much everyone who wasn't her child, so it's funny to me that Nancy feels like she should come up with her own name for Karen's granny, calling her "Big Mama" instead.)

Grandma B

The Three Musketeers

Mallory and the Trouble with Twins (GN#17)

2025-05-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Publication Date: 2025

Ghostwriter? No, the text copyright is for Ann M. Martin.

Illustrator: Arly Nopra with color by Braden Lamb and Jason Caffoe

Synopsis:

Pretty close to the original book, with cute fashion drawings.

Established or continued in this book:

The Girls (and Logan): nothing stood out

Claudia candy: no candy, but Claudia does hide the earrings she made under her bed.

Their Families:

The Pikes in their ten-person van:

The Club (and clients):

The club is introduced in past tense. It's weird. "The president was Kristy Thomas" instead of "The president is Kristy Thomas."

Logan and Shannon:

SMS:

School hallway:

PSA Time: nothing stood out

Misc:

Martin dedicates this book to the "Palladinoas and Ameses, especially Kathy" and Nopra to "everyone on an exciting journey of self-discovery."

It starts:

Interesting; it was a piercing gun in the original book but this updated to use the more modern piercing technique. Still no parents needed. When my daughters got their ears pierced, we went to a piercing studio (this is in a mall) and the studio required a parent or guardian plus a birth certificate, because they won't pierce kids under eight.

Girl of the Year 2025: Summer Gets to Work

2025-04-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Clare Hutton

Illustrators: Maike Plenzke and Allison Steinfeld
Published: 2025

Summary

Summer's still enjoying making and selling baked goods, and it's going well enough that she and her best friend Daisy think they'll be able to raise the funds to attend an "animal camp" where they'll learn about taking care of animals by shadowing veterinarians--from common pets to zoo animals. Soon the pair are busy advertising their various pet services (homemade pet treats, walking, grooming, training) and preparing for an upcoming craft fair. Plus, Summer's still volunteering at the animal shelter. For someone whose nickname is Vacation, she's not resting much!

Furthermore, being ten, Summer and Daisy come up against some obstacles. They don't quite know how to communicate their needs without feeling rude or pushy, and they overcommit themselves. They make a bit of progress when the have a couple conversations with adults who are very understanding that the girls are close to burn-out (e.g.; Summer is going to take a break from volunteering at the pet shelter). But the two them still can't communicate well with each.

Things come to a head when the two are baking and Daisy gets embarrassed at not being able to decorate the dog treats as well as Summer, and Summer can't find a diplomatic way to tell her. After a heart-to-heart with her mom and a chance to cool off, Summer is able to patch things up with Daphne. They agree that some things they can do together, but others are best leaving the business partners to their individual strengths.

Thanks to working together but not necessarily identically, Summer and Daisy raise enough money at the craft fair for the camp--and then some!

Misc

The author dedicates her book to "Alicia Hutton, rescuer of lonely cats."

Katie Flory, who works for the Maryland Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and Janear Garrus, who founded the Chesapeake Educational Alliance and works with homeschoolers, both advised on the book.

The copy I got from the library has some weird printing issues. There are a few pages where the letters appear to be reprint almost on top of themselves, making the words slightly doubled and blurry.

The book is full of little hints and tricks for working with and understanding dogs and cats and keeping them happy and healthy.

The end of the book has a couple recipes for cat treats, and a personality quiz designed to help young girls see what sorts of businesses they might be good at.

Girl of the Year 2025: My Journal by Summer McKinny

2025-02-01T07:30:00.000-08:00

Author: Clare Hutton

Illustrators: Maike Plenzke and Allison Steinfeld
Published: 2025

Summary

Summer McKinny is a ten-year-old girl growing up in Columbia, Maryland. Through her journal, we learn about how she convinced her parents to let her adopt a dog, showing that she was responsible and trustworthy. Her dog, Crescent, is a year old as the journal starts (in September). Things are going well, and Summer can't wait for her Aunt Olivia to visit while their mom is away on a business trip!

But Aunt Olivia brings a surprise: her cat (it doesn't seem like Summer's parents knew, either). Crescent isn't used to cats, and Fettucine (the cat) isn't used to dogs. Plus, Aunt Olivia used to be scared of dogs, and is still pretty nervous around them.

This all seems well-planned...

Summer doesn't think it's fair that Crescent has to be outside so much, because Fettucine keeps escaping the guest room Aunt Olivia's staying in. And she's worried that all the bonding Aunt Olivia and Summer's older sister, Holly, are doing over the cat. Is Summer being pushed out? But she has plenty of good things going on as well: with her dad's permission, she starts a dog-walking business that she loves, and she volunteers regularly at the shelter where she got Crescent. There's also a contest at an upcoming craft fair that Summer just knows she can win--she'll make homemade dog treats!

Of course, that's a lot for one ten-year-old. On her aunt's advice (Aunt Olivia owns a small business), Summer delegates some tasks to Holly, paying her to walk the dogs some days. That goes pretty well until one day when Fettucine escapes (Summer gets the cat back, and learns that the cat has diabetes in the process). Holly blames Summer, and doesn't want to work for her anymore. It becomes a whole thing until Summer gets some advice from the pet shelter, and the sisters are able to move past their fight and work together. And Crescent and Fettucine learn to enjoy each other's company!

The craft fair is coming up too, and Aunt Olivia provides guidance for Summer. She ends up winning the prize for best business presentation, and her mom arrives home from her trip in time to see it happen.

Before Aunt Olivia heads home, she has a surprise (that she explicitly says she cleared with brother and sister-in-law): it's a senior cat from the shelter! Summer and Holly are thrilled that they now have two pets to love.

Misc

The author dedicates her book to "Fiona, who wishes she had a dog."

Katie Flory, who works for the Maryland Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and Jannear Garrus, who founded the Chesapeake Educational Alliance and works with homeschoolers, both advised on the book.

Summer was born on the first day of summer. Her sister Holly was born on the first day of winter.

My mother-in-law asked me if I'm a dog person or a cat person. I've decided that overall, I'm a lazy person. Cats are good if you want to really lean into that since they don't need as much work (especially short-haired cats), and dogs are good if you want motivation to do things like go for a walk. At the moment, I have two cats and one dog.

There's a lot of tidbits about good business practices sprinkled throughout the book, like keeping track of expenses and marketing.

The end of the book has a recipe for dog treats, and an interview with a nine-year-old business owner.

Kristy and the Walking Disaster (GN#16)

2024-11-01T07:00:00.002-07:00

Publication Date: 2024

Ghostwriter? No, the text copyright is for Ann M. Martin.

Illustrator: Ellen T. Crenshaw with color by Braden Lamb and Jason Caffoe

Synopsis:

Pretty close to the original book--although something about this version was way easier to read. It's not as boring in this format.

Established or continued in this book:

The Girls (and Logan):

Claudia candy: She's seen looking for some under her bed, and finding a long-lost paintbrush

Kristy's squeamish reaction to loose teeth is still intact:

Their Families:

Angry Boo-Boo!

It's not good to let Karen do things like this. It's going to make life difficult for her in the long run.

The Club (and clients):

Club meeting, with Tigger--who escapes to Janine's room:

The Rodowsky family, without red hair. And Kristy even references it by still calling Archie "red." No, you're not The Shawshank Redemption, you're one of the most boring BSC books; you don't get to do that.
(For those not in the know, the character of Red in the book is so named because he has red hair, but Morgan Freeman was--perfectly--cast to play him in the movie, and being Black, does not have red hair. In the movie he's asked why he's called Red and jokes, "Maybe it's 'cause I'm Irish." A blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment also reveals his last name to be Redding.)

SMS: nothing new

PSA Time: nothing stood out

Misc:

Martin dedicates this book to the "members of the Lunch Club" and Crenshaw to "Mom and Dad. Thank you for evening readings of the comics pages; for grammar lessons, swing dancing, sing-alongs, and endless hands of rummy. Most of all, thank you for enthusiastically supporting my career as an artist."

I love the way American Sign Language is portrayed throughout the book. The bolded words are the ones being signed, and they're drawn well.

Karen's Sleepover (LSGN#8)

2024-10-01T07:00:00.001-07:00

Publication date: 2024

Ghostwriter? No, the text copyright is for Ann M. Martin

Illustrators: Katy Farina

Synopsis:

Karen is set to host her first sleepover party, and of course is beyond excited. She brainstorms with Kristy about what to do, and even hand-writes invitations and mails them. But Nancy doesn't get hers, and gets furious about feeling left out--all the other girls in the class got invitations! She does it get a few days later, but Karen's already so mad at Nancy's behavior over something completely out of Karen's control (she mailed them all the same day from the same place) that she un-invites Nancy. They're not best friends anymore; they're best enemies.

It's a stupid fight, but a completely believable one for seven-year-olds.

Distraction comes in the form of Pamela Harding, a new girl to the class. She's super cool and sophisticated. Naturally, Karen is eager to befriend her, and invites her to the sleepover. The big day arrives, but Karen and her other friends quickly notice that Pamela is too busy acting too mature for everything to have fun, and makes them feel like babies for liking what they do. After talking with Kristy for a bit, Karen calls Nancy and they make up, and she comes over to rescue the party. She's able to let the snide comments roll off her back (e.g.; Pamela says she only sleeps in beds, not sleeping bags; Nancy calmly says, "How boring.") and get the party back on track. The next day after the other classmates have gone home, Karen, Nancy, and Hannie reflect that they've had a few fights, usually over silly things. They vow to become the Three Musketeers, and be friends for life.

Continuity related to BSC books:

"Kristy and her friends in the Baby-sitters Club have lots of sleepovers." True.

Misc:

Martin dedicates this book in honor of "the birth of Emma Feiwel" and Farina to "all the readers who have joined me on my adventures with Karen."

Drawings of Angry Boo-Boo are always gold.

Pamela Harding:

Subtle but sweet touch: Charlie is holding Andrew and Emily Michelle on his lap to read them a book.

Julie and the Blue Guitar

2024-08-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Published in 2024; author Casey Gilly; illustrator Felia Hanakata; with layout by Sarah Stern, coloring by Sunbiscuit, and lettering by Joamette Gil

Plot

Fifth-grader Emma Dhillon has just moved to San Francisco, to an apartment in the building where Julie used to live with her mom. The building now has a thrift shop, where Emma finds Julie's old diary. She and Julie have a lot in common, most notably their parents' recent divorces. Through the diary, Emma gets a glimpse into Julie's life during the events of the Julie mystery book The Silver Guitar (the story's not identical, but it's very close and the book jacket mentions it with credit to that author; I'm betting that the color switch was due to wanting a color that stood out more for the graphic novel). Here, the titular guitar is said to have belonged to folk singer Lacey Blick rather than a Jimi Hendrix expy, the Vernons' cat is very sweet instead of spoiled, the Vernons both enthusiastically enjoy collecting a few sentimental and historical items some of which also go missing, and Mrs. Vernon is very nice. The stolen items end up having been hocked to various stores, and Julie and TJ track them down (except for a baseball signed by Willie Mays), eventually linking the thefts to the pair of photographers hired to document the items for the auction.

First page of Julie's journal

As Emma reads the tale in the journal, she's inspired to make a movie about trying to track down Julie. She and her dad travel to some of the places mentioned in the journal--they figure it's a good way to learn about their new home. In the process, Emma, who's naturally very shy, ends up befriending Hana, who helps Emma with research at the library. Not only is Emma able to find Julie, she also finds the autographed baseball--the thieves used to live in the apartment that Emma and her dad moved to, and Emma finds small hidden door, with the baseball behind it. She's able to present it to Julie in person, who in turn contacts the Vernons' nephew (the Vernons have passed away). The nephew lets Emma keep it, and she auctions it off for charity.

Emma meets Julie, who's on the San Francisco city council

Emma finishes her movie, shows it in her new school, and soon has joined the AV club. She's happy to have found a way to both be herself and make friends.

A Peek into the Past

This section talks about some of the famous 70s music stars like Jimi Hendrix, and how they "played hard and died young" leaving valuable memorabilia that has been auctioned for various causes. The 70s also saw a large wave of benefit activities like concerts and other fundraisers to help with everything from school funding to environmental concerns.

Misc

This is the first book a new series, Mysteries Across Time. There is a book featuring Isabel and Nicki...and Bigfoot announced for next year. I hope The X-Files gets a mention; it was not only very popular in their time period but a good chunk of the series was filmed in the Pacific Northwest.
UPDATE JANUARY 2026: Reports indicate that neither this book, nor any other Mysteries Across Time book, will be published.

Special thanks are given to Janelle Asselin, Katherine Cartwright, Jodie Goldberg, Jennifer Hirsch, Vaeries Paulin, Molly Schlichting, and Wendy Walsh for their "invaluable assistance."

The last two pages of the book are a spread informing the reader how graphic novels are made.

One of the items that's featured in the 70s is an antique friendship quilt, which may well be the one from Happy Birthday, Kirsten!

I like that the librarian is in a wheelchair but it's not a big deal. You'd never know aside from the illustrations--same case for Emma being POC. Visual media is great for this sort of thing.

This is genuinely great representation and I love it

Girl of the Year 2024: Lila Goes for the Gold

2024-05-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Erin Falligant
Illustrator: Vivienne To
Published: 2024

Summary

Lila Monetti is a gymnast growing up in St. Paul, MN. She loves gymnastics, and is aspiring to make the top-level Gold team at her gym. Even better, her best friend Katie is joining the gym! Lila is thrilled when Coach McKenna (yes, it's that McKenna; she's in Minnesota for college) announces a mock meet to try out for the Gold team. But when she and Katie are visiting their favorite horse at a nearby stable, a sound spooks the animal and it steps on Lila's toe, bruising it badly. She still tries to push forward with gymnastics, and injures it more. Now she'll have to sit out a week of practice, and the mock meet is less than a month away. But she practices as she's able, and when the mock meet rolls around, she performs better than she ever has, and makes the Gold team!

Lila's thrilled, and excited for the new challenges that lie ahead. But Katie, who had been on the verge of terrified the whole time, turns out to like neither competition nor the spotlight. And while the two best friends work together to try to keep Coach McKenna from being homesick, they're starting to have less and less in common. Is their friendship in trouble as well as their coach?

Maybe, especially after Coach McKenna has to rush back to Seattle for a family emergency, leaving the assistant coach in charge. Some of Lila's teammates don't have much faith in her, and Katie's stress leads to her fighting with another teammate. By the time Halloween rolls around, Lila and Katie are barely speaking. They had planned to go trick-or-treating together as a horse, but Lila ends up dressing as a cat to take her younger brother out, and sees Katie with another friend, the two dressed in matching witch costumes.

After a heart-to-heart with her mom about friendships growing and evolving and drifting and coming back together, Lila invites Katie to go with her to the farm to watch some baby goats (which are established earlier as very important to Katie). As they patch things up, they're inspired to help the gymnastics team start working together as a team again. When the big meet happens later in the month, the team is back to its old self, and several of them, including Lila and Katie, earn medals for their efforts.

Misc

The author dedicates her book to "Heidi Belz, the goat whisperer, and Sarah and her coaching crew at Madtown Twisters."

Halloween takes place on a Thursday, as it will in 2024.

Lila's mother is a nurse at a children's hospital, and works long hours.

McKenna attends the University of Minnesota. A mock interview at the end of the book confirms that she is indeed the 2012 Girl of the Year. I was a little annoyed when I saw the book that there was yet another gymnast during an Olympics year (why not track and field or another sport?) but when the book states that college-age Coach McKenna is from Seattle, it made sense.

The last few pages of the book have tips on creating strong teams and being effect leaders.

Karen's Haircut (LSGN#7)

2024-04-01T07:30:00.000-07:00

Publication date: 2023

Ghostwriter? No, the text copyright is for Ann M. Martin

Illustrators: Katy Farina, with color by Braden Lamb

Synopsis:

Karen's going through an awkward phase: not really used to her glasses yet, teeth falling out and growing in unevenly--she feels ugly. Though her family and friends reassure her, she wants to change something. Her parents agree that she can get a manicure and haircut at a salon. The pampering initially makes Karen feel good, but the haircut ends up vastly different from what she wanted (this despite her bringing in a reference picture--I'd be so upset!). Karen is so embarrassed by her hair. She tries to stay strong, but her class definitely notices. She gets teased, and her friend Hannie says that with the haircut, Karen can't be in her "wedding" she has planned with another classmate. Karen dresses in her best outfit and tries going by a different, elegant name (Tiffanie, then Krystal, then Gazelle, then Chantal), but everyone has trouble remembering--except Ricky, who initially teased Karen's new appearance. But Hannie still says Karen isn't pretty enough for the wedding.

Karen keeps persisting though, and her perseverance pays off. She starts getting used to some things (like her glasses), and other things start to get better (her hair grows out a little, her teeth start growing in). After two weeks, she feels like Karen again, and Hannie has an epiphany about how unfair she's been to Karen--Hannie herself falls riding her bike and knocks out two teeth. She assumes her "fiancé" Scott won't want to "marry" her anymore, but he says he's "marrying" her, not her teeth. The "wedding" continues as planned, although when David Michael, as the minister, calls for the groom to kiss the bride, both Hannie and Scott protest in disgust.

Perhaps most surprising, Ricky approaches Karen...and asks if they can get "married" some day.

Continuity related to BSC books:

Emily Michelle isn't talking much.

Karen's relationship with Nannie is briefly featured, and it's sweet. I was very close with my grandmother, who was technically my step-grandmother. She passed away a few months ago, and it's nice to see a loving grandparent-grandchild relationship without regard to blood relation.

Misc:

Martin dedicates this book in honor of "the birth of Maxwell Joseph Lieb." Farina dedicates it to "everyone who is finding themselves."

I never played Lovely Ladies like Karen likes to, but a good friend and I did have "tea parties" in first grade at lunchtime. We'd pour whatever drinks into our cups and declare the "tea" a "special family recipe."

Karen's haircut in the graphic novel does look odd on her, and it's uneven. It's also so short that she can't style it much, and will take a while to grow out. But it's not the ugly mullet of the original chapter book!

I never got the thing with the fake weddings that Karen's whole class seems to do. In second grade and younger, there were boys I thought were cute and there were also boys I was friends with, but we never even pretended to date, let along have fake weddings. Although one couple got married a few months before we all graduated high school...

Claudia and the Bad Joke (GN#15)

2024-03-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

Publication Date: 2024

Ghostwriter? No, the text copyright is for Ann M. Martin.

Illustrator: Arley Nopra

Synopsis:

One of my very favorite BSC books!

Established or continued in this book:

The Girls (and Logan):

Claudia candy: The "pant brushes" make an appearance

Their Families:

The Kishi family

The Club (and clients):

I was hoping this version would fix Claudia owing dues from her time in the hospital, but nope. That's just rotten. Also, who has the audacity to call the BSC back to baby-sit again with no attempt to make things right after your kid causes a sitter to break her leg so badly that she needs to be in a cast for months?

I remember this scene well from the original

SMS:

Ashley Wyeth visits Claudia in the hospital.

Claudia's homeroom calls her when she's recovering at home

PSA Time:

A good rule for practical jokes: Confuse, don't abuse.

Misc:

Martin dedicates this book to the memory of "Lyman Chamberlain Martin--Grandpappy--who always liked a good joke."

Nopra dedicates it to "my family, who never stopped believing in me. For my grandmas, who I thought of fondly during the making of this book. For Thoa, who I could always count on to have my back. To everyone who reminded me to drink water, thank you! And for Bengee, who cheered me up when I needed it the most. You made me laugh and you are infinitely awesome for that!"

The way Claudia reacts to having her leg broken is impressive when you remember she's 13. I nearly cut off part of my finger with hedge trimmers when I was 32, and like Claudia I had to take care of the kids (my toddler and preschooler) while treating the injury and figuring out a ride (we only had one car at the time, and my husband was at work 40 minutes away). My injury wasn't nearly as bad as Claudia's, but there were logistics to consider. And I purposely didn't call my mom until after I'd been seen at the hospital, because like Mimi, she wouldn't have been able to get to in a timely fashion and she would have just worried. Maybe Claudia's level-headedness was in the back of my mind.

Mary Anne brings a cute stuffed animal for Claudia instead of Tigger--expressly saying she wanted to bring the cat, but that this was more practical.

World By Us: Maritza: Lead With Your Heart

2024-02-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

Author: Angela Cervantes
Illustrator: Caroline Garcia and Flavia Conley
Published in 2021

Makena, Maritza, and Evette are three middle school girls in the Anacostia area of Washington, DC. They want to make the world a better place.

Summary

Maritza "Itza" Ochoa describes herself as "Bolivian on [her] mother's side, Colombian on [her] father's side, and 100% American soccer player." She loves her heritage and culture, and she's a fantastic athlete and a good friend, if spread a bit thin at times. She has a big heart, too, demonstrated early in the book when she successfully convinces an adult in charge of a soccer tournament to let girls play too (he'd been concerned about being blamed if they got hurt playing with the boys, but most of the middle schoolers already play together anyway, and he's known for being on top of watching for danger) and when she donates to a legal fund for a man in danger of deportation. Shortly after donating, she realizes the man is her friend Violeta's uncle.

It comes out that the uncle has been working and living in the US for a decade and trying to gain citizenship, but it's been difficult. Furthermore, he brought over other family members, including Violeta--Violeta isn't a US citizen. If her uncle is deported, she likely would be too, and Violeta doesn't even remember living in another country. With Itza's help (who in turn is encouraged and cheered on by Makena and Evette), Violeta tells her story to their school, bringing more attention to the fundraisers that are going to pay for an immigration lawyer. The upcoming soccer showcase that Itza and Violeta are playing in offers further publicity, and enough funds are raised. Violeta's uncle isn't a citizen just yet, but he's working on it and he can spend that time at home with his family.

Misc

Dedicated to "my abuelos: Esperanza and Andres."

I like having a Hispanic Heritage Month, which is a relatively new thing, at least in the Pacific Northwest. I am also confused by it running from the middle one month to the middle of the next.

I wish we could know what Itza's time in the 5k was. She won the race; I bet it was pretty fast!

One of Itza's friends wears an outfit described to have traditional Mexican embroidery, which calls to mind the embroidery in Josefina's stories. Several women at my church wear beautifully embroidered skirts, although it's a Guatemalan style.

This is the second time in a couple days that the distinction between violet and purple has come up in my life. Isn't violet a shade of purple? I guess I have a different definition of the colors than others.

Megan Rapinoe is mentioned; until her recent retirement she played for my local pro women's soccer team.

World by Us: Makena: See Me, Hear Me, Know Me

2024-01-01T07:30:00.000-08:00

Author: Denise Lewis Patrick
Illustrator: Courtney Lovett
Published in 2021

Makena, Maritza, and Evette are three middle school girls in the Anacostia area of Washington, DC. They want to make the world a better place.

Summary

After months of remote learning and online classes, Makena ("ma-KAY-nuh" Swahili for "happy one") is excited to get back to what she's used to. Everything seems ready for adventure: her whole extended family is in great moods, her uncle's food truck business (his restaurant didn't survive the pandemic) is doing well, her friends are ready. It's going to be a great school year, at her new school. After a successful first day, Makena goes with her uncle to the new community center. There, she meets two girls, Maritza and Evette, and the trio quickly form a friendship.

Makena is grateful for all the extra support when she and her friend Najee (who is also Black) have to experience racism. They're at a park and see a young White girl who's lost. They go to help her, and Najee ends up carrying her while they search for her parents. But another White woman sees them and assumes that the Black boy is kidnapping the White girl. It's all resolved quickly, and the little girl's mother even witnesses Najee making her daughter laugh, but Makena hates the assumptions that the other woman had.

Makena takes to social media to voice her frustrations. Her clear points and unique style are eye-catching, and people seem sympathetic to her concerns.

But

One afternoon, Makena and her sister (two years younger) find themselves locked out of the house. They look for the spare key, see if the back door is unlocked--and suddenly they hear sirens. Two police officers, one Black and one White, approach with guns drawn. A couple neighbors soon appear, shouting that the sisters live there, and the danger is past. It seems that a new neighbor saw Makena and her sister and jumped to the conclusion that they were burglars.

Makena is understandably shaken, but also full of resolve. She makes a short video about the incident, challenges people to learn the facts before making assumptions, and gets her parents' approval and permission to post it online. It takes off. The new neighbor comes over, deeply ashamed of his actions, and watches Makena's video too. He humbly tells her he's going to work to be a better person.

Makena and her new friends put on a fashion show at the community center, focused on how what we chose to present to the world (rather than what we're born with) is the real statement we can make.

Misc

Dedicated to "Olympia and Avery and every girl who changes the world with style."

Ooh, the part with Makena's teacher confusing her for the only other Black girl in the class...I am so terrible with remembering faces and with remembering names (all races and colors). Because I know that, I tell people upfront and if I'm not sure of a name I don't try to guess. I hope I haven't given a poor impression to anyone.

There's a part at the end featuring Brandice Daniel, founder of Harlem's Fashion Row which showcases collections from designers who are women of color, ones who have often been left out of fashion.

World by Us: Evette: The River and Me

2023-12-01T07:30:00.000-08:00

Author: Sharon Dennis Wyeth
Illustrator: Olivia Duchess
Published in 2021

Evette, Makena, and Maritza are three middle school girls in the Anacostia area of Washington, DC. They want to make the world a better place.

Summary

As the world emerges from the COVID-19 lockdowns and starts to find its new normal, Evette is cautiously optimistic. The caution is warranted; when she can finally attend school in person, her one-time friend Ashlyn has changed a lot. While change can be neutral, Ashlyn doesn't seem to have time for Evette any more, and says nothing when another girl blatantly scrutinizes Evette's appearance and asks with rude bluntness if Evette is Black or White (Evette's mother is Black and her father is White). That afternoon, Evette happens upon a vintage swimsuit at her grandmother's house (Evette's parents are at work; her grandmother provides help with childcare), prompting a story about her grandmother not being welcome at a swimming pool used mainly by white people. After that incident, her grandmother swam in a calm part of an Anacostia River tributary. Evette likes the sound of that, and the style of the swimsuit. Sadly, the place is now terribly polluted. And the odd comment her grandmother made about Evette's other grandparents...what was that about?

No time for questions now. Evette, her younger brother Bud, and their grandmother are taking some of the harvested fruits and vegetables from the garden to the community center. There, Evette is happy to meet Maritza, a soccer enthusiast, and Makena ("ma-KAY-nuh"), a girl she knows from social media. The three don't have long, but quickly begin a friendship.

Back at home, Evette asks her mother about the perceived tension between the two sides of her family. Her mother will only say that something happened a long time ago but won't go into details. Her dad won't talk either. But her other grandmother tells her: when Evette's parents announced their engagement and wedding plans, her paternal (white) grandparents insisted on holding the reception at their home instead of at her maternal (black) grandparents' house, citing safety and the fear of theft. Evette's paternal grandmother realizes now that her assumptions were coming from a racist mindset, but feels it's too late to make amends. She tried in years past, but her attempts were never reciprocated.

While talking with Itza and Makena at the community center, Evette gets an idea. There's a group dedicated to cleaning up the environment, and she suggests cleaning up the place where her grandmother used to swim--and inviting her other grandparents to the event too. For bonus points, Ashlyn wants to come, too, AND her new friends aren't as rude as they first appeared. The cleanup goes great...except that Evette's maternal grandmother doesn't show. Evette has to be brave and upfront, and finally helps her grandmothers reconcile, with a sincere apology from her paternal grandmother. Fittingly, it happens at the swimming hole.

And while there, Evette sees the mechanic her father patronizes...illegally dumping. Evette knows he's struggling financially, but there has to be a better solution. Itza and Makena help her figure it out: they use the worn-out tires to make planters, selling them for $25 each. The mechanic apologizes and agrees to dispose of his shop's waste responsibly.

Misc

Dedicated to Sheri Dennis Isaac and Dr. Shelley Glover, "two essential workers in my family during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic."

While not commonly eaten, some flowers are edible. For example, chamomile tea is made from dried flowers.

The author picked good occupations to explain Evette's parents' busy schedules. Her mom is a pediatric cardiologist and her dad is in construction. Both have been incredibly busy careers in the last few years.

A blurb in the back of the book mentions a trio of fifth-grade students who transitioned their school cafeteria from using disposable utensils to reusable ones.

Were I the author or illustrator, I would have included face masks among the litter. It's absurd how many I saw on the ground in 2020 and 2021.

Meet Isabel and Nicki

2023-11-01T07:30:00.000-07:00

Authors: Julia DeVillers and Jennifer Roy (yes, they are twins)
Illustrator: Maike Plenzke
Published in 2023

Summary

It's December of 1999, and nine-year-old twins Isabel and Nicki Hoffman have different reactions to the coming year. Isabel is excited, but Nicki is worried. One concern is the Y2K Bug (yes, it was a huge worry; my father-in-law was one of many computer programmers who helped mitigate the issue, just like the twins' mom is in the book). Isabel is far too involved with her many friends to worry, especially since one of them got the group space to dance in Seattle's New Year celebration--Nicki included! Plus the sisters just got pets for Hanukkah; a dog named Blossom for Nicki (after the Powerpuff girl) and a cat named Buffy for Isabel (for the vampire slayer).

Soon, it seems the twins' perspectives have flipped. Nicki stumbles across a group of young skaters, finding a whole new group of great friends. Meanwhile, Isabel's friends start to drift away, influenced by a stuck-up mean girl. They even kick her out of the New Year dance performance. The twins' differences are feeling more magnified too, leading to fights. Isabel's feeling pretty lost until she also finds a new friend, Kat--one who appreciates her for who she is and doesn't try to change her. The sisters even make up, agreeing to learn to communicate better.

Then Nicki falls while skateboarding, spraining her ankle badly. Isabel rallies to her aid, and together the twins bond, growing closer over their school's winter break than they have in a long time. Both girls find themselves gaining confidence--Nicki is making a zine to pass out with her skateboarding friends at the New Year's party, and Isabel stands up for herself to the mean girl.

A spanner's thrown in the works when the party is cancelled (that really happened; Seattle's mayor called it off, citing safety concerns in light of the WTO protests). Nicki and Isabel are bummed, but soon they realize that the mayor didn't say people couldn't celebrate, just that the official party was cancelled. Their dad owns a coffee shop--what better place for Seattle-ites to celebrate? They quickly plan a party and invite their new friends. Admission is one book, to be donated to patients at the nearby hospital that treated Nicki's sprain. The party is a blast, and Isabel even makes up with her friends who ditched her (it's brief, but I think it's handled well; Isabel doesn't let them get off scot-free and they're properly chagrined for their actions). The mayor even stops by to donate books!

Nicki and Isabel ring in the new year as friends, confident in their future and excited to see what it holds for them.

Inside Isabel and Nicki's World

This is a brief description of pop culture and news from the late 90s, focusing on Seattle. Y2K is mentioned, as is the advent of the 24-hours news cycle, which sensationalizes and often catastrophizes. Special focus is given to the rising representation of girls and women in the media, including the American Girl magazine.

Misc

The authors dedicate their book to the readers.

There was no year 0. It started at AD 1 or 1 CE depending on which you prefer (yes, the AD goes first). 2000 was the last year of the millennium. When it ended, then a new one began. (rant over)

I was born a few years before Isabel and Nicki, and grew up in the greater Seattle area. One thing that stood out as accurate before even opening the book was an alien symbol. Aliens were EVERYWHERE here in the 90s. Frankly, twins made sense to me too. In my tiny high school class of under 70 people, nearly a tenth of the students were twins. And considering one of my grandmothers is a twin, I thought twins were way more common than they really are.

Nicki and Isabel are fraternal twins. Once my kids and I saw a dad at a store with two toddlers, a boy and a girl. One of my kids speculated to me that they might be twins and the dad confirmed that they were twins. I asked him how often people wonder if they're identical, and he said I might be the first person to NOT ask that.

Hanukkah ran from December 3 to December 11 in 1999. The Hoffman family also exchanges gifts on Christmas, but no religious observation is mentioned.

If you find yourself in need of crutches, don't lean on them with your armpits. You're meant to have them a couple inches below your armpits. You end up with callouses on the side of your rib cage, not chafing in your armpits.

Accurate Seattle things:
-It gets dark early in December. Sunset is around 4:15-4:25 most of the month.
-Grunge!
-"My cousin who goes to school in Olympia taught me how to make [zines]." Yep, that'd be Evergreen College, and yep, it'd have zines.
-Having a sprained ankle sounds right. I did that all the time. My parents ended up buying a pair of crutches after renting them so many times, and my nickname on the soccer team was The Broken Wonder.

Maybe inaccurate Seattle things:
-I've never known a Seattle-area adult born after about 1945 who had kids address them as Mr/Mrs/Ms LastName outside of a classroom.
-Having only lived in the Pacific and the Hawaiian Time Zones, I've never worried about the world ending at midnight on a given day. I'd have a heads-up because early time zones would get hit first: if Australia's still there when I wake up, the world didn't end.

Inaccurate Seattle thing:
-Mt. Rainier is too far west in the picture of the Hoffmans on the Space Needle observation deck. I understand wanting to include it because it's iconic and it seems nitpicky, but for someone who's very used to seeing the tallest peak in the state (more than 14,000 feet!), it immediately looks wrong to see it that close to Puget Sound. It needs to be a few inches to the left.

Girl of the Year 2023: It's Showtime, Kavi!

2023-10-01T07:30:00.000-07:00

Author: Varsha Bajaj
Illustrator: Pavarti Pallai
Published: 2023

Summary

The book opens on the twelfth birthday of Kavika "Kavi" Sharma, who lives in a New Jersey suburb by New York City with her parents, younger brother Rishi, and Dadima (Hindi for paternal grandmother). She has plenty of reasons to be happy, including getting tickets to see Wicked on Broadway with her two best friends, Sophie and Pari. Even better, her school is going to host a talent show revue! Kavi just knows that she, Sophie, and Pari can impress everyone.

But that doesn't stop life from happening, especially now that her mom has re-entered the workforce. Kavi finds her self missing more and more details as she gets distracted by her passion for the stage. It's not long before Kavi feels overwhelmed and stuck. A lot of people offer help and support with varying success, but Kavi even considers quitting the revue. It's just too much. After a few days though, Kavi is able to overcome her worries and she dances with her best friends on stage, loving every minute. She even decides to try for the spring musical Annie and gets the part of one of the orphans. Pari is another, and Sophie is happy to be assigned to the stage crew.

That doesn't solve everything though. Kavi is still struggling with organization, focus, time blindness, executive function--does any of this sound familiar? It sounds like ADD or ADHD, and Kavi doesn't have any coping skills to manage it. And another fly in the ointment: a storm knocks a tree into the arts wing. There's no more stage to perform on; they might need to use the cafeteria. There is a community college with an auditorium, but the rental is expensive. Even with Kavi and the others coming up with fundraising ideas like selling cookies, shirts, and doing a car wash, they can't raise enough. Kavi asks if anyone has approached the community college to see if they can get a break on the rental given the situation. A quote from Meet Samantha comes to mind: "The worst she can say is 'no.'"

It's a good thing Kavi suggested talking to the community college. The powers that be allow the group an extension: they have until the end of the school year to pay off the remainder of the fee and the show can go on. Kavi and her friends have an amazing time, and Kavi now feels confident that while she does need more than most to try to focus, she can do it.

Misc

The author dedicates her book to "Karishma and all the amazing Desi girls."

Huh. My younger brother used to call me "Didi" because he couldn't pronounce my name (never mind that my name has neither Ds nor Is in it). We never figured out how he came up with it. The Hindi word for "big sister" is Didi. I'm not sure how it's pronounced; my brother said it like "dee-dee."

There's a scene of Kavi mixing the ingredients for cookies, and by the dialogue you can pretty easily get the recipe. But I don't know anyone who would expositionally declare, "Put in two cups of all-purpose flour!" Everyone I know would just say "flour." There's quite a bit of exposition dumped in, but this is the one that stands out the most.

The science teacher is named Mr. Proton. *eyeroll*

I thought this book was heading to Kavi getting an official diagnosis of ADD or other neurodiveregence. The scene with her dad helping her focus could have been worked in with him realizing through his daughter's diagnosis that maybe he has something going on, too. It seems like a missed opportunity.

This book moves at a break-neck speed. Kavi is an energetic, outgoing young woman, and the writing portrays it SO WELL.

Stacey's Mistake (GN#14)

2023-09-01T07:00:00.001-07:00

Publication Date: 2023

Ghostwriter? No, the text copyright is for Ann M. Martin.

Illustrator: Ellen Crenshaw, with color by Braden Lamb and Hank Jones

Synopsis:

The plot is, as expected, pretty much like the non-graphic version, although here the need for sitters is because of a fundraiser for a community theater rather than a meeting of the residents of Stacey's apartment building, and Mallory and Jessi are able to visit as well.

Established or continued in this book:

The Girls (and Logan):

Claudia candy: none mentioned

Reuniting in New York City

Their Families:

Tigger!

The Club (and clients):

When Stacey takes the club around to meet the families they'll be sitting, I was surprised to see Stacey call the first mother by her first name. I do NOT like being called Mrs. LastName, and encourage everyone regardless of age to just call me by my first name. I know that the BSC books were written a little while ago when it was more common for children to default to Mr. and Mrs. LastName for adults, so I figured this was an update. Then I realized that Stacey was greeting the nanny, not the mother--so she calls The Help by their first names, but not other adults...?

SMS: nothing new

PSA Time: nothing stood out

Misc:

Martin dedicates this book to her new godson, Andrew Cleveland Gordon.

Crenshaw dedicates it to "Chris and Erin, my first--and best--baby-sitters. May our fledgling film series, The Average Family, live forever in legend and infamy."

Laine

Stacey's party

The man with the long beard, tricycle, and cats in the wagon!
I remember him distinctly from the original book.

Adventures with Claudie

2023-08-01T07:00:00.001-07:00

Author: Brit Bennett

Illustrator: Laura Freeman

Publication Date: 2023

Plot

Excited as she is for the road trip down to Georgia and to meet her mother's family, Claudie finds herself missing Harlem pretty quickly. The two are traveling down with her mother's cousin Sidney, who tells Claudie about the family she'll be meeting on the Georgia farm, including eleven-year-old twin cousins and Claudie's maternal grandmother.

He and Mama also warn Claudie about dangers they might face. Sidney never goes even a mile over the speed limit, for fear of giving a racist highway patrol office a reason to pull him over. They skip some gas stations, because they're in sundown towns. The three must be on their best behavior, and not draw attention to themselves.

Once at the family farm, Claudie feels more at ease. She's welcomed with open arms and Southern hospitality (and, having been spoiled by not only my grandmother but also her two sisters in Atlanta, I can tell you it's awesome). Her cousins teach her to climb trees, and her grandmother tells her stories about the family and also folk stories that Claudie's never heard before.

But the unfairness of Jim Crow laws, segregation, and racist hatred can't be ignored. A nearby farm, also owned by a Black family, is torched by an arsonist. Claudie's grandmother says that trying to find out who did it will just cause more problems, but Claudie knows that Mama can't leave the story alone. She and her cousins follow Mama when she goes to investigate the burnt property at night, and end up having to hide from the local sheriff who threateningly tells Mama to leave. Back at the family farm, Claudie accuses Mama of ignoring the desires of the people who live there and just wanting fame. In the morning, Claudie apologizes for her outburst, and Mama apologizes for her deception. She tells Claudie that as a young girl, she witnessed a lynching, and it motivated her to leave her childhood home and to tell the world about what was happening to inspire people to change the world for the better. Change like how Claudie's trying to save the boarding house. She also tells Claudie that she doesn't have to write about the way things are--she can write about the way she hopes things will be.

Back home in Harlem, Claudie and the rest of the boarders finalize plans for the variety show. The morning of, Claudie is thrilled to learn they've sold enough tickets to pay the back rent. Now they can perform the show with that weight gone!

The story Claudie tells is a version of one her grandmother told her, "The People Who Could Fly," which is about the people taken from Africa as slaves. In the story, they originally had wings, but lost them crossing the Atlantic. They still possessed the magic though, and one day, a man who knew the magic told the other slaves, and they sprouted wings and flew back their homes in Africa. In Claudie's version, they fly to Harlem.

Inside Claudie's World

This time, this section explains in more detail the overt racism that was prevalent in the pre-Civil Rights South, and present but less blatant in other parts of the country. It also talks about the rich tradition and history of story-telling among African Americans in the South.

Misc

Bennett dedicates the book to her family.

The same group of people advised this book as did Meet Claudie.

At one point, Mama tells Claudie stories about Br'er Rabbit. I recently read Who's Afraid of the Song of the South, an interesting book about controversial Disney publications. Among other things, I learned that Br'er is short for "Brother" and not a version of "briar" as I'd previously thought.

"Claudie could hear owls swooping overhead." No, she couldn't. Owls have specialized flight feathers; they are silent when they fly. I've had large owls fly just feet from me (I live by a greenbelt; there are barred owls) and you can't hear a thing even though you can nearly touch them. The hooting, yes; the flying, no. It makes me very glad I'm not a prey animal to owls because I wouldn't stand a chance.

Claudie's books are, of course, primarily to teach about the historical facts of a Black girl's experience in the 1920s, and to impress upon the reader the importance of anti-racism. But there's also a persistent thread of responsible journalism and making sure the facts are accurate, which is important as well.

Claudie meets Langston Hughes! He sweetly encourages her that if she's written a sketch, she doesn't just want to be a writer: she already is a writer.

I really liked Claudie's books, but they feel incomplete. Yes, we know what happens with the boarding house, but there are other loose ends like the news stories Mama was working on and the family in Georgia. What happens next? I don't know if there are plans to publish any more books about her story. I hope we get more than two not-even-eighty-page books. I know the last historical character (Courtney) had shorter books too, but her story felt complete.

Meet Claudie

2023-07-01T07:00:00.001-07:00

Author: Brit Bennett

Illustrator: Laura Freeman

Publication Date: 2022

Plot

Nine-year-old Claudie Wells loves living in 1920s Harlem, New York, but she feels out of place. It seems everyone else has some sort of artistic talent, from dance to painting to poetry to the culinary arts. Claudie hasn't found her talent yet. Her father, a veteran of the Great War in the Harlem Hellfighters, reassures her that when started baking, his creations both looked and tasted terrible, but he practiced and now his beautiful cakes are famous in the neighborhood. But Claudie still feels like she doesn't belong, especially after her mother, a reporter for the Amderstam News, doesn't want Claudie coming on a trip to her mother's childhood home in Georgia. Claudie figures her mother views Claudie as a bother.

Still, Claudie is determined that this summer will be summer she finds a talent. She talks to many artists she knows in the neighborhood, learning about what fuels their passions and why they've followed the paths they have. And while she is enjoying learning about everyone, there's sometimes an unsettling undercurrent. People talk about leaving places where they weren't welcome due to the color of their skin, her father has nightmares about his time in the war and also laments the racism he and other veterans received upon returning home to America, her mother is writing an article about a lynching, the woman who runs the boarding house where her family lives is facing eviction... Suddenly, there are bigger problems than Claudie wanting to find her talent.

Pondering the problems one night, Claudie hits on the idea to coordinate a variety show and charge money for tickets. The money will make up the back rent the boarding house owes, and let Claudie and everyone else stay. Just as I was thinking Claudie's talent was going to be organizing things like Samantha, one of the other tenants says she'll only help if Claudie performs too--why not a puppet show like Claudie puts on for her little brother? But what to write about...

It's in talking to her mother that Claudie figures it out: she's going to accompany her on the trip to Georgia and find something to inspire her.

Inside Claudie's World

The historical retrospective talks about the Harlem Renaissance, and how it happened against the backdrop of numerous racist atrocities like lynchings. Harlem was, for some, a refuge from the danger that lurked in other parts of the country. But even there, there was segregation--Claudie and her brother attend a baseball game, but this is well before Jackie Robinson's time, so the league are separated by race. The progress in Harlem helped people believe more progress was possible.

Misc

Bennett dedicates the book to all her "teachers who encouraged me to love books." There's also a forward that details how Bennett grew up loving reading, including the Addy books, and how she looked up to the author, Connie Porter, and even got to speak with Porter over the phone.

Advisors for the book include Keisha N. Blain, an author who teaches at the University of Pittsburgh (the field isn't specified); Marcia Chatelain, author and professor of history and African American studies at Georgetown University; Spencer R. Crew, the Clarence J. Robinson Professor of History at George Mason University, president of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, and director of the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian; Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, an author and the Victor S. Thomas Processor of History and of African and African American students at Harvard; and Shannon King, author and associate professor of history at Fairfield University.

Just before the first page of the book, there's a note that the dialogue is period-accurate and thus uses now-outdated terms like "colored" and "Negro" to refer to Black people, and explains that while they wouldn't be used in most places today, they would have been used in Claudie's time and location.

It's 1922, and the narration implies that people are already calling the Great War "World War I." That didn't happen for a bit, until World War II, outside of a memoir by English soldier Charles a Court Repington.

I like this sentiment: "[Claudie] knew that a friend offering to teach you something she loved was offering you a special gift."

The Complete Guide to the Baby-sitters Club

2023-06-01T07:00:00.001-07:00

Published in 1996, around the same time as Kristy's Worst Idea

Ghostwriter? Yes, David Levithan. Kim Dooley, Janet Vultee, Veronia Ambrose, Olivia Ford, and Charles Agvent also help fact-check.

The 347-page book is divided into fact-filled sections on the club, the club members, their family members, their clients, other people in Stoneybrook, the city itself, different kid-related things specific to the series, and people and other things encounter by the club outside of Stoneybrook. I'm going to skim through them and see how they compare to what I gleaned from my re-read of the series that I began over a decade ago when I started this blog! The book is FAR more detailed, so I'll mention things that stand out.

The sections on the club and its clients includes details about individual items different members have in their Kid-Kits. It also has information on different events the club has organized, such as the fundraiser for the Zuni children in Dawn and the Big Sleepover. The Guide includes client families that I didn't: ones they won't work with again like the Gardellas who accused Stacey of stealing a diamond ring in Stacey and the Missing Ring or one-off families. There's a TON of information on each family! I counted BSC families, like the Pikes, while the Guide doesn't. I also included the Ohdners, who are mentioned but never featured in the books.

Kristy's section includes her full name, Kristin Amanda Thomas, and birthday (August 20 at 4:00am). According to the Guide, her mom wanted to have another biological child, but she and Watson opted for adoption due to her age. Ben Brewer (yes, the ghost) has an entire paragraph and Karen and Andrew's mother Lisa has a long one, but their stepfather Seth only has seven words in two sentence fragments.

Claudia's section includes her full name, Claudia Lynn Kishi, and birthday (July 11 at 4:36am). The Guide was published just before Claudia gets sent back to seventh grade.

Stacey's section includes her full name, Anastasia Elizabeth McGill, and birthday (April 3 at 2:22am). Strangely, her quitting and rejoining the BSC is omitted.

Mary Anne's section includes her September 22 birthday, but not a time. There's no acknowledgement of her mother's name changing from Abigail to Alma.

Dawn's section includes her full name, Dawn Read Schafer, and her February 5 birthday, but not a time. The Guide was published before her baby sister was born.

Abby's section is titled Abigail (Abby) Stevenson, with no middle name specified. It includes her October 15 birthday, but not a time.

Jessi's section includes her full name, Jessica Davis Ramsey, and her June 30 birthday, but not a time. There's no mention of her parents' fertility struggles and two late miscarriages/early stillbirths. It does include a list of ballet terminology.

Mallory's section makes no mention of a middle name. Her birthday is May 2. Her hair is described as chestnut brown, and it often is in the books, but it's always depicted as red in the illustrations and on TV and film. Even in this book, about fifty pages after her hair is first described as chestnut brown, Mallory is mentioned as the Pike with hair that's more reddish than anyone else's. The once-mentioned cat Sarge has a brief entry, and is confirmed to be deceased.

Logan's section makes no mention of a middle name. His birthday is January 10.

Shannon's sections includes her full name, Shannon Louisa Kilbourne, and her birthday is March 17. Her parents' strained marriage is omitted.

None of the baby-sitters were born in the same month as another, and none were born in November (I was, though!). The entries include their addresses, and their adult family members are listed very formally (e.g.; Dawn's stepmother is Ms. Carol Olson). The sections on the club members' family include extended family members if they were mentioned in the books.

The entry on Stoneybrooke Middle School lists a few teachers I missed: Mr. Bailey (English), Mr. Bellafatto (substitute), Mr. Drubek (helped with the school production of Peter Pan), Ms. Flood (unspecified), and Mr. Leavitt and Mr. Mills (track and field coach and football coach, respectively--although you don't need to be staff or faculty to coach, so maybe?).

I also missed these students: Jennifer Abrams, Roger Bucknell, Madeline Carver, Franklin Enell, Jason Henderson, Bobby Henson, Andrea Kirkland, Francie Ledbetter, Beverly McManiman, Terry Morgan, Darcy Morgan, Rodge Somerset, Amelia White, Correen ?, Danni?, Sean?, and Tallie ?. It seems I missed students and teachers mostly in Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation, Starring the Baby-sitters Club!, and Kristy and the Copycat.

Mariah and Miranda Shillaber have a combined entry.

After the information on the faculty, staff, and students at SMS, the Guide lists other middle-school-aged characters the BSC comes across in the books, like the students in Jessi's ballet class. It then moves on to other Stoneybrook area residents. It does NOT list information about the school itself that I did, like its start and stop times and that Mallory and Jessi met on the playground which mysteriously disappears in later books. The next section has some more details about SMS but not those ones.

Next is a section about Stoneybrook itself, including locations. The back of the book folds out into a map!

The next section is a listing of basically the rest of the miscellaneous things not yet mentioned, including Kristy's Krushers and the Baby-sitters Agency. There's even a list of books, most with one-sentence synopses, that are mentioned in the series. Even the fictional ones--although those are specified as being "only available in Stoneybrook."

Finally, there's a section for all the people, places, things, and ideas mentioned in the series outside of Stoneybrook, including what shows up in Dawn's California books (not including the California Diaries, which hadn't started yet--interestingly, nothing is said of Jill Henderson being less mature than Dawn's other CA friends). It's divided into California, Hawaii, Kentucky (only mentions two kids who Logan baby-sat), Maynard, IA; New York City; Camp Mohawk, NY; Oakley, NJ; the Ocean Princess cruise ship; Sea City, NJ; Pine Island, ME; Reese, ME; Shadow Lake, MA; and Leicester Lodge, VT.

Absolutely tons of information in this book! Being published when it was, it doesn't include the last 31 regular series books, the last two Super Specials, mysteries from #27 on, about half the Portrait Collections, half the Super Mysteries, or any of the California Diaries or Friends Forever books. But it's still an interesting and thorough resource.

But there's no list of the types of candy in Claudia's room.