Telgemeier, R. (2007). The
baby-sitters club: Mary Anne saves the day. NY: Scholastic
Mary Anne Spier is a member of the Baby-sitters Club with
her friends Kristy, Claudia, and Stacey.
The girls run a small business of baby-sitting and have set rules and
systems in place on how to stay organize and run a productive child care
system. Their usual club meeting is
taking place when all four girls get in a huge argument and leave the meeting
not speaking to each other. Mary Anne,
who is normally a soft spoken girl, stood up for herself but hurt some feelings
along the way. Things are not resolved
when they return to school, but Mary Anne finds a new student, Dawn, to sit
with so she will not have to eat alone.
The two hit it off right away with their friendship and eventually learn
that their parents dated each other while they were in high school. Mary Anne is being raised by her over
protective father who still requires she wear her hair out of her face and has
an early curfew. Her mother passed away
when she was a baby. Dawn is being
raised by her mother and the divorce between her parents is the cause of them
moving. It takes a while for the
Baby-Sitters Club to make up and return to normal. Mary Anne plays the role of a peace maker and
writes letters to her friends apologizing for what was said in the
meeting. Dawn is accepted as a new
member of the club and is thrilled to make more friends. Mary Anne and Dawn devise a plan to make
their parents’ paths cross. When they
do, Mr. Spier asks Dawn’s mother out and the girls are happy to see their
parents enjoy another’s company.
Written in the format of a graphic novel, this classic
“Baby-Sitters Club” story is a fun read.
I grew up reading “Baby-Sitters Club” novels and it was exciting to see
a fresh spin with the format. I enjoyed
the panels of illustrations with some wordless ones and others full of
text. The story sends a great message of
growing pains, longing for independence and trust from parents, and forgiveness
with true friends. I appreciated the
consistency of the characters from long ago.
It was almost like running in to an old friend.
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