Review: "From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler"

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by EL Konigsburg
5 out of 5 stars

I don't know how I missed this one as a kid y'all. It was made for me. Okay, if it had been set in a library, THEN it would have been made for me. But this is pretty darn close. Wait. IS there a book where the kids get trapped/stay in a library overnight? If so, I NEEEED it! This book was published in 1967, which could be part of why I didn't read it, but still. It is so good!

First of all, the main girl is named Claudia Kincaid and is 12 years old, her younger brother is called Jamie, and they run off to New York City. Hello, BSC nods. Claudia is going to run away. She was the oldest child and the only girl and was subject to a lot of injustice. She saves her money for weeks and weeks, almost forgetting why she's actually running away, and makes extensive and detailed plans. ...she decided that her leaving home would not be just running from somewhere but would be running to something. Specifically, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. (The MET) Her plan involves Jamie and his vast savings of $24.43, their instrument cases stuffed with socks & underwear, a note to their parents to not call the FBI, and hiding out in the bathrooms until the museum closed at night.

The book is loosely narrated by the enigmatic Mrs Basil E Frankweiler, a rich old lady who meets the children towards the end of their adventure and is captivated by their story. This is a surprisingly smart story for children. The author doesn't dumb things down for its readers but instead uses the big words and concepts and then explains them, usually to 9 year old Jamie. Mrs Basil E has some wonderful quotes too.

"I think you should learn, of course, and some days you must learn a great deal.  But you should also have days when you allow what is already in you to swell up inside of you until it touches everything. And you can feel it inside you. If you never take time out to let that happen, then you just accumulate facts, and they begin to rattle around inside of you. You can make noise with them, but never really feel anything with them. It's hollow."

The children spend their days wandering the museum, actually learning things for once, and investigating the mysterious marble statue called Angel, rumored to be done by Michelangelo. This statue just happened to have been donated to the museum by Mrs Basil E. At night, they sleep amidst the old and musty and think about how hungry they are. They manage to stay gone for a solid week but at last, they end up at Mrs Basil E's mansion, tired and a little bit homesick. They ask her for the truth of the Angel and in exchange, she wants their account of their time away from home. And she writes it all down for her lawyer, (who has a surprising connection to the children) along with requests to update her will, which eventually becomes the book.

"...nothing is ever enough. Except the part you carry with you. It's the same as going on a vacation. Some people spend all their time on a vacation taking pictures so that when they get home they can show their friends evidence that they had a good time. They don't pause to let the vacation enter inside of them and take that home."

Review: "Keep Out, Claudia!: The Baby-Sitters Club #56"

Keep Out, Claudia!: The Baby-Sitters Club #56 by Ann M Martin
3 out of 5 stars

In this book we finally see some of the racism in Stoneybrook that Jessi has apparently been experiencing all along. But it's not even Jessi (at first) who deals with it, it's Claudia. Why is that? Did they feel it would be too difficult to show an African American dealing with misguided bigots? I don't know. This book was okay. The little blonde kids are super creepy but hey, Claudia's cover outfit actually matches the description for once!

The story starts out with Claudia baby-sitting the Rodowsky boys. Shea is practicing the piano (his "a doggie-o's") and Jackie and Archie are down because they don't play an instrument or anything. Archie wants people to clap for him and to be a star. Jackie just wants to not knock anything over for once. Poor Jackie, he's gonna have some serious issues later on. This sets Claudia's little brain a-thinking, while she heads home to clean up her room for the BSC meeting. (Snacks hidden around her room at this moment: Snickers bar and M&M's and Neccos and Fritos and ranch-style potato chips and crackers and popcorn...) Oh! And genius Janine locked herself out of the house!

At the meeting, Claud tells the girls her idea: help the kids plan a musical performance or something. Seriously, the amount of time these girls spend with these kids, they should get a raise! Are the parents giving them any extra money for these rehearsals and costumes and art supplies? I don't think so! A new client calls, the Lowells, and Mary Anne gets the job. When she gets there, the mom gives her a quick up-and-down look but apparently approves of what she sees. The 3 kids are little blonde clones who line up for Mary Anne to check out. The job goes well, although there a few weird moments with the kids asking her what religion she is and giggling at someones eyes on tv.

Then it's Claudia's turn to baby-sit for the clones. Mrs Lowell looks less than thrilled to see Claudia, but Claud just assumes it's because of her wild clothes: ...black leggings and high-topped sneakers, my fringed blue-jean vest and beaded Indian belt, my six silver rings and... (Spoiler: it's not her outfit.) Claudia has a rough time with the kids; they don't listen to her and sneak snacks and such. And at the next BSC meeting, she calls and asks Kristy for any sitter but Claudia. So Jessi gets the job hah. Stupid racist cow. (Sorry, getting worked up over my BSC book here.)

Jessi over-prepares for the job, arriving right on time and putting together a sweet office play set for the kids. But when Mrs Bigot opens the door, she looks shocked and just stares at Jessi for a second. Then she tells Jessi she doesn't need a sitter after all and shuts the door in her face. Jessi doesn't know what to think or do so she just leaves and cries as she walks home. She has a familiar feeling about what happened but doesn't really know. You'd think she would know exactly what happened since she apparently dealt with it all the time after moving to Stoneybrook. The girls are all upset at the meeting, trying to figure things out.

Kristy takes the next job to see what's up and even wears a skirt to see if it was just Claud's wild clothes. (Again, it wasn't.) The kids are fine for her but she has a gross taste in her mouth when she gets home, so she talks to her mom, Watson, and Nannie. She tells them she thinks Mrs Lowell is a racist and Nanny says "With each generation I think it's going to be over. But it isn't even getting better. Maybe I'm just an old fool." I feel ya Nannie, I feel ya. Kristy tells the girls at the next meeting what she thinks and Claudia is understandably upset. But she gets mad at her friends because Mrs Lowell isn't there. "Will you guys at least look at me?" I shouted. "I am not dirt you know. Nothing is wrong with me." 

It'd be interesting to see this book get updated to current times. Claudia would have to prove she's not an illegal immigrant and Jessi would be protesting the police after her dad and Squirt get killed in a routine traffic stop. :( Wow, this review is getting really dark isn't it? Okay, here's a lighter moment and then moving on quickly.

Dawn asks for wheat germ biscuits (gross) and Claud has a bit of humor: "Oh, yeah. Right. Wheat germ biscuits. I have them hidden here under the bed along with my endless supply of tofu."

Mrs Lowell calls for the blonde-haired blue-eyed baby-sitter and the girls realize she's just a general racist against everyone and agree to never sit for her again. They continue on with the band rehearsals and the kids decide to perform songs from Fiddler on the Roof. The concert is a success, Claire Pike doesn't throw a tantrum, Jackie doesn't knock anyone over, and the Lowell kids watch the concert in secret. Claud & Jessi wonder if the kids will grow out of their bigotry eventually.

"It's okay to hate some of the things people do, but it's not okay to hate the people who do them."

Review: "Kristy for President: The Baby-Sitters Club #53"

Kristy for President: The Baby-Sitters Club #53 by Ann M Martin
3 out of 5 stars

Kristy looks super weird on this cover. Like they spray-tanned her first, to match Emily Michelle. And David Michael too (I'm guessing that's who that is). This book starts off on a Friday at school, where Kristy is headed to another boring assembly (don't know what for), which is interrupted by a fire drill. Then it's lunchtime and we start right off with Disgusting School Lunches by Kristy Thomas. (Warning: don't read if you are about to eat or have just eaten lol.)

"Splatter art," I [Kristy] agreed. You know, like in those horror movies..."

Mary Anne picked up her fork and started to cut the meat loaf. Just as she cut it, I shrieked. Mary Anne gave a little shriek herself and dropped the fork. I lowered my voice mysteriously. "I think it's still alive."

I picked up my own fork and took another look at the meat loaf. It was gray, and the tomato sauce was pale red and watery. The mashed potatoes next to it had a sort of oozy quality. And I wasn't so sure I liked the color of the broccoli. It looked like something that had been attacked by Bunnicula, the vampire rabbit.

This led to the girls discussing the upcoming student elections and how Kristy should run for President and change the food if she hated it so much.

She [Dawn] pointed to the soggy piece of angel food cake on my tray, which was beginning to look a little too much like the mashed potatoes. "Your motto could be 'Let us eat cake.'"

That sets Kristy's little "take charge of all things" wheels spinning and she begins to seriously consider it. Even though she's already super busy and really doesn't have time for it. She's even almost late for her baby-sitting job for the Newton's. Luckily, Jamie is too preoccupied with his new bicycle that's coming to care. A "real" bicycle, not a baby one. Before we get more into that, let's see What Claudia & Stacey are Wearing.

Claudia was wearing lime green bicycle pants, a long, long bright pink shirt, and a cropped lime green striped shirt over that. She was also wearing black hightop leather sneakers with pink butterfly barrettes clipped to the laces. She had two feather earrings in one ear (lime green, of course), and a tiny pink heart in the other. [Her hair] was pulled up on top of her head and fell down to one side.

[Stacey] is also a way cool dresser. Like that Monday, she was wearing a black skirt and tights that were two colors: one leg was red and the other was black. And her shoes were shiny black and laced up to the ankles. She was also wearing this enormous black turtleneck sweater with red flecks in it, and one round red earring and one square black one. Her hair, which was in a mid-perm stage around her face, was pulled back with this silver lamé band. She looked smashing.

(click to make bigger, go here for details)

At the meeting, Claudia brings up the class play, which is Mary Poppins. Everyone immediately starts bashing it, saying how childish it is. But I'm pretty sure it's Stacey's favorite movie (after Parent Trap oops no, that's Dawn's fave) and she doesn't say much, but it's still kind of weird. Kristy goes on a rant about it, which turns into a speech, which leads to her finally saying she's running for President. Oh and Mallory is running for 6th grade secretary, but really, who cares?

Kristy is up and running with her candidacy...Claudia comes up with some K+ slogans (see what I did there?) and becomes her campaign manager. Kristy is pretty sure she's got it in the bag. Her other competition is the reprehensible Alan Gray, Grace Blume (Cokie Mason's sidekick), and Pete Black (Kristy just says he's immature, whatever that means.) The girls plaster the school with Kristy's posters and get fierce with their competition. Kristy goes a little overboard during Campaign Day and tosses this little gem out: "Grace," I said. "The best woman - and the best candidate - is going to win. So why don't you just go somewhere and get some more practice at being a loser?" Oooh, harsh. The stress is getting to her, for sure.

Oh! We get another Claudia outfit with bonus comparison to Janine the Genius. Claudia was dressed fairly conservatively: white jeans, red shoes with big bows, a tropical jungle shirt with each button shaped like a piece of fruit, and her hair pulled to one side over her shoulder with a banana barrette. But Janine, with her short hair and bangs, her pullover sweater, and plain skirt and loafers, made Claudia look extremely exotic.

(click here for item details)

Now let's get back to Jamie and his brand new bicycle. I got a new bicycle a couple of months ago too. :) (Shown here with The Unexpected Everything because it matched lol.) I was like Jamie actually, in the beginning. I haven't ridden a bike in at least 20 years a really long time. I not-so-jokingly said I wanted training wheels but my sister said no. But I managed to get on it and ride the first day! I was pretty proud of myself. I'm still pretty wobbly on it and straight-line challenged but I'm getting there. Okay, anyway, Jamie! He is not doing so well and will barely move, even with the training wheels. He stops for every crack, stick, and leaf on the sidewalk and has to get off the bike to turn around. Then he decides training wheels are for babies and removes them, which of course makes everything worse. He finally agrees to put them back on after the "big kids" in his neighborhood stop and tell him how they all started with them too.

And how's Kristy faring with her campaign? Well, it's just lucky she's not running in the real presidential election. (Although I'd still vote for her (or even Alan Gray) over one or two of our nominees right now.) Her grades begin to slide, she has to retake a science test that she didn't even study for, she cancels Krushers practice, and considers, for a brief moment, taking a break from the BSC. Finally, she realizes the only logical thing is to drop out of the campaign. As soon as she makes that decision, she feels better and everything becomes easy again.

And oh my lord, we get a 3rd Claudia outfit and 2nd Stacey one! What's so special about this book?? Hope you enjoy these as much as I do making them!

Stacey had pulled her hair back into a braid with a silver hat pin stuck through it. She was wearing purple capri pants, soft black flat ankle boots, black-and-white-striped socks, and a black-and-white-checked shirt, only the checks were all different sizes. She had square silver earrings in her ears.

Claud's hair was down, but she was wearing a hat. On the green hat ribbon was pinned a "Kristy+" button. Her tights were orange and her dress was tie-dyed [I'm kind of in love with the dress I picked for this lol] every color you could think of. She was wearing her feather earrings, and she'd drawn a star on her face next to her right eye.

(click here for item details)

Review: "Mary Anne + 2 Many Babies: The Baby-Sitters Club #52"

 Mary Anne + 2 Many Babies: The Baby-Sitters Club #52 by Ann M Martin
3 out of 5 stars

This is the one where Mary Anne finally becomes a teenage statistic and Logan is super excited. Oh, no wait, that's not right. She just becomes obsessed with babies and it's kind of weird. Dawn and Mary Anne start the book out by having a snack (healthy of course, for Dawn) and talking about those twin girls at their school that are like Mar-Car teens and their new baby brother. This gets them thinking that their parents could have another baby and Dawn's mom is totally young enough still. Then they discuss a new class they have to take, Modern Living, which is kind of like Life Skills. "it's important that we explore and experience the realities of being an adult in today's changing society." So, they get married and have to carry around an egg baby and create a budget and such.

Before we go into all the ways that is wrong, let's head over to the BSC meeting and get What Claudia is Wearing. A typical Claudia outfit might include a sequined shirt, stirrup pants (maybe black), low black boots, dangly turquoise earrings, and ribbons woven through tiny braids in her hair. And she wouldn't forget sparkly nail polish.

(click here for details & links)

Okay, back to baby-ville. Mary Anne gets a job sitting for twins Ricky & Rose from when they took that infant-care class a while back. (Trying to remember which one that was so I can link it...ah, it was The Baby Parade one, blegh.) She has tons of fun the first time, dressing them in cute frilly outfits and showing them off to the neighbors like they're her kids. Later, she & Dawn get caught by their parents talking about baby names and get shut down real quick. No babies here.

And over in Modern Living, Mary Anne & Logan get married in class and she's totally embarrassed by it. This book is actually kind of refreshing, almost a "Very Special Episode" book. The teacher explains their assignments: "Despite how old or young you may feel, the truth is that you are now biologically capable of becoming parents." Wow, I wonder how many complaints this one got back in the day? Probably not as much as it would now. Although they kind of ruined it when the four remaining boys had to be paired up together and freaked out, not wanting to be the "wife". They have to discuss money & finances, decide if they could be financially independent (at thirteen years), and take care of egg babies just like they're real children. (I feel like they've done this already too? Can't remember. *Checked: guess not.) They get a rude awakening when they find out a 2 bedroom apartment is $2000 a month (which I find really hard to believe, back then). And when they find out how hard it is to watch an egg baby 24/7.

Mary Anne takes their baby (Sammie) with her to sit for the twins because "how much harder could three babies be than two?" Famous last words. The twins cry a ton and she gets pretty frazzled juggling 3 kids. That doesn't stop her from marking up the baby section in the Kumbel (Sears?) catalog later that night with Dawn. And they get caught again by their parents. Things start to go sour (not literally) for Mary Anne, Logan, and Sammie. They argue over who takes her and when they try to have a normal date night at the movie, they end up nearly squishing and losing Sammie, and get in an argument. Their whole class is falling apart really: divorce, lost egg babies, unable to finish the project. Good life lessons here, people. Mary Anne gets a double lesson when she has to care for the twins again, who are teething, drooling monsters.

In other sitter news, Kristy gets paired with the reprehensible Alan Gray but is pleasantly surprised when he takes the assignment seriously and even names their egg son, Izzy. I think Alan is actually really smart but hides it behind the pranks and sarcastic remarks. Maybe his parents put too much pressure on him and this is why he acts out. Okay, anyway, they create an "environment" for Izzy, giving him a mini piano and science charts and stuff. Alan calls Kristy on her sitting job with the Papadakises' to check up on him and they discuss his social development for so long that the real kids take off with Izzy and she doesn't even realize it. Stacey, on the other hand, is totally meh about her assignment and thinks it's a waste of time. But at least she realizes she doesn't want a kid any time soon, so I guess she learned her lesson. Mallory and Dawn have to deal with the Pike kids wanting in on the egg experience, which ends with half a dozen broken eggs for poor Mrs Pike.

In the end, everyone learns their lessons, no one wants to have kids, and they're all excited about the next course-Health. (They even mention Sex Ed...whoa, slow down there ghost writers!) Mary Anne & Logan go way overboard and write a 32 page, single spaced, paper on their project. And then Mary Anne & Dawn's parents almost give the girls a heart attack by having a sit-down talk with them about babies...but they were just telling the girls they could get another pet. Crisis averted.

Review: "Stacey's Ex-Best Friend: The Baby-Sitters Club #51"

Stacey's Ex-Best Friend: The Baby-Sitters Club #51 by Ann M Martin
2 out of 5 stars

This one was kind of boring. Laine visits Stacey and is a total snob about everything. That's pretty much it, but since that doesn't make much of a review, let's dive a little deeper. Here we go.

It's snowing in Stoneybrook and Stacey is reminiscing about how much her life has changed in the last year, when Laine (her NYC BFF) calls. She calls Stacey "Anastasia" because it sounds more sophisticated and is all excited about her winter break coming up. Laine doesn't have any plans yet, except maybe go to a bunch of parties with her 15 year old boyfriend, King. I'm sure his real name is Walter or Herbert or something like that. He has long black hair with purple tips that he wears in a ponytail. Totally distant. (Oh wait, Laine didn't know what "distant" meant. Guess the BSC slang hasn't gotten to the big city yet.) Stacey suggests that Laine come to Stoneybrook and stay with her instead. Because that's what a teenager wants to do on their vacation: spend time at another school.

When Stacey tells the other BSCers about Laine coming, they're all excited and Mary Anne conveniently mentions that she'll be there for the Valentine's Dance. Which is being held on Friday the thirteenth, oh noze!! That's like total bad luck! (This would have been a prime time for another Cokie Mason mystery, but alas, the ghost writers didn't think of that.) All the girls have dates and then Kristy has a Great Idea, suggesting they throw a party for the kids they sit for. They decide to have all the kids make cards to trade, but using riddles instead of their real names. Throughout the book, we find out that nearly all the kids have crushes on each other. The sitters think that's adorable and encourage it. Because these second graders need encouragement to express their love. Yeah.

So Laine comes to stay with Stacey and she has to make her room totally fresh, which means getting rid of the kitten poster, Claudia's rag doll Lennie, her pig collection, and all the lame cassette tapes. And of course her outfit has to be perfect: a purple shirtwaist top over flowered leggings, cowboy boots (cowgirl boots? cowwoman boots?), a purple hair ornament made from shoelaces, and long dangly silver earrings. As soon as Stacey and her mom arrive at the train station and see Laine, she immediately feels dorky. [Laine] was hard to miss, considering she was wearing a jean coat with a fur collar (I sincerely hoped the fur was fake), black capri pants edged with lace, very chic black ankle boots, and on her head, a brilliant red over-sized beret.

(polyvore link w/ details)

Laine is not impressed with little, boring Stoneybrook or Stacey's lame sleepover. And she doesn't really want to go to the Valentine dance with some geeky 8th grader, especially after she meets them at school. Which she didn't want to go to in the first place. But Stacey gives her this heart-warming speech that changes her mind.

"...we used to be part of each other's lives. When I was living in New York and we went to the same school, we were practically sharing one life. Now our lives are so different. We talk a lot, but we hardly see each other. I feel as if I'm losing half of ME, and I'm trying to figure out how to get myself back. I miss you, Laine, I really do." aaawww....

So at school, Laine is horrified to find that they can't leave campus or go to the bathroom in groups and that the boys at SMS are huge geeks. Even though Stacey got the cream of the crop: Logan, Pete Black, Rick Chow, and Austin Bentley. Pete is completely enamored with Laine and tells her "[she has] hair like gossamer." Hah! Pete asks Laine to the dance and she agrees, after talking to King first. Oh, she calls King "Heart" and he calls her "Babe". Gross.

Over in baby-sitting news, the Hobart boys are disappointed when they find out that American kids don't wear suits and carnations to Valentine's parties. Poor kids. At the next BSC meeting, half the girls are mad at their dates and Kristy says boys are trouble. (Well yeah, you would think that.) Laine asks them if they're still going to be baby-sitting in the summer and Stacey is like, yeah duh. Laine suggests she get a "real job" like her, cashiering at a boutique. (What business owner in their right mind would hire a 13 year old?? I'm pretty sure that wasn't even legal back then.) Stacey gets peeved and is starting to wonder why she even invited Laine.

[Stacey talking about buying stuff on home shopping shows.]
Laine: "...[girl at school] always comes to school with J-U-N-Q-U-E."
Stacey: "Maybe she L-I-Q-U-E-S what she buys."
Oh snap! ;) Laine also tells Stacey she should go on a diet. Harsh.

It's finally the night of the dance, which means the book is almost over yay! Laine was dressed in black from head to toe. Black leotard, long black jacket, black leggings over black stockings [WHAT??], black shoes. Her jewelry was silver, though. [I'm sorry, I had to do a better version of this outfit, because I just did NOT understand it!!] Laine is horrified, yet again, when she finds out they are meeting the boys at the dance. And when Pete gives her a corsage. And when she says the pink heart decorations. And when she sees Pete's sneakers with his suit. (He'd be totally in style now.) And so on and so on.

(polyvore link w/ details)

Stacey finally has enough and yanks Laine off the dance floor and they have a big argument. Laine wants to go home (to New York) and Stacey agrees. She is over it. The whole friendship. A week later, she writes Laine a long letter basically about all the things she (Laine) did wrong and why their friendship is over. You know, typical junior high stuff. She even returns her half of her friendship necklace, so you know it's really over. I wonder if we'll see Laine again. I can't remember, but I'm guessing yes.

And that's it, except for the kids' Valentine party, which is a huge success of course. And Stacey dresses like a red elf: red leggings, red ankle boots, a bulky red sweater, and red barrettes. What's the deal with the city girls and their leggings and ankle boots???

(polyvore link w/ details)

Side note: I realized that I use the word "totally" waaaay too much! I had it 8 times in this review before I took some out! Oops.

Review: "A Wrinkle in Time"

 A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
3 out of 5 stars

I never read this book as a kid. Just skipped right past it. And I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Reading it as an adult left me confused and a little bit jaded. But I honestly can't see how a child could read this with any kind of comprehension of the plot. Since this is considered a classic, spoilers will be free-for-all, so beware if you want to give it a shot yourself.

The story starts out well enough with 15 year old Meg lamenting her high school career, or rather the lack of it. She's considered "weird" because her parents are highly intelligent scientists and her youngest brother (5 year old Charles Wallace) doesn't speak much in public. Meg is smarter than she seems or acts, as is Charles Wallace, but it's not helping them much. On "a dark and stormy night", the Murry family is visited by a strange creature named Mrs Whatsit, who mentions to their mother that the tesseract is a real thing. In case you're not up on your scientific studies, a tesseract is essentially, a wrinkle in time. Don't ask me to explain it further, there's math involved and I'm just not up for that. (This comic by Faith Erin Hicks probably explains it better than me!)

This is about when we get into the strange and unusual. Mrs Whatsit, along with her 2 friends (sisters?) Mrs Who and Mrs Which, take Meg, Charles Wallace, and a school friend of Meg's named Calvin on an amazing adventure thru time and space to save the Murry's father. He has been missing for quite some time and it is up to the children to find and rescue him from Evil, even though they have no idea what they are doing most of the time. There are fantastical creatures, 2 dimensional planets, Mediums with crystal balls, Dark Evil Things, and a planet where every person and thing is perfectly in sync with the next. It is on this planet that the children's father is being imprisoned by IT...a disembodied brain controlling everything around it. Pretty creepy.

Side note: does anyone remember the Galactic Milieu series by Julian May? I loved those books but got grounded (because of bad grades) from reading the last one in 9th grade and now I can't remember if I ever read it. I should pick those up sometime and reread them.
Another side note: was I the only one who got grounded from reading books? Lol...

Okay, moving on. The children free their father but in the process, lose Charles Wallace to IT. He is turned into a pod person and they escape to another planet before IT gets Meg as well. Meg is severely injured when they tesser (you know, move thru time) but is taken care of by the strange creatures on the planet, whom she calls Aunt Beast. I think this was probably my favorite chapter. The gentleness and quiet laughter from Aunt Beast was so refreshing for Meg and me.

"How strange it is that they can't tell us what they themselves seem to know."
"They are very young. And on their earth, as they call it, they never communicate with other planets. They revolve all alone in space."
"Oh, aren't they lonely?"

In the end, it is Meg who goes back to save Charles Wallace and she does so with love. Yep, love is the only thing IT doesn't have. Convenient, right? But that's okay, I still kind of teared up. The 3 children and their father tesser back home, where they are reunited with the rest of the Murry's in the vegetable garden.

"How did all this happen? Isn't it wonderful? I feel as though I were just being born! I'm not alone any more! Do you realize what that means to me?"

Review: "Dawn's Big Date: The Baby-Sitters Club #50"

Dawn's Big Date: The Baby-Sitters Club #50 by Ann M Martin
4 out of 5 stars

I finally read another BSC book! I kinda suck huh? I'm going to try to get better about it, because I actually missed these perpetual teenagers' baby-sitting hijinks! So this story really deserves like a 2.5 for the actual plot (major fat-shaming going on that I'll get into later) but I just had to bump it up for the outfits. There are a plethora of outfits and Dawn is bringing her A-game in this one, folks. (Too bad she goes back to Cali-casual in the end.)

The book starts off on the day before New Year's Eve and Mary Anne & Dawn are getting ready for their epic BSC slumber party, making their grocery list. Dawn wants to make gross vegan (their words, not mine) stuff, of course, like soybean pie and tofu apple nut loaf. Mary Anne goes for the good stuff, like pigs in a blanket (she liked the name lol) and English muffin pizzas. They start talking about Logan and his cousin, Lewis. Remember him? Yeah me neither, hang on let me go look him up. Oh yeah, he shows up after that creepy pedo Travis. Okay, got it.

So apparently, Dawn & Lewis have been penpalling it for awhile now and Lewis is finally coming to Stoneybrook. Dawn is excited but super nervous and doesn't think he'll actually like her. I know this sounds like I'm totally insecure, but I'm not. People are always saying what an individual I am. You have be at least somewhat secure to be an individual. Oookay. She makes a resolution to get a boyfriend, even if it means changing herself to do that. (Hello, she already almost did that with Travis?!)

MA & Dawn are 1 minute late to the BSC meeting that afternoon and Kristy gives them the stink eye. When is she going to get over her jealousy of their relationship?? Probably right about when Dawn moves back to California. Claudia pulls out one of those popcorn tins with 3 different kinds (those were the bomb.com) that her Aunt Peaches sent her and the girls snack down while we get the intro story and What Claudia is Wearing... (click any of the pics to make bigger for more detail!)

She was wearing maroon leggings and ballet slippers under an oversized yellow shirt. Around her waist she wore this great belt that she made herself from three thin strips of leather tied together and decorated with ceramic beads. For the final touch, Claudia had swept her hair over to one side and tied it up with another thin leather strip that had the same kind of beads on it. She looked great - and she was just hanging around her own house!

Dawn gets a sitting gig for the family du jour, Sarah and Norman Hill. We also, surprisingly, get an update on another family: the Kormans. Apparently Bill & Melody are no longer terrified of the toilet monster. I know you're glad to hear it. So let's talk about the Hills. In Dawn's words: Norman Hill...was fat. (I don't mean to be unkind. There's just no other way to say it. He wasn't stout. He wasn't husky or stocky or pudgy. He was fat.) Okay then. It's going to be like that? On her first sitting job, Norman gorges on cupcakes in his room, eats Hershey Kisses the entire time they watch The Little Mermaid, and eats an early dinner of pb&j sandwich with Oreos and milk. The neighborhood kids call him Enormous Hill and his parents have threatened to send him to fat camp if he doesn't lose 20 pounds.

Okay, yeah that's bad and all. But his parents kind of suck. They don't try to figure out WHY he's over-eating. They still bring in all this bad food to the house. He's 7 years old. He doesn't have any self-control. They need to do it for him. Ugh. I hated this storyline. It's almost as bad as Robin in Sweet Valley High. Claudia baby-sits him next and sort of tries to find out why he eats so much but then reads a letter he wrote to his penpal where he makes up all kinds of stories. Stacey tries a little harder, telling him about her diabetes (how many kids has she helped with that? 4 or 5?) and suggesting he talk to his parents about how they're making him feel. Of course, that actually works because the BSC are licensed psychiatrists.

Now back to Dawn & Lewis. At the NYE party, Claudia & Stacey show up in fancy outfits: Claudia had tied her hair up in a high ponytail with this silver netting around it. She was wearing wide black pants and a top with a silver moon appliqued on the front. Stacey wore a form-fitting purple dress and pink tights with black stripes. The girls have tons of fun, eat lots of snacks, and talk about boys. I've noticed lately that we talk about boys a lot more than ever before. That's because your bodies are changing, Dawn, and hormones are running rampant. The girls each call a boy at midnight, except Dawn, Jessi, & Mallory. Dawn feels like a loser and makes a second resolution to change herself, to make sure she gets that boyfriend.

She starts going thru the fashion mags and Mary Anne agrees (kind of insists) that maybe Dawn could do with a change. She slathers all this makeup on and does her hair in about 50 curlers, then tears a shirt up to make it off-the-shoulder, and takes a sexy new picture to send to Lewis. Dawn is so excited about her new look that she decides to make it permanent, along with an attitude adjustment.

"Dawn" [the teacher said] "Name two common forms of igneous rock."
"Heavy metal and pop," I answered, tossing my hair over my shoulder.

She starts tearing up all her clothes, making miniskirts out of sweatpants, more off-the-shoulder tops, and adjusting her jeans. The other girls don't like her new look and attitude, because they're jerks. MA understands though and comes up with this ironic little sentence: "Everyone should be allowed to change. I mean, we're only thirteen. None of us will stay exactly the way we are for the rest of our lives." It's finally time for Lewis to come and we get the best outfit that Dawn has ever worn:

Black ballet slippers; black lace capri leggings; a short metallic silver skirt with all this crinoliney stuff underneath that made it poof out; a stretchy, tight, black-and-white-striped top with long sleeves. I'd bought six rubber bangle bracelets, and a new pair of feather earrings that reached down to my shoulder. (I wore both earrings in the two holes in my right ear. I put a pair of small black hoops in the two holes on the left.) This time I didn't set my hair; I piled it on top of my head, then made six braids.

Of course, her new look does not mean that their first date goes well. Quite the opposite, in fact. Dawn is so busy trying to act cool that she forgets how to communicate so Mary Anne starts piling all these self-help articles on her, like "You-Directed Conversation" and "Taking Charge of Your First Date" and "Flirting with Flare". This just makes it worse, of course, so she thinks maybe she needs to push her outfits more.

A denim skirt and black turtleneck that she borrowed from MA. "I was too plain. Working quickly, I applied blush, mascara, and lots of navy blue eyeliner. The final touch was the hot pink lipstick I'd bought at the drugstore that afternoon. The next problem was my hair. I opened the [hair] clip and let the curls "flow free". I looked like a little kid with big loopy curls. Luckily I had some hair gel. I put gel on the sides, and looked a lot better. I jazzed up the outfit with a pair of black textured stockings I'd bought at Zingy's and a pair of short black boots I already owned. My skirt needed to be shorter, so I rolled it up two inches and untucked the black turtleneck. Much better...

Dawn pulls out all the stops on the date, saying Lewis' name every 5 seconds, touching his arm, making creepy eye contact, trying to hold hands in the movie theatre. They go see Gone with the Wind which is a big mistake. Dawn starts crying halfway thru and gets blue and black rivers streaking down her face. It's all a huge fail and it's all Mary Anne's fault. Duh, because it's totally not the crazy outfits.

I'd spent Sunday tie-dying a pair of white tights and some of Richard's old t-shirts. Today I was wearing the dyed tights, my new sweat skirt, and one of the t-shirts belted over a leotard. I'd spent the rest of the afternoon putting my hair in tiny braids all over my head. (Who else did this in the 90s??) Then I gelled the braids. This morning I'd unbraided my hair up to about chin-length. I left in the braids along my head. It looked cool. The top was in braids and the bottom was all crinkled and frizzy. [So sorry I couldn't find this exact hairstyle! I can picture it though, can't you?]

Okay, that's the last outfit because Dawn finally comes to her senses and tells Lewis why she's been dressing like this. He tells her he likes how she used to look and she runs home, washes all the cool out of her hair, throws together some granola lunch, and Lewis finally sees the real Dawn. And surprise surprise, he likes her. Gag me with a spoon. Dawn & Lewis kiss in the end. Is that her first kiss? I can't remember. And he goes back to Kentucky.

Review: "The Little Prince" Classic a Month #11.2014

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery
3 out of 5 stars

Okay, I'll just say it flat out...I didn't really "get" this book. Maybe I'm reading too much into it or maybe not enough, I don't know. I know there's probably some big lesson I should be getting out of it, but I didn't. It was a sweet, sad little story yes, but I know I missed the big picture. Those of you who have read it, help me out here? And if you haven't read it, go try and let me know what you think! (Spoilers here, of course.)

So, this is the story of a little prince from a far off star planet who arrives on Earth. He befriends a pilot whose plane has gone down in the middle of the desert and as the man is trying to fix it, the prince keeps him occupied with stories of his travels. First, he tells of his own little planet, with its beautifully unique flower, three volcanoes (one extinct), and forty-four sunsets a day. Then he begins to tell of the people and beings he has met on the other planets: a king who rules only over himself, a conceited man who demands admiration, a drunk who drinks because he is ashamed of his drinking. Each person he meets imparts a lesson or bit of wisdom on the boy.

"One must require from each one the duty which each one can perform."

"Then you shall judge yourself. That is the most difficult thing of all. It is much more difficult to judge oneself than to judge others. If you succeed in judging yourself rightly, then you are indeed a man of true wisdom."

Then there is the businessman who collects the stars in a bank of numbers, the lamplighter, and the geographer who does not explore.

"Little golden objects that set lazy men to idle dreaming."
"Ah! You mean the stars?"

And finally, he arrives on Earth, where he meets a snake who promises to help send him back to his star when he is ready. He meets a garden full of roses, exactly like the flower he left behind. "I thought that I was rich, with a flower that was unique in all the world; and all I had was a common rose. That doesn't make me a very great prince." He tames a fox and learns a valuable lesson about his flower and himself.

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." 

And then he meets the pilot. He asks the man to draw him a sheep to take home with him and a box to keep him in. The man listens, sometimes impatiently, to the prince's stories and on the eighth day, they must go in search of water or die. They magically find a well and drink the golden water and there, the prince tells the man that the anniversary of his trip is coming up and it is time for him to return home. The man does not understand at first and then tries to talk the boy out of it, but it is no use. He cannot take his body back to his star with him and so must leave it there. The snake is back to help him on his journey and the prince gives one last gift to the man.

"And at night you will look up at the stars. My star will just be one of the stars, for you. And so you will love to watch all the stars in the heavens...they will all be your friends."

Review: "Snowbound: The Baby-Sitters Club Super Special #7"

Snowbound: The Baby-Sitters Club Super Special #7 by Ann M Martin
3.5 out of 5 stars

You guys, I read this book in August! Three months ago! Oh, the shame...the blogging shame. But hey, let's pretend I meant to hold it this long because we're having record low temps in the 30s this week! Yeah, that's it lol.

This one was on the verge of being boring but then it pulled out the fun and outrageous in the end. It starts out with Kristy being super annoying, writing the Stoneybrook newspaper about the blizzard they had and offering to sell them the Baby-Sitters Club's story as an article. She's all "your story was good but mine is better" and "by the way, do you need a baby-sitter?" And she basically spoils the whole story for us, by listing what happened to everyone during the blizzard. THEN we go back to the beginning of the story.

It's a normal weekend at home for Kristy...homework, daydreaming about her "boyfriend" Bart, helping Karen with her sweater-pants, searching for missing rats, etc...The weather people are calling for a huge snowstorm, but since that's the 4th time they've predicted snow with nothing, Kristy doesn't think much about it. Oh and there's another dance: the Winter Wonderland Dance. And it's pretty close to Christmas. For some reason, we get the intro chapter in this Super Special and they lay out what everyone is doing on Wednesday: Mary Anne and Mallory are doing a marathon baby-sitting job for the Pikes, Jessi has a rehearsal for The Nutcracker, Dawn is picking up Jeff at the airport, and Claudia is baby-sitting for the Perkins girls. So they decide to actually cancel the Wednesday meeting (I don't know how Kristy didn't have a heart attack) and then they gab about the dance and all the awesome guys they're going with. Claudia already has her dibbly outfit picked out too:

I was really looking forward to dressing up. I'd bought this black velvet knicker outfit and was going to wear it with a lot of silver jewelry, including snowflake earrings. 

Okay, let's start going down the list of where everyone is and what happens to them when it finally snows! The snowstorm finally starts up late Wednesday afternoon, conveniently when the BSC meeting was cancelled. Mary Anne and Mallory are doing their huge sitting job because Mr & Mrs Pike are having some weird touristy day in New York. I guess that's the only way they can afford vacations. Mary Anne is staying the night and Mrs Pike says there is enough food for them, but she'll have to go to the grocery as soon as she gets back. (Important point for later.) When it starts snowing, the triplets scare Claire with stories of the Abominable Snowman. As it gets later and the snow gets heavier, the Pike parents call and say they aren't coming back that night, then they realize they are almost out of food, then the phones and power go out, and suddenly everyone is starving. Like, 30 minutes after dinner. They make it thru the night but the next morning they're all still hungry and Mary Anne even calls Logan and whines that she's hungry. So what does any self-respecting 13 year old boy from Kentucky do? Gets on his cross-country skis and brings a backpack full of food over to his girlfriend. Yeah, seriously.

Stacey and her mom are at Washington Mall, getting Stace's hair permed for the big dance. Her mom doesn't like to drive in snow and starts freaking out when they leave the mall to see big snowflakes coming down. They get on the highway and start inching their way slowly home. Until they fishtail and her mom decides to take the backroads home. Then she pulls over when it gets too hard to see. And they get stuck on the side of the road. Pretty scary, especially once Stacey gets hungry and the car dies. To keep their minds off things, Stacey asks her mom how & why she fell in love with her dad. Kind of like that part in The Parent Trap. And then they get rescued by a desperate criminal...just kidding, it's a kindly gentleman with a wife and a baby at home. He takes them to his country home, which is decked out for Christmas. It looked like a house from a fairy tale, lit inside and out, a green wreath with a plaid ribbon hanging on the door, the gold lights on a Christmas tree twinkling through a window. Have I mentioned how ready I am for Christmas this year? I am full of holiday spirit lol. Stacey mentions that this will be her first Christmas as a divorced kid. They fall in love with the Schiavone family and even trade Christmas cards afterwards. Once Stacey gets back home, Claudia rushes over, all worried, because everyone had noticed they were gone and says "Don't ever think we wouldn't miss you." Aw...

Claudia is busy baby-sitting the Perkins girls when it starts snowing and of course, the parents can't get back home and the power goes out. Instead of taking the girls across the street to her home, she decides to just stay at their house. And then Chewy, the big destructive dog, goes missing. Turns out he was in the basement the whole night. Not a lot happens for Claud, so we'll put in this gem from Myriah Perkins:

[We can make] "a whole snow family! A snow mommy and a snow daddy and three snow girls and a snow dog and two snow cats." 
"You are going to be very busy tomorrow," [Claudia] said.
"That's what happens when you're five," Myriah replied.

And on to Jessi...she has her big Nutcracker rehearsal, which of course contains plenty of small children. Quint, her New York boyfriend, is on his way to stay with Jessi for the week and go to the dance with her. The snow starts, parents can't get there (doesn't anybody leave early when they see there might be bad weather?), everyone is stuck there overnight. Quint shows up a few hours later after WALKING there from the train station. Seriously, that's just dumb. Jessi & Quint help corral the younger kids, because apparently all the adults there can't do it. The next morning, they have a romantic breakfast across the street.

Dawn's mom is the only adult in the whole book who actually leaves early, to pick up Jeff from the airport. Doesn't matter though, because his flight is diverted to Washington and Dawn & her mom get stuck at the airport for the night. Luckily, Dawn has a baby in a nearby family to keep her occupied. Jeff arrives the next morning, understandably upset over the whole ordeal, but by the time they get home, it was a grand adventure.

And finally...Kristy. The only person who was actually in her own home (besides Mallory I suppose). She invites Bart over to watch some movies and have dinner with her entire family (not too bright for Miz Prez) and he has to stay the night once it starts snowing. Kristy freaks because ZOMG A BOY!!! And sets her alarm for 5:30 the next morning so she can get up and make herself pretty. I'm not sure why, because he's never seen her pretty before. Ooh...zing! She even shaves her legs, for the first time, with an electric razor. Ouch. All her brothers make fun of her, of course, but Bart says she's beautiful. After the storm, everyone catches up on everyone else's story and back to the present...Kristy gets a call from the newspaper that they do want to publish her article. I hope it's not as long as this blog post! (Sorry!) And the girls all go to the Winter Dance together, with their various boy toys. The End.

Review: "Pippi Longstocking" Classic a Month #8.2014

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
3 out of 5 stars

Pippi is one of those books/characters that is probably better off left behind in your childhood memories. Reading her as an adult was excruciating and a little bit sad. As a child, you hear about this amazing girl who lives on her own with her horse and monkey and gets to do whatever she wants, with no adults to ever tell her no. She has fantastical adventures, can go to bed whenever she wants, doesn't have to go to school, nothing bad ever happens to her, and everything is always wonderful in Pippi's world. (Even with her father, the infamous cannibal king, missing at sea.) Who wouldn't love this book, as a child? Who of us never dreamed of being Tommy and Annika, with Pippi as a neighbor? Getting to go on picnics and running into an angry bull, discovering secret clubhouses in hollowed out trees, playing "don't touch the floor" in the kitchen (okay, my sister and I actually did that one in the living room lol), watching Pippi fly thru the air at the circus and beat the strongest man ever. Overall, this is the perfect adventure book for children and it's evident why it's a classic.

However, reading it as an adult brings on a completely different tone. You begin to feel sorry for Pippi, being alone all the time. Many of the chapters are tinged with sadness, such as when she makes the burglars stay and play with her til 3 in the morning and then gives them a little gold for their trouble. Or when Pippi goes to Tommy & Annika's for a coffee party and their mother scolds her for not behaving.

Pippi looked at her in astonishment and her eyes slowly filled with tears. "That's just what I was afraid of," she said. "That I couldn't behave properly. It's no use to try; I'll never learn. I should have stayed on the ocean."

The child just wants to be loved. And honestly, she needs a little discipline. You know you're getting older when you want to just spank the child for behaving like that lol.

And then there was the question of her amazing strength and ability to wriggle out of any sticky situation. Why is she so strong? Genetics? Did Mr Nilsson bite her in a rabies-induced rage? Children don't question those kinds of things, but it just seems odd to an adult. I feel like if Pippi had either not had her super-human strength or got into a little more trouble occasionally, the story would have been more believable. She is never held accountable for her actions, she always manages to get out of a bad situation. That makes the story a little boring at times, honestly. And then there's the lying. Oh, the lying is awful. What parent would want to read this book to their child?? Luckily, children aren't quite so closed minded as adults and just see the story for what it is...a fantastical story about a fantastical little girl with red braids and a monkey on her shoulder.

My Favorite Children's Book #4: Madeline's Rescue

What was your favorite picture book as a child? What book did you return to, over and over again, until your parents were completely sick of it? Was it Madeline? Max & the Wild Things? Paddington? This feature shows off some of my favorite children's books, in no particular order, and I also want to hear what you think! So comment below. :)

Madeline's Rescue by Ludwig Bemelmans

I asked my sister, A, what children's book I should do this week and she said Madeline, because "she has red hair like me". And then my mom mentioned a Madeline doll she wanted and it seemed like that was the book to do. Turns out I don't actually have the first Madeline book though! I really thought I did too, weird. This is the second book in the series, published in 1953 and a Caldecott winner in 1954. I always loved finding books with the Caldecott or Newbery seal on them as a kid, it made them seem so special. (Which I suppose they were or they wouldn't have won.)

I'm sure you know the original story of Madeline: "twelve little girls in two straight lines. The smallest one was Madeline." Madeline's Rescue can be taken two ways: the first in that she is rescued from the Seine river by a stray dog and the second in that Madeline herself rescues the dog from living on the streets. This book is super morbid for a children's book.

Poor Madeline would now be dead
But for a dog
that kept its head,
And dragged her safe from a watery grave.

Of course she is safe though and they take the dog home with them and name her Genevieve. All is well until the evil board of trustees arrive for their annual inspection and Lord Cucuface (really, that's his name) makes the dog leave. The girls scour the city, looking for her but she is gone. That evening, Genevieve shows back up at the home and the girls are ecstatic to see her. Even more so when she has puppies. (How and when did she have time for that?!) In the end, each of the twelve girls has her own puppy to walk in two straight lines and Genevieve has Madeline.

Review: "Claudia and the Genius of Elm Street: The Baby-Sitters Club #49"

 Claudia and the Genius of Elm Street: The Baby-Sitters Club #49 by Ann M Martin
4 out of 5 stars

This was a pretty good one, especially compared to the last sobfest. Rosie Wilder, genius extraordinaire, is the Child of the Week, who needs a 13 year old to show her parents that they are doing it wrong. Maybe the parents of Stoneybrook should take a child-rearing class, so they don't need the baby-sitter psychiatrists.

The book starts out with Claudia watching a documentary on Andy Warhol and Janine is like, "I don't understand how you can call that stuff art." Psshh...whatever Janine, go study your calculus or something. Side note...why did Janine not skip a grade or three if she's such a super genius? She's taking college level classes but is still technically a junior. Anyway, Claudia gets a Kristy-sized Idea to make a series of pop-art style paintings of junk food. Twinkies, Doritos, Ring Dings, Milk Duds...is anyone else getting hungry? Kristy takes it a step further and suggests she have a show in her garage for the public. Claudia thinks this is a great idea and gets to work on her pieces. Before all that though, we have a What Claudia is Wearing:

I'm into wild clothes and different hairstyles. That afternoon, for instance, I was wearing a man's paisley vest I'd found at a yard sale, over a striped button-down shirt with tuxedo-stripe black Spandex stirrup pants, held up with pink-flecked black suspenders. [Sorry, it's hard to find suspenders!] My hair was pulled straight back with a paisley comb, and I was wearing electric-pink ankle boots. The boots really set off the formality of the rest of the outfit, sort of like the punchline of a joke.

So at the BSC meeting, Mrs Wilder (who is apparently British?) calls and needs a semi-regular sitter for 7 year old Rosie, because her mother has had a rash of illnesses/injuries lately. (Get it? Rash? I crack myself up.) Claudia gets the job and is kind of excited about it, until she actually starts the job. Rosie is apparently super talented in everything she tries and her parents want her to do it all: piano, ballet, violin, singing, tap, acting, science club, math club, modeling (she goes on go-sees, just like on America's Next Top Model lol. (My sister and I have been binge watching ANTM from S1 this summer, it's so great and so much better than the later seasons.)) On top of all that talent, Rosie is really smart too, and ends up making Claudia feel even stupider than usual.

Janine, in her glasses, was explaining things about animal migration and habitats. Rosie, in her glasses, was nodding and asking intelligent-sounding questions.

And Claudia Kishi, with no glasses, was drawing half a Twinkie.

She tries to get to know Rosie better, especially after Claud sees how hard her teachers work her, but it's no good. Then Stacey has to baby-sit Rosie one day and gets totally embarrassed when she has to help Rosie read a script and messes up. OMG Stace, forreals?! That's like, totes mortifying! Jessi also sits for her and tries to bond with her over ballet, but Rosie isn't having it and says she only wants Claudia to sit for her from now on, because she likes her best. Seriously? Okay.

The BSCers help Claudia clean out her garage for her art show and it totally sucks, because it's a big old mess, and Claudia gets kind of upset because everyone is complaining. Then Stacey comes out with this Mary Poppins-esque gem: "Every fun project begins with some dirty work. But you do it because it has to get done. There's no law that says you have to like every single thing you do, right?" And Claudia has an epiphany, that maybe Rosie doesn't really like doing all these things. Duh. At her next sitting job, this is confirmed when Rosie starts drawing with Claud (and she's good, of course) and says that's what she really likes to do. Claudia encourages her to talk to her parents and later, talks to them herself. Of course, this all goes well and the parents don't resent Claud for butting in, and they let Rosie get rid of some of her activities. Another family, put back together by the Baby-Sitters Club!

Claudia's art show, named Disposable Comestibles, a Pop-Art Multi-Media Extravaganza is a huge success, despite that jerk Alan Gray showing up, and she even sells a couple of pieces. Rosie shows some of her work too and her parents agree she can take lessons; Rosie picks Claudia to be her teacher. We'll probably never hear from/of Rosie again though. And that's the end of that! Guess what's next? Another Super Special and then another BSC: All Grown Up!! Yay!

My Favorite Children's Books #3: The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish

Today is my dad's birthday, so I thought it was fitting to pick this book. :) He would probably rather be traded for 2 squirrels though. Also fitting, he shared his love for Neil Gaiman with me when I was a teenager and I am so glad he did. Happy birthday, Dad!





The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish
Written by Neil Gaiman
Pictures by Dave McKean




Two Goldfish (as I shall shorten it) is a cute little story about a boy who decides that his friend's 2 goldfish are so awesome that he must have them, at any cost. He offers him a variety of things, including baseball cards, books, a penny whistle, and Clownie the Clown. His friend wisely declines all of these offers. The boy sits and thinks and finally comes up with an outstanding offer...his father. The friend agrees and goes home happy with his trade.

When the boy's mother gets home, she is not quite so happy. In fact, she is a little peeved. She sends the boy out to retrieve his father and return the 2 goldfish. Unfortunately, the friend decided that Dad wasn't such a great deal after all. "All he did was read the paper." So begins a string of trades that takes the boy and his younger sister all around town, trying to get their dad back. In the end, they realize that he really is "a very good daddy" and are glad to have him back.

The artwork is different for a children's book, but knowing the author, it works well with his style. It's an interesting mixture of drawing, watercolors, and some collage of real pictures (the goldfish in particular). Overall, a great book for younger children. Especially those who are feeling grumpy towards their parents or have a tendency to want to trade their possessions.

Review: "Jessi's Wish: The Baby-Sitters Club #48"

Jessi's Wish: The Baby-Sitters Club #48 by Ann M Martin
2 out of 5 stars

Ugh, this is a "Very Special Episode" book. :P Jessi's sister, Becca, comes home from school upset one day because her volunteering group, Kids Can Do Anything, might break up. One of the teacher volunteers is leaving for an extended amount of time and the other teacher can't find anyone else to help out. Jessi thinks this is rotten, because Becca really loves the group, so she decides to volunteer for the group. And then she brings it up at the next BSC meeting and suggests that all the members spend some time volunteering. Surprisingly, Kristy agrees with this, even though it isn't earning her any money. And amazingly, there are no emergency baby-sitting jobs that come up. So they all have time to volunteer for like a month.

We don't get a lot of story about the other sitters' gigs, unfortunately, because some of them could be pretty interesting. And wow, are there a lot of volunteering opportunities in the area for 11-14 year old girls! Kristy helps out at a day-care center that David Michael used to go to (which contradicts their original story, I believe?); Dawn helps some physically disabled kids; Stacey counsels kids who are newly diagnosed with diabetes; Claudia helps with an art class (way to get out of your comfort zone, Claud); Mary Anne is helping (baby-sitting) a boy who is mentally disabled; and Mallory volunteers at a recreational program at a park. We get to see a little bit of everyone's story except Mary Anne and Mal, which is kind of odd.

But the main focus is on Jessi, of course, and her time at the Kids Club. The kids have recently gathered and donated toys to the local children's hospital and they receive letters from the patients, thanking them and such. One of the letters is from a girl named Danielle, who used to go to their school and has leukemia. (Here comes the "Very Special Episode" part.) Danielle is getting better and will be released from the hospital soon and probably joining the Kids Club again. Most of the kids are a little stunned that one of their own is sick and don't really know how to process it at first. When she shows back up at school, the kids are all a little shy around her for awhile but Becca & Charlotte actually befriend her and the 3 girls start hanging out together outside of school and become good friends.

At an informal BSC meeting in Dawn & Mary Anne's barn, Jessi tells them all about Danielle and how she only has 2 wishes: to go to Disney World and to graduate from elementary school. Excuse me, I seem to have something in my eye. *sniff* Let's take it down a notch on the drama train for a minute, okay? Here's a funny little passage from Miss City Girl, Stacey McGill followed by a totally made-up, totally dibbly, What Claudia Would Be Wearing This Summer. :)

[Stacey] climbed into the loft and stretched out flat on her back. "This is the life," she said with a sigh. "I think I was meant to be a country girl."

"You mean, life without Bloomingdale's?" asked Claud.

"Oh. No. What was I thinking? I'm not a country girl at all. My mistake."

Okay, back to the serious. Mary Anne tells Jessi about a program called "Your Wish is My Command" (essentially Make-a-Wish Foundation...I guess they couldn't use it, which is odd since there's a blurb in the back of the book about it) that helps sick kids get their wishes. Jessi calls them up and asks all sorts of questions and tells them all about Danielle and they tell her to have the parents call. They do and surprise! They get Danielle on the list right away and she gets her trip to Disney within, like, 2 weeks! Oh BSC-Land, you are so naive. After Danielle gets back from her trip, she gets sick again and has to go back to the hospital. Becca & Charlotte are totally distraught, of course, and scared for her. And dang, I have something in my eye again. This book is really emotional. And it doesn't end with Danielle getting better either, she's still in the hospital at the end. I wonder if we'll get a mention of her again later? Okay, I have to go hug my cat now. ;)