Karen's Hurricane

Baby-Sitters Little Sister #113

by Ann M. Martin

A hurricane is blowing toward Connecticut, and Karen is fascinated to watch the weather reports about the storm that shares her name. Hurricane Karen hits and leaves its mark on Stoneybrook, including tearing down a beloved old tree.

Genres: Fiction, Middle Grade, Childrens, Chapter Books

108 pages, Unknown Binding

First published September 1, 1999

About the author

Ann Matthews Martin was born on August 12, 1955. She grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, with her parents and her younger sister, Jane. After graduating from Smith College, Ann became a teacher and then an editor of children's books. She's now a full-time writer.

Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.

Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.

Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.

After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...

Reviews

[Jaclyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hurricane in Stoneybrook! Good book, love that it was a little house month so we got to see how fantastic Karen's mom is in an emergency with two little kids, and also how heroic Seth is in stepping up to help the community. I love how the book shows how natural disasters affect young kids, and how young kids can find the resilience within themselves to deal with it. Nice Kristy cameo, very much a shoutout for O.G. BSC series fans. And I thought it was really sweet of Seth to build that bench out of the knocked-over beloved old oak tree, and also donate it to the school. I also appreciate how he labelled it as being from Ms Colman's 2nd grade class instead of as being from Seth Engle, or even from Karen Brewer and family. Good man, and not at all in it for personal glory.

[V. Arrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very tense for an early reader! I really do appreciate how much this series takes children's inner lives seriously.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been waiting my entire life to read this book, and 20 years later my boyfriend found this book for me for Christmas. Honestly, I really enjoyed reading this book as an adult. It was a great way to help children learn about loss and coping with a disaster. It was a hard book to find, but it was worth the wait.

[Brenda Anshanslin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never read this as a kid, likely because by the time it was published I was nearly 18! That said, this was an exciting read for elementary to middle grade readers. Even as an adult I enjoyed the journey. It makes me sad that childhood is gone. I miss the made up adventures and being a good big sister. Fun quick read!

[Annora · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be one of the best Little Sister books. We get more Seth than usual. Karen isn’t acting entitled or bratty. In fact, through her we see the impact natural disasters have on children. It was a sweet story.

[Em's Adventures · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definitely one of the most exciting books in the series, it was one of my favourites when I was little.

[JH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why do Karen books always shock me with how good they are?! Loved this one, seeing how her class discussed the upcoming hurricane, and then how the community of Stoneybrook came together after the storm.

[Miri · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hurricane named Karen is heading right for Stoneybrook, at first Karen is excited but the storm is really scary and so many things are destroyed. Karen doesn't like hurricane Karen at all!