Karen's Mistake

Baby-Sitters Little Sister #117

by Ann M. Martin

When Karen and her father's family throw a big New Year's Eve party, her stepmother's mother, Nannie, makes a new friend and Karen wonders if that will cause more changes in her family

Genres: Middle Grade, Childrens, Fiction

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

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

[A · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had been feeling very sorry for myself. I had been thinking about how I would feel, losing Nannie, instead of thinking about Nannie being happy.

This sentence tells you everything you need to know about the main character. I know Karen is only seven, but she was selfish in this book. Especially about her step-grandmother going on a date. I'm sorry, but what does any of this have to do with you? Let the lady live her life. I also thought she and Nancy were a bit insensitive toward Hannie. I get that being in love with a singer is unrealistic, but then again, Hannie is just kid. Who didn't have a crush on a celebrity at that age and thought they were in love? Karen was acting so holier-than-thou during the B-plot.

[Jaclyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aww this is sweet! Karen's "mistake" is introducing Nannie to a handsome and kind elderly man visiting from Florida at their family's New year's eve party. Now nannie and the man are spending lots of time together, and Karen's worried they'll fall in love and get married and Nannie will move to Florida to be with him. Nannie can't leave; Karen will miss her too much!

The B-plot about Hannie being "in love" with a famous singer and convinced he loves her back coz of the form letters and marketing materials he sends is also sweet and relatable. Three Musketeers to the rescue!

[Em's Adventures · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading it now I'm not sure why, but I absolutely loved this book when I was little.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

We learn that Nannie’s first name is Janet in this book! Also, I guess Hannie and Scott Hsu had an elementary school divorce because he’s not mentioned at all during her crush plot.

[Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like that she had a really big mistake. It was so big that it got her into a lot of trouble.

[Emmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book only because i love Babysitter's club books. I like this book because Karen is a really funny girl and this book is alright i suppose