Karen's Newspaper

Baby-Sitters Little Sister #40

by Ann M. Martin, Susan Tang (Illustrator)

Karen hatches the idea of starting a neighborhood newspaper just for kids, but when she and her friends print gossip about the neighbors, they get in lots of trouble. Original.

Genres: Childrens, Middle Grade, Juvenile, Fiction

99 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

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

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was actually really good, but poor Charlie!

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a young'un, I was OBSESSED with the Little Sister series. I had all the books - except that this book is where that starts falling off. I only had a few books in the 40s: 42, 45, 46, and 48 for some reason. I mean, maybe by nearly-10, I was outgrowing the series, so I wasn't as diligent about collecting them? And yet, I read those few books just as much as the other 39 in my collection, so I have no idea. (Though I did definitely stop after Karen's Two Families , so I must've outgrown them.) So this book is special to me for being the first book that I didn't own in childhood.

And it's a kind of boring book tbh. I do like that the Three Musketeers try to write a paper that people find interesting (and don't get them in trouble haha), and I appreciate that after all their hard work, they're not having fun anymore so they stop. But other than that, it didn't really hold my attention, but maybe that's because it doesn't has as much nostalgia to me.

[Elise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Karen and friends started a neighbourhood newspaper. I laughed when family secrets got published and went all over the neighborhood, like Charlie buying his girlfriend a bracelet, and hannies dad wanting to lose weight. After feedback, they changed their approach and after the third paper they put, they quit. I thought writing for a paper sounded exciting, and I joined it in high school

[Jaclyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a kid who once wished to become a journalist, I would totally have eaten this story up! Nice nostalgic nod to the time I started a family newspaper. (Unlike Karen's, mine lasted for only one issue, and definitely didn't have anywhere as many as 16 copies printed! Maybe just one copy, even, that we passed around?)

[Em's Adventures · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love how thoughtful and kind Karen is getting, not so annoying and bratty in this one.

[V. Arrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one felt preachier than most BSC titles.

[JH · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really good! The Three Musketeers learn some hard lessons while entertaining the big house neighborhood with a homemade newspaper.

[Luna · Rating 2 out of 5]

So Karen decides to create a newspaper of her very own as she decides that newspaper editors are boring as she doesn't understand concepts like Cubism and doesn't know that rite is a word. Whatever, Karen. Then she convinces Hannie and Nancy to jump on board. Then she realises that holy shit, this crap is hard, and decides to end it seven weeks later.

One thing that tickles me is that they mention they're on summer break and Karen and Andrew are pumped about returning to school. Karen talks about all the teachers she loves, but there's no mention of Ms Colman, her beloved second grade teacher. Is it perhaps Karen is upset that she needs to repeat the second grade? And Andrew is only four- yet he's changing schools? Lisa, why are you fobbing your child off at such a young age?

[Samantha Glasser · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading this and loving it as a kid. I copied her idea and started a neighborhood newspaper using fake characters to gossip about, and like Karen, I think I got bored after 7 issues. However, it was fun while it lasted.

These books were always fun for ideas for things to do when you were bored, but sometimes they got you into trouble. This one could have.

[Sayo -bibliotequeish- · Rating 3 out of 5]

When you were too old for childrens books, but too young for The Baby Sitters Club.
Ann M. Martin really is a genius to piggy back on the success of The Baby Sitters Club.

After reading the little sisters series I remember feeling like a real adult opening up that first BSC book.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

How is it that I still remember that Charlie bought his girlfriend, Ellen, a five dollar bracelet?

[Mellanie C]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14556089