Kristy and Mr. Mom

The Baby-Sitters Club #81

by Ann M. Martin

Worrying about her stepfather after a heart attack forces him to quit his job for a less stressful lifestyle, Kristy wonders if Nanny's departure, an outbreak of the flu, and the arrival of Karen and Andrew will disturb the peace. Original.

Genres: Middle Grade, Childrens, Young Adult, Fiction, Contemporary, Juvenile, Realistic Fiction

154 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

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

[Claudia Lomelí · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Ciara · Rating 2 out of 5]

it's snowy in stoneybrook & watson has managed to get his car stuck in a snowdrift on the driveway. charlie is working the gas while watson tries to push the car free, & he's totally red in the face & sweating profusely. kristy & sam go out to relieve watson & manage to free the car. when kristy gets home from school that day, she finds watson out shoveling the driveway. he is again red-faced & sweating. kristy offers to finish the shoveling so watson can go inside & help with dinner. he accepts, but then proceeds to collapse on the front steps. he tells kristy he thinks he is having a heart attack & to get help. she runs inside & calls 911. elizabeth (kristy's mom) accompanies watson to the hospital in the ambulance & nannie follows in the pink clinker, leaving kristy with the little kids. shannon, mary anne, & dawn (she came back from california at the end of here come the bridesmaids) come over to help out.

i found myself getting kind of angry at the beginning of the book. watson had a heart attack, but he's okay. he spends a few nights in the hospital & has to make some activity & dietary changes to become more heart-healthy, but he lives. my dad died of a heart attack while sitting on the couch brushing his hair. i was 22, he was 48. so i was kind of like, "fuck you, kristy. my dad died." i re-read this book as an adult a few months after my dad died (nine years ago) & i don't remember having this angry reaction. i kind of thought i was over my dad's death...as much as you ever really get over something like that. but i guess not.

anyway, watson decides he's been working too hard at the office. he wants to spend more time at home with his family. so he arranges to delegate more of his responsibilities to his underlings & work from home while basically being a stay-at-home dad. he wants to tuck the kids in at night & make dinner & be around to play & watch everyone grow up. the rub is that nannie lives with the family to basically perform these very responsibilities. when watson makes his announcement about wanting to stay home, nannie kind of hangs her head & doesn't say anything. a few nights later, watson picks up a pizza for dinner & comes home to find that nannie had whipped up a batch of pasta primavera for everyone. they kind of fight about their lack of communication & kristy gets all uncomfortable. a few days after that, nannie announces that she has rented herself an apartment just outside of town. the family is welcome to visit anytime, of course, be she feels that they don't really need her around full-time now that watson is going to be home more. everyone is sad about nannie leaving, but they let her go.

the B-plot is kind of a doozie. dawn takes a job sitting for the marshall family while mrs. marshall attends a jazzercise class. she's pumped to see eleanor & nina again after spending six months in california. but when she knocks on the door, a strange little girl she's never seen before answers. at first dawn thinks the marshalls have moved or that she has the wrong house, until mrs. marshall appears & welcomes dawn inside. turns out mrs. marshall is taking the jazzercise class with a friend, & has told said friend that dawn will watch her three children in addition to nine & eleanor. dawn is kind of panicked because all the kids are pretty little & she doesn't know if she can responsibly look after all five of them. she was also given no notice that she'd be expected to watch five kids. but she doesn't know what to do so she stays.

the job goes okay, but dawn is super-frazzled trying to keep an eye on five little kids. she is very relieved when the adults return home, but is surprised when mrs. marshall just pays the usual rate.

mrs. marshall calls for another sitter a few days later & mallory takes the job. she shows up to again find five kids needing a sitter. she also doesn't know what to do & stays put. as soon as mrs. marshall & her friend are out the door, the shit hits the fan. the kids are being all rambunctious at the top of the stairs & while mallory is trying to calm them down, she bumps into one of them & he falls down the stairs. he splits his lip but is otherwise okay, but the blood freaks mallory & the kids out. mallory cleans him up & offers him a popsicle. then all the kids want popsicles, but mallory doesn't have enough for everyone. she makes an emergency call to jessi, who comes over with more popsicles & helps mallory with the rest of the job. when mrs. marshall & her friend return home, they are suprised to see jessi. mallory explains that one of the kids busted his lip & mallory called in jessi for back-up. mrs. marshall says that's fine but won't pay jessi for her time. after all, she only hired one sitter. mallory & jessi leave in a daze. they decide to bring it up a club meeting.

at the meeting, the babysitters stress the fact that they have a club rule requiring two sitters for more than four kids. that's why the pikes always have two sitters. (it does not explain why the thomas-brewers consistently only hire one sitter, who then allows the kids to invite friends over. or why only one sitter routinely sits for the barrett/dewitt clan.) they wonder if maybe they have failed to make this rule clear to their clients. maybe mrs. marshall doesn't know. that doesn't excuse how rude she was in refusing to pay jessi, or how preumptuous & rude the other mom has been in not volunteering to step up & pay a sitter, but hey. claudia suggests that they make a flyer & send it around to clients, & in the meantime, the club decides to send two sitters as a precuation the next time mrs. marshall calls.

she calls again shortly, & stacey & claudia take the job. they show up to again find five kids in need of a sitter. mrs. marshall is surprised to find two sitters when she only asked for one. she makes it clear that she only intends to pay for one, so stacey & claudia hold their ground & leave. but they are really freaked out & worried that mrs. marshall will hate them forever & tell all the other parents in stoneybrook not to use the babysitters club anymore. *sigh* they worry about parents gossiping way too much.

meanwhile, everything is falling apart at kristy's house. watson is getting more & more work from his office--more than he can keep up with while also watching the kids & preparing meals. he doesn't have change for all the kids to buy lunch at school so kristy has to raid her piggybank. he doesn't have time to run out for grocery staples. emily michelle has the flu & keeping her calm & hydrated is a full-time job. everyone forgets to pick david michael up at play practice. the laundry is piling up, the house is a mess, & dinner isn't getting made. kristy goes to visit nannie at her new apartment & breaks down, explaining everything. she pretty much begs nannie to come back. & nannie does. she never wanted to have her own place. she just thought she wasn't needed anymore with watson staying home. watson acknowledges that he really dropped the ball & needs nannie's help running the household. he decides to spend three hours a day at home on his work & to help nannie out the rest of the time, & to be more communicative with her about things like dinner. everyone is happy.

kristy calls mrs. marshall to work out the babysitting issues. she explains the club policy of two sitters for five or more kids. mrs. marshall says she didn't know & will always hire two sitters in the future if her friend's kids are going to be over. problem solved.

this book was kind of annoying because it was just a bunch of people making rash decisions without talking them over first. if nannie would have asked if she was still needed at the mansion, everyone would have asked her to stay, & she & watson could have had an honest one-on-one about the division of labor. instead, she got mad about her pasta primavera & decided to move out without consulting anyone, & then everyone was too wussy to try to talk her out of it. mrs. marshall was straight up rude about expecting her sitters to look after a pile of extra kids with no forewarning or extra pay. she's a mom, she's gotta have some sense of the fact that asking one barely-teenaged babysitter to look after five kids under the age of six is a recipe for disaster. she's lucky that nothing worse than a split lip happened. it's good that the babysitters took some responsibility for not making their club rules more explicit to customers, but as i already pointed out, they routinely bend or break their rules when their charges have friends over. & it's never been clear whether the sitters charge a flat job fee or per child or what.

[Christina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mean first, Mr Mom? Come on. But a closer look at some of the roles and dynamics:
Watson has a heart attack and has to stay home from his job (spoiler). To avoid stress, he turns most of the work of his company over to the vice presidents (women). Meanwhile, he turns into "Mr Mom" at home, donning an apron and making elaborate meals for every dinner. His performative domesticity (complete with costume: apron) makes Nannie (who has been running this massive household and caring for all these children, adults, and pets this whole time for free) feel unneeded and unwanted. Later, she actually admits that she felt like a BURDEN - the elderly woman living with her daughter, and whose place in the household is seemingly justified by the care she provides to her child's children. Meanwhile, Watson's vice presidents (the women) evidently can't cope without him, and increasingly encroach on his time and attention while he is at home. This whole time, Kristy, the thirteen-year-old, has been the one to make sure things get done that Watson doesn't know about or doesn't think about, while also paying attention to everyone else's emotional state and the increasingly disrupted dynamic of the household. When a crisis hits - the kind of thing that can happen with any parent, but which Kristy's mom must certainly have dealt with alone in all the years she was raising four children and working full time - Watson can't cope. The women from his company are calling and faxing him nonstop, and every single one of the kids has some sort of catastrophe because he can't manage the household. Kristy tries to help, but the situation is only brought under control when Elizabeth, Kristy's mother, arrives home FROM A FULL DAY OF WORK, and magically fixes everybody's booboos.

So, the cast (most of whom we usually like, but this book does them dirty):

Watson: has a heart attack and has to stay home and avoid stress; while throwing himself into homemaking as he understands it, his company can't cope without him, and he ultimately decides to go back to work, but part-time and from home; he seems excited to perform a stay-at-home parent role, but is ill-prepared for the amount of work, experience, and knowledge that it actually requires (aka "how hard could it be?");

Elizabeth: Kristy's mom, who works full-time; raised four children on her own while working full time; her ex husband walked out on her and their children, and she presumably had to GET a job while dealing with the emotional and material disruption of being abandoned by her romantic partner/coparent; when everything falls apart in this book, she magically fixes it all when she walks in the door after a full day at work; maternal/feminine roles are mystified and naturalized in her - she does not exhibit stress (except when she's worried for Watson in the beginning, and sleeps at his bedside in the hospital), she is not at a loss for what to do, like everyone else, and the catastrophes that none of the other adults or semi-adults have been able to deal with are suddenly poofed away;

Kristy: thirteen-year-old girl who takes on a lot of parental responsibility in her very large, blended household, while also being expected to take responsibility for difficult situations in the Babysitters Club and caring for OTHER people's children; when the household melts down, Kristy tries to bring things back under control in a way that Watson doesn't - after she arrives home from a full day of middle school;

Charlie and Sam: Kristy's older brothers (whom we usually like) - they are not expected to do the same kind of emotional labor or household management that their younger sister is; while they do both step up on many occasions, Charlie's main role is to drive people around, while Sam's is to be the literal breadwinner (he works in a grocery store, and forgets to buy bread two days in a row); when Sam walks in while all hell is breaking loose and Kristy is desperately trying to babysit her feckless stepfather in addition to all the kids, Sam says, "ooh aren't we touchy?" Then he slaps his forehead when Kristy asks about bread and he realizes he forgot it again - HIS ONE JOB. After Kristy had, for some reason, had to use the money in her own piggybank to buy everyone school lunch because there was no food in the house;

Nannie: Kristy's grandma, Elizabeth's mom, who moved in to help run the household since both parents work; when Watson starts staying home and cooking elaborate meals, she begins to feel unneeded AND UNWELCOME; part of the solution to the problems of the book is that she moves back in because she realizes she IS needed and, therefore, wanted; her existence is, apparently, justified by the services she provides (presumably for free, or for room and board) to younger generations.

Also, the B plot - Mrs Marshall is a jerk. There is no way the onus of that situation should have been on a group of children. You call a babysitter and then surprise them with THREE EXTRA CHILDREN? And DON'T EXPECT TO PAY FOR THE EXTRA KIDS??? Doesn't she even care about the safety of her own children?? If nothing else, she should expect that an ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD CHILD wouldn't be able to give as much attention to her own two children when there are three other children there. Then she keeps springing this on them. And makes a big deal about not wanting to pay a second babysitter. How is she not saying this when she calls to book a babysitter?? Yeah, I get that the BSC feels they should make their policy clear, and should always ask how many kids it's going to be. (I actually thought they did do this, so it seems more like they assumed it was just Eleanor and Nina since they already knew the Marshalls, and the mom was deliberately deceptive when she called.) So, sure, the babysitters should verify the number of kids when they book a job. BUT THE ADULT SHOULD CLARIFY THE NUMBER OF KIDS WHEN THEY BOOK THE BABYSITTER! IN WHAT WORLD IS IT OKAY TO SPRING THREE EXTRA CHILDREN ON YOUR ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD BABYSITTER???

I don't know what was going on with this book, but the whole thing was weird. I feel like the lesson of this book is supposed to be something about clear expectations, or maybe just that it takes a village. But frankly, what I think its target demographic is far more likely to take away from it is that men are better at business than housework, and maybe also better at business than women (see Watson's incapable vice presidents); women are better at household stuff than men; women naturally belong in caretaking roles (e.g. Nannie's raison d'être, Elizabeth's magical, effortless mommying after she returns from work); women get thoughtless and inconsiderate (bad moms) when they do "self-indulgent" things like jazzercise (Mrs Marshall - also where the hell is Mr Marshall??).

[Rachel EC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good clean babysitting fun!

[FIND ME ON STORYGRAPH · Rating 3 out of 5]

in this book by my least favorite ghostwriters Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner, watson (kristy's stepdad) has a minor heart attack. he's okay, but the doctors tell him to take it easy. he takes this to mean that she should stay home from work (wild, considering that he has historically been one of those corporate always working types). he goes a little overboard, doing too much of the housekeeping (mr. mom is kind of an annoying name for it, but whatever) and making nannie feel obsolete, so she moves out. in the end, watson decides to work part-time and nannie moves back in after the family convinces her they still need her. meanwhile, the bsc prove that they are idiotic children by not addressing a problem client situation (mrs. marshall -- see lowlights for more) and just generally being terrible at communication. this is realistic for their age, I guess, but not for the maturity level they USUALLY demonstrate with regards to the business.

highlights:
-my copy of this book is from when I was a kid. scholastic/Ann M. Martin had already started the contest to name the new babysitter and her twin (we will meet them in Welcome to the BSC, Abby). my name suggestions were cathy smith and sandy smith. not great, but not much worse than abby and anna stevenson, which is what they went with.
-at one point when mrs. marshall calls for a babysitter, the bsc doesn't ask how many kids there will be (see lowlights for why this is wrong), but they assume that there will be extra kids there, since there have been the last few times. they send both stacey AND claudia without running it by mrs. marshall. when they get there, mrs. marshall says that she won't pay for two sitters. stacey is like, well I guess you won't have a babysitter then. BOOM. this is why stacey is my favorite, guys.
-in the wake of the mrs. marshall drama the bsc members decide they will make a bsc rules document to share with clients and also will ask how many kids they will be babysitting when people call so they charge appropriately and send an appropriate number of sitters

lowlights/nitpicks:
-kristy's narration, on Here Come the Bridesmaids!: "stacey, jessi, and mal stayed in stoneybrook to help with mrs. barrett's wedding." no jessi did not, she was a mall santa. how do you not remember this, it JUST happened.
-the horrible subplot: mrs. marshall assumes (without asking) that it's okay to invite the three kids of a friend over, so the babysitters (dawn at first, then mallory) are stuck watching five kids alone, and the kids don't get along). ugh. the babysitters don't complain to her about it or even tell her that it's inappropriate, so it's kind of their fault that it continues to happen.
-for babysitting five kids mrs. marshall pays the same amount she would for two kids, which is also inappropriate. it gives me horrible flashbacks to when I worked in pet care and there was a woman who asked me to care for her cat (she specifically said singular) and then it turned out she had TWO cats, and the other one liked to eat the first one's food, so you had to watch them the whole time they ate because one of them had diabetes. and because I hadn't known I had quoted her my rate for one cat with no health problems ($15/visit -- would be $20 for two cats w/medicine administration). when she switched to a different petcare person in my business she LIED to her and told her that I charged $15/DAY (two visits per day), so instead of paying the $40/day that she should have been paying she paid $15/day. UGHHHHH I HATE ENTITLED ASSHOLES WHO DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW BEING IN A SERVICE INDUSTRY IS ROUGH.
-since there are 5 kids, mal calls jessi to help out. when mrs. marshall comes home and sees jessi, she says to jessi "I hope you don't expect to be paid for it. I only hired one sitter." I can't ignore the race thing here. white lady, white town, only paying the white sitter and not the black sitter.
-when mrs. marshall calls again after the mal and jessi incident, the bsc don't ASK her how many kids it will be, they just schedule stacey AND claudia to go without communicating it. SERIOUSLY JUST COMMUNICATE SOMETHING ALREADY.
-in the end watson will work from home three hours per day and will be "mr. mom" (the name, of course, erroneously/sexistly implies that it is feminine for men to be caretakers) the rest of the time. must be nice to be so rich that you can continue to be the ceo of a company and a millionaire and only work 15 hours a week.

no outfits because jahnna and malcolm hate everything that's good about bsc books.

in dawn's kid kit:
-makeup crayons

snacks in claudia's room:
-mallomars (n.s.)

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book slowed down my read-through, because I didn't have a nicely formatted ebook copy so I had to find time to read it at home. Between work, sleeping, and video games, who has time for reading?!

The subplot is infuriating, not because Mrs Marshall is taking advantage of the BSC (which she is, paying her same rate for three extra kids) but because the Sitters don't use their words. Don't get me wrong, it was pretty badass when Stacey refused their services if Claudia didn't also get paid, but instead of ambushing Mrs Marshall they could have at least tried explaining the situation to her. (They reasoned this with "we assumed everyone knew our rules" but c'mon. "Thanks for calling the BSC, Mrs Marshall. Will there be other kids? It's Club policy to send two sitters if there are more than four kids." But then I guess there wouldn't be much to the book.)

Also I hated the Nannie sub-subplot. She doesn't think she's needed so surprise! she finds an apartment to rent and she's moving out tomorrow. But after, like, a week or something, the fam tells her they need her so she decides to move right back. How was there an apartment ready so quickly? Did she have to pay first and last month's rent, and did she get part of it back? Why did they do Nannie dirty and make her have that hissy fit in the first place?

Now, all the negatives aside, I did tear up multiple times, because I love Kristy's big ol' blended family and how much they all love and support each other and it's just so sweet.

[Allison Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continuing on through my retread of The Baby-Sitters Club series (an ongoing "project" of sorts since 2016), I pick up with one I read back in 1995, haven't read since then, and still remember most of the major details.

The mind, I tell ya. It remembers what it wants to.

In "Kristy and Mr. Mom" (BSC #81), Kristy's stepfather, Watson Brewer, suffers a heart attack while shoveling snow. His busy life and stressful job (family, CEO of a multinational company), combined with the exertion prove to be rough on his heart. Upon returning home and during his recovery, Watson decides he is going to turn the day-to-day of his job over to his Vice President, make himself available to his company when needed, and tackle a new job...Mr. Mom! The idea is a different one, and one that turns the already chaotic Brewer/Thomas household upside down.

In the book's "B-Plot": The Club deals with a parent hiring the BSC for regular babysitting services with the expectation that one sitter will watch five kids (a club no-no, which they realize they haven't exactly advertised). Will this become a problem for the club?

I recall liking this one when I first read it in 1995 (one of the last I read before I gave up the series). I like the "business crisis" the girls go through when they realize that a parent isn't exactly being truthful about the amount of charges. When I was twelve, I babysat for five kids between seven and ten years old. That wasn't as bad as taking care of five kids under seven, but still, five kids is five kids! I wasn't ok with the idea (I'd read so many of these books by that point that I knew one sitter to five kids wasn't exactly safe), but I'm still here, so I obviously survived. But honestly, as an adult, I'm reading this and wondering how I took care of five kids when I was barely older than them. I think the only thing harder (for me) than taking care of five kids as a twelve-year-old is being a non-parent taking care of a toddler. I did that at 22 years old (with no childcare experience caring for a toddler). Again, I survived.

Of course, The Club (as well as the Brewer-Thomas family) resolve their problems effectively. The ending is standard Baby-Sitters Club fare, but that is (of course) always to be expected.

As I do with all the BSC books, I recommend them (including "Kristy and Mr. Mom") now the same way I did when I was twelve years old. Even if you're approaching these stories as an adult, they still hold up well and are still entertaining. The adult readers that are now parents could probably even relate to the adult characters in this particular story!

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughters review. This was a pretty good book in general, but I’m going to start with the not great parts. The parts where ms Marshall needs a sitter but she doesn’t say that 3 other kids would be there are not great, this is why: For the first “ms Marshall and too many kids” chapter, dawn is babysitting and handles it fairly well but I have to say that ‘treasure hunt’ is not a great game. I mean, dawn, the two and three year olds (Eleanor and Tyler) are just gonna make a big mess. Also, I think in chapter two of the “too many kids” plot, ms Marshall should have payed Jessi because if Mallory didn’t call her something bad could happen besides Tyler splitting his lip. The third kids-problem chapter I just am so upset with ms Marshall. If you want the kids to STAY SAFE then it’s ok to just pay extra. Also, boo, Stacey. Note to self: never walk out on a job!! Let’s switch directions and go to the positive part. I know kristy is always “ms take-charge” but I was just so fascinated by kristy really going out there during the heart attack moment. But something I don’t understand is: WHY DO THE THOMAS BREWERS NOT KNOW THAT DAVID MICHAEL WATCHES THOSE DOCTORS SHOWS?! When David Michael says “if someone is on a heart monitor it’s called telemetry”. He learned that from a doctors show which the Thomas brewers should know that David micheal watched. Kristy makes lots of funny points in this book which I won’t spoil and also, my fave chapter is when the family is overworked Emily Michelle has the flu and Karen is being annoying they forget to pick up David Michael at play practice and Andrew hits his thumb with a hammer. Mary from watson’s office calls and the fax machine goes off & it’s just all really crazy. You gotta love the BSC!!

[Devon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This felt like one of the longest BSC books in existence, but on the other hand the experience Kristy has at the beginning of the book with being present while Watson has a heart attack was so accurate it gave me goosebumps and I found myself almost tearing up a few times while the family waited to see what was going to happen.

After that...things sort of went downhill as Nannie's ridiculous plotline unfolded (how are the BSC supposed to learn decent communication skills when the adults around them also can't talk to each other before things snowball out of hand?) Which ties in well to the side plot of Mrs. Marshall being an absolute jerk. Honestly, go Stacey for telling her off. Sure, the BSC was in the wrong too for not communicating (see what I mean?) well from the beginning and telling her it was a problem clearly, but still. So many jerk moves from her that I don't think I'd want to babysit for her anymore if I were them.

The second half of the book isn't great, but the first half has so many intense moments I'm going to give it 4 stars.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reminded me of Mallory and the Dream Horse in that it was both dreadfully boring and strangely thought-provoking. This was a book where the problems were caused by miscommunication on all sides, but I think I empathized with the “wrong” people. I think we’re meant to see the Thomas family and the BSC in the wrong in both situations, but nah.

I was honestly shocked by Nannie’s childish, passive-aggressive, and spiteful behavior. I get that she was feeling hurt, but the family went through a major trauma! This is a situation where she should have 100% been the bigger person. I can’t believe she made them move her twice in like two weeks just to prove a point. Nannie, you suck.

Mrs. Marshall, you also suck. Did the BSC communicate the two-sitter rule in any way, shape, or form? No, of course not, they’re terrible businesswomen. But Mrs. Marshall knew she was taking advantage of them and literally said she wouldn’t pay for two sitters, so she knew it was wrong and still continued to do it.

[Gabrielle S · Rating 2 out of 5]

Watson has a heart attack and everything falls apart. Watson is a workaholic and then becomes Mr Mom. Nannie gets so mad she moves out but then everything falls apart and she moves back in.

I’m a little perplexed about why they can’t cope better? Kristy’s mom single parented for 6 years prior and sure there’s Emily Michelle now but that doesn’t explain everything. Sam and Charlie do more than usual but also are mostly absent.

The subplot with Mrs Marshall really felt shoehorned in. Also I’m a bad babysitter but if these classes are only an hour long then put a movie on? Why did she think three random kids would be okay? But also the subplot felt unneeded because Nannie moving out and Karen freaking out would both have made better subplots.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another one that I remember loving, and I still really enjoyed it now. Even as a kid, I got emotional when Watson fell to the ground during his heart attack and Kristy frantically screams out his name, and I actually got tears in my eyes reading it now.

I also love the side-plot, and I think Mrs. Marshall’s friend had a lot of nerve just expecting to piggyback off her hired baby-sitter for free with her three kids. Mrs. Marshall’s whole point is she refuses to pay for a second sister - why doesn’t she demand the money for another sitter from her friend? Both adults definitely come across really awful in this book.

[Lianna Kendig · Rating 3 out of 5]

(LL)
This was a decent book with some good lessons, but the subplot almost overtook the main plot of the story which is never a good thing. Mrs. Marshall’s drama with the BSC took more pages than the “Mr. Mom” plot line, and “Mr. Mom” didn’t show up until page 100. Also, the idea of “Mr. Mom” is highly problematic both now and when it was written in 1995.
Moreover, they make the parents in these books so ditsy: unbeknownst to the baby-sitter Mrs. Marshall thought it was okay to add three more kids to watch. Like really? Come on.

[Sayo -bibliotequeish-]

As a kid my best friends sister had the whole BSC series on a book shelf in her room. I thought she was so grown up. And I envied this bookshelf. And would often poke my head into that room just to look at it.
And when I read BSC, I felt like such a grown up.
And while I might have still been a little too young to understand some of the issues dealt with in these books, I do appreciated that Ann M. Martin tackled age appropriate issues, some being deeper than others, but still important.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jumping ahead to 81 in the series lets me really appreciate the timeless bubble these kids live in. They started at the end of seventh grade, moved in to eighth, and have been there ever since. Meanwhile things go on happening but no one gets older. So it much have been a shock for Watson to have a heart attack! Anyway, the family pulls together, the babysitters learn to ask how many kids they will be responsible for, and I cross another book off the list.

[Cassandra Doon · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was 10 I joined a readers club/group where we got a new book every week. I chose The babysitters club.
The books are fantastic! So enjoyable. I loved getting the book every week. They are super quick reads and I was able to read it in one day.
Highly recommend for young teenagers to read or even younger if they are able too read well.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the best. I get tired of the same 'this is the whole history of the BSC' in every book, but this book also moved me to tears at times! The stories within these books are just classic, and I wish these settings were more prominent with today's youth.

[Tonia Christle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. I'd never read this book before but I really enjoyed it. I really liked all the familial issues and seeing the Thomas/Brewers work together to figure it all out. (It was also fun to get to see more of Emily Michelle's personality and more of her as a character.

[Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. Poor Watson. The scene of him having a heart attack was legitimately stressful. Other than that though I didn’t find this book to be all that interesting. It wasn’t terrible or anything but the plot felt paper thin.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate Karen Brewer, always and forever. That is all I have to say.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main character is told by his doctor to slow down. The rest of the book tells how he does just that. I found the book to be just funny enough and short that I was able to destress.

[Jennifer Baratta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review on www.Audible.com

[Christina]

Read my recap at A Year with the BSC via Stoneybrook Forever: https://www.livethemovies.com/bsc-blo...

[Jaclyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Watson learns to relax, Nannie learns her importance to the family, and the BSC learns to communicate better with their clients.

[Aaliyah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was a great book funny a heart warming.

[Maeve · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Thomas family is shocked when Watson (stressed from over-working) has a heart attack. After he comes back home, they are expecting a lot of changes around the house, but are surprised when Watson announces he is going to be a stay-at-home dad. It takes a while--and a lot of interesting lunches--for the whole family (including Nannie) to find a routine that works for everyone.

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The worst part of a Kristy book is you get more Karen. I hate Karen and she was especially bratty, selfish and annoying in this book. So it's January and they've just had a major snowfall. Watson helps Charlie get his car unstuck from the driveway and is sweating and out of breath. Later that day he's shoveling and has a heart attack and is rushed to hospital. This has always been my nightmare, my dad shoveling the driveway and dropping dead of a heart attack especially with the heavy wet snows we get and since my mom died in heart surgery after having an unknown serious heart attack so he's my only parent left. Once he's clear to return home he vows to stay home and work less. This puts Nannie's nose out of joint and she moves out leaving the house in chaos. Karen is her usual annoying self throwing a tantrum when for once she doesn't get her way. She wants to go stay with her dad now! I'll make him better. Nope, just no. Your spoiled bratty tantrum throwing ass will probably give your dad another heart attack. And given how she acts once the month with her dad arrives proves my point. She wants to play, be the centre of attention, bring more people over so she won't be bored. Serious narcissism Karen there's no doubt you ended up a serial killer as an adult.
The b plot is equally annoying on many levels. Dawn is back from California apparently her dad got married as did Mrs. Barrett I really can't wait to read these in proper order soon. She heads out to the Marshall's expecting the usual two girls. But Mrs. Marshall decided it was perfectly fine to tack on her friends three young kids, not to let anyone know and pay the same rate. Its a disaster. Then Mallory sits and one of the kids gets hurt and Jessi comes to help and Mrs. Marshall refuses to pay her at all. Then Stacey and Claudia sit for them and refuse the job because she won't pay them both. As someone who works in a chronically short place I applaud them for that. But it's annoying because neither party speaks up about it and a lot of this could've been avoided.
But all the storylines are tied up neatly in the end. I loved seeing how close the Brewer Thomas family has become that in her 911 call Kristy calls Watson her father which was sweet. If Karen hadn't been here or if there had only been a chapter or half chapter of her I would've given five stars but I do not like Karen.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic books for young girls getting into reading!! Great stories about friendship and life lessons. The characters deal with all sorts of situations and often find responsible solutions to problems.

I loved this series growing up and wanted to start my own babysitting business with friends. Great lessons in entrepreneurship for tweens.

The books may be dated with out references to modern technology but the story stands and lessons are still relevant.

Awesome books that girls will love! And the series grows with them! Terrific Author!

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, Watson. I was always very interested in Kristy's mixed-family dynamic. I also really appreciated the books where Karen and Kristy's lives overlapped. Mr. Mom is cool. If I were to procreate, @trademark would be Mr. Mom.

[kb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Watson almost has a heart attack, and I liked how that brought him and Kristy and the rest of the Brewer fam closer together.

I loved the BSC growing up, and have decided to re-read (or read for the first time) some of the books in the series. Which of the members are you most like? :)