Stacey McGill, Super Sitter

The Baby-Sitters Club #94

by Ann M. Martin

Taking on task after task in her willingness to please the well-paying Cheplin family, baby-sitter Stacey experiences an elated sense of achievement, until her jobs interfere with the rest of her schedule.

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

160 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1996

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

[Ciara · Rating 3 out of 5]

stacey tells her boyfriend, robert, that she's going to new york city to visit her father soon. they're going to see a broadway play & go out for a fancy meal. stacey couldn't be more excited to visit new york again. robert makes some casual comments about how he's just not a city kind of guy, & says he hopes stacey will still remember him when she's a big famous model living in manhattan. she thinks to herself that she thinks being a model would be boring & she'd rather do something with math, but she also decides that robert would love the city if he could see it through her eyes. she decides she wants to take him to a broadway play for his birthday. she shares her idea with her mom, who points out that broadway tickets are expensive. two seats will set stacey back at least $100 (in 1996 money--even more now). stacey gulps. she didn't realize her bright idea was going to cost so much money. she decides she will just have the babysit as much as humanly possible to save up the money for the gift.

her prayers are answered at the next meeting when a new client calls. her name is mrs. cheplin & she's a single mom of two kids. dana is eight & adam is six. she needs someone to pick the kids up from the school bus stop every day after school & walk them home. the sitter will have to help them with their homework & entertain them until mrs. cheplin gets home from work at 5:30pm. kristy doesn't want anyone to take the job because she thinks it's too much work. it would be like having a sitter out of commission permanently, because whoever takes the job won't be able to take any other jobs. some of the other sitters propose taking it & rotating days, but stacey jumps in & begs to have the job all to herself. she explains her birthday idea & says she needs the money. kristy relents & stacey merrily makes an appointment to meet mrs. cheplin & go over the details.

mrs. cheplin is disappointed when she meets stacey. she was hoping for an older babysitter, not a 13-year-old. she goes on & on about how stacey won't be able to handle the job. she has to be on time meeting dana & adam on their school bus every single day, she'll have to help them with their homework, mrs. cheplin has some chores she would like the sitter to take care of every day, & plus, dana has just been diagnosed with diabetes. mrs. cheplin doesn't trust a 13-year-old to be able to take care of dana's medical needs. but of course stacey jumps in & explains that she is very punctual & responsible, she can handle a little housework, she's in honors math & won't have any trouble helping the kids with their homework, & she has diabetes herself & will be able to take good care of dana. mrs. cheplin relents & signs stacey up for a week trial period.

stacey is a little taken aback by the number of tasks mrs. cheplin expects her to do while babysitting. she has to empty the dishwasher, fold the laundry, give the kids a snack, keep them entertained, tidy up adam's bedroom, etc etc. dana invites a friend over but they argue over what board game to play & then dana says she feels sick. stacey checks dana's blood sugar, but it's normal. within 15 minutes, dana is all recovered. stacey is just glad dana is okay.

each day, mrs. cheplin adds a few more tasks to stacey's chore list. she has to load the dishwasher, run a load of laundry, make a dentist appointment for adam, stamp bills, start the rice for dinner, cancel one of mrs. cheplin's magazine subscriptions, etc etc etc. seems like mrs. cheplin could have done at least a few of these things herself in the time it took her to make the list. each day, stacey just barely finishes everything before mrs. cheplin gets home, but the pay (twice stacey's usual wages) make it kind of worthwhile. after the week trial period is up, mrs. cheplin says she is impressed & would like to try stacey out for another two weeks. stacey is dismayed that mrs. cheplin isn't just giving her the job, but she agrees anyway.

the chores become more & more onerous. mrs. cheplin has stacey peeling potatoes, overseeing the plumber, shoveling the driveway, taking dana to her piano lesson, & everything else. when the plumber comes, he has to shut off the water to look at the pipes, & stacey doesn't have time to start dinner as mrs. cheplin requested. plus, she can't, because there's no water. mrs. cheplin comes home while the plumber is in the basement, & all she sees is a huge mess of tools & plumping grime & no dinner started. she yells at stacey, who protests that the plumber turned off the water. mrs. cheplin doesn't believe her until the plumber comes back in & says, "i had to turn off the water, sorry." mrs. cheplin apologizes to stacey, but stacey is on the verge of quitting anyway...until mrs. cheplin pays her. suddenly the job seems worthwhile again.

meanwhile, stacey notices that dana claims to feel sick & shaky every time she is asked to do something she'd rather not do. stacey tests her sugar every time & it's always in the normal range. stacey realizes that dana is using her diabetes as a way to manipulate people into giving her what she wants. stacey starts dropping some hints about how diabetes is not a license to ask for special treatment. it's unclear if dana gets the hint.

the job with the cheplins is taking its toll on stacey's life. she comes home from her job exhausted every evening, & only has time to eat dinner & do a rush job on her homework before falling asleep. she starts oversleeping & starts flaking out on her mom, her friends, & robert. she has a big english project that she flubs because she just doesn't have time to do it properly, & she even has to break a date with robert in order to do a shitty job on it. but she keeps thinking about all the money she is making & what a great time she & robert will have in the city. once she realizes she will be able to afford the tickets, she starts thinking that she'd like to take him out for a fancy meal as well. & buy a new dress to wear. & start saving for the down payment on a fancy sports car for she's sixteen. all she can think about is dollar signs. mrs. mcgill comments that stacey is a workaholic just like her father. but stacey doesn't care; she just wants the money.

one day she picks adam & dana up from their bus & dana seems especially listless. when they get home, stacey gets started on her monster chore list. about an hour later, dana comes in & says she doesn't feel well. stacey immediately assumes that dana is trying to weasel out of something. dana lies down on the couch & stacey realizes that dana is actually acting kind of weird. she checks dana's sugar & it is dangerously low. stacey tries calling dana's doctor but he's not in. she calls a neighbor & asks her to drive them all to dr. johanssen's house. dr. johanssen checks dana out & confirms the low blood sugar. she treats dana & leaves a message with dana's regular doctor to adjust her insulin levels. stacey gets back to the cheplins' house with the kids mere moments before mrs. cheplin comes home from work. all mrs. cheplin sees when she walks in is all the chores that didn't get done. she starts screaming at stacey, not letting her get a word in edge-wise until stacey yells, "LISTEN TO ME!" she explains that dana had a medical emergency & needs to have her insulin adjusted. that's why the chores didn't get done. mrs. cheplin apologizes profusely & offers stacey another two-week trial period for even more pay. stacey says she needs to think about it & leaves.

she asks the babysitters what they think & kristy says she shouldn't do it. she asks her mom & her mom says she doesn't want stacey to be a workaholic like her father. but it's robert who finally gets through to stacey. he comes by with a valentine's day gift & stacey realizes she forgot all about valentine's day because she's been so busy with the cheplin job. she explains it all to robert & even admits her plans to take him to the city for his birthday. he says that if it's so important to stacey that he give new york a try, he'll do it, & she doesn't need to bribe him with broadway tickets. then he says that he thinks mrs. cheplin is taking advantage of her. stacey agrees & calls mrs. cheplin to turn down the job. she explains that it's not fair to the kids to have their sitter run ragged with tons of chores, & that the job is taking time away from her friends, family, schoolwork, & health. she suggests that mrs. cheplin find an older sitter with more time to dedicate to the job, & says the babysitters club will fill in until that happens--but no more housework. mrs. cheplin is kind of a jerk about it all, but she agrees.

the B-plot is all about how some sitting charges see logan & kristy at a store, shopping for rings. logan asked kristy to accompany him to help him choose a valentine's day gift for mary anne, but the kids assume logan is two-timing mary anne with kristy. they start writing both kristy & logan mean anonymous notes & prank calling them. finally a bunch of the kids confront logan in front of mary anne. he explains the situation (spilling the beans about mary anne's gift) & the kids are all sheepish. they have even gone so far as to cancel the resverations he made to take mary anne to chez maurice. to make it up to them, the kids cook & serve a romantic valentine's day dinner for mary anne & logan. &...no one cares. *snore*

[Allison Floyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is the last leg of my BSC nostalgia trip. It's been a good run, but I get the picture.

In this installment, Stacey becomes house-elf to a demanding divorcee and something's gotta give.

Which it does.

And all's well that ends well.

I'd file this under "Spoiler Alert," but does anyone really expect things to turn out differently?

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stacey learns she is a lot like her father in this book. It begins with Valentine's Day coming up and Stacey longing to turn boyfriend Robert into a city person like her. She decides to take him to a Broadway show but needs money. The next day a new client calls and has a job every week day until 530. Stacey jumps at the chance despite Kristy saying it will be too much for her. The client Mrs. Cheplin is very demanding and has a long list of chores for Stacey to do. So long that Stacey has little time to spend with the kids. The girl Dana also has diabetes and often uses it to get out of doing things or if her friends tick her off. So much so that when a real emergency pops up Stacey almost ignores it. Soon Stacey is exhausted and has no time for family, friends or school. She begins to feel anger toward Mrs. Cheplin who treats her like crap but pays really well. After consulting with the club Stacey finally breaks free of her job. The b plot was kind of silly and cute. Logan wants to buy Mary Anne a ring which seems a bit extreme for a couple of 13 year olds but sure why not? Wonder what happened to it when she dumped his ass later on. Anyway Kristy is helping him find a ring some of the kids see it and think they are two timing Mary Anne and ruin Logan's surprise for her. I giggled a few times listening to it. Overall this was pretty good. It was recycled from Dawn and the Impossible Three a little but still not bad.

[FIND ME ON STORYGRAPH · Rating 4 out of 5]

in this book in the vein of Dawn and the Impossible Three by ghostwriter Suzanne Weyn, stacey wants MONEY. robert’s birthday is coming up, and stacey wants to surprise him with a trip to nyc complete with tickets to a broadway play. she considers it fate when a new bsc charge asks for a sitter after school every day indefinitely. stacey meets the woman, mrs. cheplin, who is concerned that stacey is too young to care for her kids, since she had been intending to hire a high school student. stacey assures her that she’s plenty responsible, and they agree to move forward when mrs. cheplin finds out stacey manages her diabetes well (her daughter dana having recently been diagnosed). but mrs. cheplin only agrees to it on a trial basis, and only if stacey is willing to do chores around the house, for which she will pay stacey extra. the chore lists mrs. cheplin leaves for stacey are inappropriately long for someone who should be focused on babysitting kids, but stacey works super hard to accomplish them -- partly because she needs the money, but also partly because she wants to prove herself to mrs. cheplin. every night, mrs. cheplin comes home and looks around as though searching for all the mistakes she expects stacey to have made. dana, the kid with diabetes, is just as emotionally manipulative as her mom: when she doesn’t like something her friends say or do, she pretends she’s feeling ill because of her diabetes. stacey turns into a total workaholic and doesn’t have enough time for hangouts with claudia and robert and her mom, let alone her schoolwork. after each trial period ends, mrs. cheplin extends the trial period instead of telling stacey she will hire her indefinitely. in the end, stacey decides to quit, and mrs. cheplin tells her she isn’t mature enough for this job. IS IT LEGAL TO RUN A FICTIONAL CHARACTER DOWN WITH YOUR CAR? the delightful subplot involves logan and kristy going shopping to find a ring that logan can buy for mary anne for valentine’s day. some bsc kids see them and think they’re two-timing mary anne, so they start harassing kristy and logan. it’s really silly and stupid and charming, especially the poems they leave kristy and logan (see them later in this review).

highlights:
-abby comes in to a bsc meeting late. kristy tells her it's five-thirty-three, and abby says, "oh, good, I made it on time." I love her chutzpah.
-the kids who are mad at kristy for what they perceive as her dating logan call her "crusty toenails" (kristy thomas)
-at one point stacey’s mom tells her she's turning into a workaholic like her dad. she whines, "but I'm making so much money." her mom replies, "that's exactly what your father says." BRUTAL. I’d divorce stacey’s dad too.
-one day dana, the girl who cried wolf/diabetes really does get sick and stacey takes her to dr. johanssen but when she gets back to the house mrs. cheplin is there and is mad that the chores weren't done. when her kid was sick. goddamn she’s such an asshole.
-the scene where the bsc kids make up for canceling logan and mary anne’s fancy dinner reservation by cooking them dinner, and the effect it has on stacey, who has been stuck only sitting the cheplins for weeks. stacey stops by to help out and is reminded of how much she misses the wacky bsc kids and their funny ways.

-when stacey finally tells mrs. cheplin that she's not interested in continuing the job because she's asking an inappropriate amount of her, mrs. cheplin says, "obviously, you don't have the maturity required for this job." keep in mind that she had wanted to hire a high school student, not an adult who was going to do this as their full time job. man, this woman is a manipulative scumbag.

lowlights/nitpicks:
-stacey uses a pick to fluff her perm. I know that the bsc writing team was really into sticking with the idea that stacey still had a perm well into the 90s when NOBODY WAS GETTING PERMS ANYMORE, but they should at least have the decency to not have her use a fro pick on it. I’m picturing 1996-era stacey with taylor dayne hair:


claud outfit:
-"For instance, today she wore a long-sleeved tie-dyed shirt that she'd dyed herself. Under it she had on black leggings onto which she'd sewn patches of the tie-dyed material. Her silky, long black hair was tied back with a matching tie-dyed scrunchy."

stacey outfits:
-"After I pulled on a pair of blue leggings and a long, bright pink sweater, I sat on the end of my bed and put on my new black leather ankle boots...A pair of big hoop earrings finished the look."
-"I dressed in jeans and a thick red sweater, tied my hair back in a red scrunchy, and headed downstairs."

mean poems the kids write for kristy and logan:
crusty is a girl we know
she looks like pinocchio
when she comes down the street
you can smell her dirty feet
when she runs around the house
she looks like a scrawny mouse
crusty's clothes are never clean
she's ugly and she's really mean

logan is no friend of mine
he looks just like frankenstein
when he comes down the street
you can smell his dirty feet
logan is a dirty bum and he is
a great big crumb

snacks in claudia’s room:
-peanut m&ms (n.s.)

[Tiffany Spencer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stacey McGill Super Sitter
PLOT: When Stacey finds out Robert's never been to a Broadway production (or even has interest in one) she immediately begins to plan ways to get him a ticket and surprise him on his birthday. Then surprise (surprise) a sitting job comes up which offer's to pay her twice her usual amount but with a higher cost. Because this job requires her to be not only a sitter but a maid. The subplot is Logan asks Stacey to help him pick out a ring for Maryanne for Valentine's Day, but she has to turn him down. So he gets Kristy's help. Some of the kids find out about and thinks Logan is two-timing Maryanne so they start leaving him and Kristy all kinds of hate mail.

My Thoughts: For this one I didn't have too many thoughts. I just thought the mother was insanely unreal. How can you expect someone to watch your kids and do your household duties at the same time? I thought how lazy can you be? And this is coming from someone who isn't the neatest of neat freaks about cleaning. And then had the nerve to get pissed when all her long list of things she should be DOING HERSELF wasn't done. Ok her two kids aren't toddlers or babies. It seems like they can entertain themselves so what really is her excuse? No wonder Mr. Cheplin isn't in the picture. She probably had some unrealistic expectations for him also. And if it's like that and her job is that demanding then (and clearly she has the money to spare) hire a sitter AND a house-keeper. As far as Dana, using her diabetes as an excuse when she can't get her way, it falls sour with me because I am diabetic and when people throw that up to me and say something like "I'm so sorry you have diabetes but." It strikes a nerve with me because even though it's been years since I've had it I don't think I've ever used that to be treated any differently or used it as a crutch. Then there was the Valentine stuff (which skipping over my personal cringe-worthy reaction whenever I see this "holiday" that should be wiped clean off the calendar and dictionary )which I guess was kinda cute that the kids were quick to hop to Maryanne's defense. But the other stuff I could skip.

RATING: 5

[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.

[Celaena László · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice fast read. Book is fast paced and short enough to breeze through in a hour or two.
I don’t know how to describe it but this book has a lot of chaotic energy, like you feel how Stacey feels at the end of her sitting days. Also reminds me a lot of Dawn and the Impossible Three.
I liked how Stacey tries to help Dana accept her diabetes. I wish there had been more of a conversation between the two of them about it.
I wish Mrs. Chaplain had apologized to Stacey in the end.
What the kids do for Logan and Mary-Anne was so cute and sweet.

[Maeve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stacey agrees to take a daily job for the Cheplins family. Mrs. Cheplin is concerned with Stacey's age, but Stacey convinces her that she is capable. But this sitting job begins to take its toll on Stacey: she is exhausted when she gets home, she has to bail on plans with her mom and friends, and she is late to BSC meetings. Although Stacey loves the money that she has been making, she has to tell Mrs. Cheplin that she is assigning way to much for a babysitter.

[Lianna Kendig · Rating 4 out of 5]

(LL)
This was a breath of fresh air! There were so many great lessons in here. Even though the parent was paying Stacey a lot for all the work she was doing, it was still taking advantage of a baby-sitter. This book does an amazing job dealing with workaholics, understanding what baby-sitters should do, and balancing your life. Solid book for kids to read. Finally the old Stacey is back!

[Devon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know I'm super biased, but I love Stacey books. It's been a while since a babysitting charge's parents has boiled my blood this much in a book, so reading Stacey stand up for herself is particularly perfect in this one.

[Jennifer Baratta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review on www.Audible.com please listen to this book before applying for a job you think you can handle but in reality can not.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ayyy, fuck Mrs Cheplin. This book made me tired just reading it.

[Jaclyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Stacey learns to assert boundaries and not work too hard. Mrs Cheplin is unreasonable.

In the B plot, some kids see Logan and Kristy shopping for a ring and jump to the (wrong) conclusion that Logan's cheating on Mary Anne. (The ring is for Mary Anne.) They write kristy and Logan mean notes and cancel Logan's Vday reservation to Chez Maurice. Then when they learn their error, they make Logan and Mary Anne a romantic dinner for two to apologize. I thought this was all really sweet and I love that the kids have Mary Anne's back!

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

a solid entry. stacey wants to take her bf to nyc and convince him to like the city so she takes a job that has her working every day after school. she starts losing track of homework and having no time for her mom or her friends. once again, the adults are so stupid i can't take it. at least four times in this book, i said 'mrs mcgill if you don't get over there and handle this woman who is exploiting your barely teenage daughter i'm calling cps.' stacey learned to stand up for herself and as always, there are about 6 plotlines that don't really go anywhere.

[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

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty bland but not-so-bad Stacey book. She ends up in an every day sitting job, in which the mother takes advantage of her by assigning pages and pages of house work to cram into 2.5 hours a day. Alls well that ends well, of course, but it was still pretty bland.

[Cloud · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kinda feels like a rehash of Dawn and the Impossible Three, but if Mrs. Barret was a bigger jerk about it. But I enjoy the character moments for Stacey, I wish we could've gotten more of a bonding moment between her and Dana.

[Christina]

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

[Aaliyah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sad for Stacey but a great book.

[Ds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stacey è la mia baby-sitter preferita e forse per questo tendo a dare ai suoi libri più stelline che agli altri. Non so, la sua narrazione è decisamente più divertente delle altre, mi piace il suo rapporto con Robert e con la madre e per fortuna non c'erano eventi sociali, problemi speciali o altre cose del genere in questo capitolo. Anche se l'argomento era già stato sfruttato in passato (anche se sotto una luce un po' diversa), quindi pecca di una certa originalità. Il fatto è che non è stato risolto come tutti gli altri e questo mi ha fatto molto piacere. E' una cosa più realistica e affrontata bene.

[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!

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

In which Stacey takes a job for some bitch who doesn't think she's old enough to babysit, cuz Stace wants a ton of money to take RBrew to OMGI<3NY!!! to see a Broadway play. K. Ron gets all bent out of shape because Stace is gonna be tied up with one sitting job for a while. Um. Is that not the point? To get jobs? Oh, K. Ron.

[Dana Salman · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorites probably because of all the conflicts, and squeezed in between is the little comical mix-up between Logan and the kids. Mrs.Cheplin really bugged me, I would've felt happier for Stacey if she'd done something like slap her in the face or atleast tell her off properly.

[Maria Elmvang · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sheesh - didn't these girls learn ANYTHING from "Sweet Valley High - Love Letters for Sale".

... Oh... Wait... Different set of girls. Same rules still apply though.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seriously, Stacey was my least favorite character. Sometimes she's cool enough to be a baby sitter, sometimes she's too cool for her "friends," why would you want someone like that around?

[Melenia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loved these books as a child

[Martine]

Re-reading 100-page teen novels because I'm behind on my to-read goal? I'm ashamed yet thoroughly entertained.

[Ems di Angelo · Rating 3 out of 5]

:3