SOLVED. Children/YA book, about a girl named Gus [s]

[80sozzy]

Children's book (read in the early 80s) about a little girl named Augusta, "Gus" for short. Her parents leave to take care of a sick relative, she and her best friend torment her babysitter and get into many scrapes. An example, they keep sneaking into a bar to get free food at the buffet (man in line is wearing a Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap shirt, Gus wonders what his dirty deeds are). Eventually, her pranks reach a head as her parents return. They are unhappy with her behavior, but ultimately blame the babysitter for being too strict.

Ring any bells?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Claire]

Hm... Do you remember anything about the cover?

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Was this historical? (Set in the 20's or 30's or possibly slightly earlier?)

[80sozzy]

Claire, I want to say the cover was red, the Gus character a cartoonish figure with black hair.

Iftcan, the book was contemporary. I read it as a child of the early 80's, the references inside (such as AC/DC) coincide with the publication.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Ok, NOT the one that I was thinking of then. That was definitely a historical. Still, here's hoping that it gets found quickly.

[Tab]

Call Me Friday the Thirteenth by Betty Bates?

I found this short description on WorldCat:
Gussie McIver is always getting into trouble, but it takes a series of major mishaps while her mother is out of town before her father begins to notice.

Here is a link to the cover
https://www.librarything.com/work/209...

[80sozzy]

Brilliant! Thank you thank you thank you! That is certainly it. File this 30 year old mystery as SOLVED. :)

PS: This is a wonderful site. After a week here I've found that it is infinitely more satisfying solving others' book mysteries than fruitlessly searching for my own.

I wonder how you found it? Was it the keyword "Gussie" instead of "Gus?"

[Tab]

yay! Glad you found the book.
I was searching for the book using the keyword Gus. Google suggested a book with a girl named Gussie. I decided to try that name instead. And, there was your book :)