Kristy's Great Idea

“When David Michael gets like this, it’s best to just sort of ignore his tears and pretend everything is fine.”

Kristy sometimes feels like she is mentally younger than her peers, but she also demonstrates inner wisdom and skills as a caregiver. Kristy’s experiences babysitting David Michael help inspire her idea for the Baby-Sitters Club, enabling her to discover her potential as a leader.

“I don’t like him much at all. He’s divorced from his wife and has two little kids. Plus, he’s getting bald.”

Along with creating a new club with her friends, Kristy is also in the midst of Navigating Family Changes. Her parents are divorced, and she rarely sees or hears from her father anymore. As a result, Kristy looks for any flaws she can find in Watson, hoping to keep him at a distance and keep herself emotionally safe.

“The truth is, I haven’t given any of the men Mom has dated a chance. I’m afraid that if I break down and treat them nicely, one of them might marry Mom. Think what could happen then. We’re happy the way we are.”

Kristy fears the changes that come along with starting a new blended family with Watson, but it is clear through her descriptions of him and her anxiety toward the situation that her family’s life is going in this direction. She cannot imagine a future in which her mother is happily married because she knows what happened last time.

“I heaved a sigh of relief and walked to my desk with decorum.”

After being lectured about her lack of decorum, Kristy makes an emphasized effort to be proper and polite at school. There is also a hint of humor in the situation, as Kristy is still just a girl learning to take responsibility for her actions and herself.

“Claudia thundered down the stairs, yelling, ‘I’ll get it!’ She flung open the door and hauled Mary Anne up to her room.”

Claudia’s footsteps are metaphorically compared to thunder, emphasizing her excitement and sense of urgency. Each movement is exaggerated and intense, and the anticipation that Claudia feels toward the new club is evident in her body language. Claudia’s behavior reflects her confident and outgoing nature.

“Claudia answered it again, this time wearing a baggy yellow-and-black-checked shirt, black pants, red jazz shoes, and a bracelet that looked like it was made from a telephone cord. Her earrings were dangling jointed skeletons that jumped around when she moved.”

Claudia’s clothing choices are often described in vivid detail, characterizing Claudia and setting her apart. Her fashion choices emphasize her artistic and rebellious nature as well as the differences between her and Kristy, who doesn’t much care for fashion (See: Symbols & Motifs).

“I was feeling more and more like a baby. How was it possible to feel so much younger than someone who was the same age as you?”

Early in the novel, Kristy often feels like she’s lagging behind her friends, who seem to be growing up faster than she is. These feelings will become less prominent as she undergoes her full character arc, reflecting Self-Growth Through Responsibility and Agency.

“I’m sorry you’re such a terrible father!”

Kristy’s tendency to say exactly what she’s thinking and forget about decorum leads to trouble when she explodes at Watson and insults his parenting abilities. She admits to the reader that she knows Watson is actually a great father, but she still can’t bring herself to admit this out loud. Kristy’s outburst shows that she still needs to learn how to consider other people’s feelings, while also illustrating how difficult she is finding Navigating Family Changes.

“At 5:10, Claudia got up, took a shoe box labeled SNEAKERS out of her closet, opened it, and handed around some jawbreakers. As usual, Stacey refused.”

One of Claudia’s trademarks is her secret box of candy that she hands out at club meetings. When candy is passed around, Stacey always refuses, which makes Kristy suspicious. While this may seem like a minor detail, it is repeated several times throughout the novel, hinting that Stacey’s refusal to eat candy is an important detail. It turns out that Stacey has diabetes and has to watch what she eats.

“Boy, this is weird. I’ve gotten wrong numbers before, but no one’s ever asked for Jim Bartolini. Certainly not three no ones.”

The girls receive several prank calls during their first meeting, and dramatic irony is used in a subtle way to help the reader determine that the girls are in fact being pranked. They keep mentioning how strange it is for this person to be calling, suggesting that something is off.

“On Wednesday I’ll get to meet Pinky and Buffy McKeever. New clients are always interesting.”

Foreshadowing is used here to hint at the unexpected nature of Kristy’s first official babysitting job. She assumes they will be “interesting” but doesn’t realize that interesting in this case means two large, rowdy dogs. Readers may predict this by the unusual names that they have.

“Mrs. McKeever had said the address was 52 Quentin Court. So I found the side of the street with the even-numbered addresses on it and started walking.”

During their first weeks babysitting, the girls develop a business sense and demonstrate their independence by using practical skills. A reader can learn from their experiences and the way that Martin writes out actions as though they are instructions. Kristy doesn’t just find the address; she explains how she finds it.

“It also occurred to me that I couldn’t hear any children’s voices or giggling. Suddenly, I began to feel suspicious. What had I gotten myself into?”

When Kristy first enters the home, there is an atmosphere of suspense that almost verges on spooky. She sees baby gates, a darkly painted house, and no toys anywhere and begins to wonder if something sinister is going on. The truth is far more humorous than anything Kristy predicts, as her clients are actually dogs.

“At that point, Claudia almost panicked and called Stacey for help, but Jamie, sitting quietly on the floor, inspired her.”

Claudia faces her own challenges during her first babysitting job. In the midst of chaos is one child who sits calmly, and Claudia uses this opportunity to exercise a skill that she observed in her parents when they were raising her. This experience reveals Claudia’s capacity for leadership and authority.

“And that was Claudia’s first Baby-sitters Club job (and the story of how she tamed the Feldmans).”

This passage is alluding to Where the Wild Things Are. Claudia reads the book to a family of unruly children, mirroring her world with the world in the book. Martin then incorporates a line from the book for those who remember it.

“Ha! Stacey had a fine time at my house, all right, but she had it discovering Sam.”

Kristy realizes that Stacey and Sam are developing crushes on one another. She finds it more entertaining and humorous than upsetting and even makes an effort to try and help them get to know one another. Her willingness to accept this potential relationship is a strong contrast to her resistance to her mother’s love life.

“I thought about what they looked like and tried to figure out what they saw in each other. (I have absolutely no interest in boys, of course. Still, I realized that that kind of information might be useful some day.)”

Kristy feels the need to justify and defend herself, as if resisting the idea that she could ever have an interest in boys herself. Kristy is firm and at times stubborn, not quite ready to grow up in this way just yet. In spite of this, Kristy has a wisdom within her that allows her to understand that this could change someday, which reflects her capacity for personal growth.

“Watson’s kids are cute. Karen is five and Andrew is three. I think Kristy would like them if she ever baby sat for them. Are you reading this, Kristy? I hope so.”

Mary Anne’s note in the babysitting log is a window into Mary Anne’s own thoughts and writing style, as well as her thoughts about Kristy’s stubbornness and resistance to Navigating Family Changes. The Baby-Sitters Club will end up being the catalyst through which Kristy finally allows herself to get to know her future siblings and stepdad.

“It’s Mrs. Porter, and she’s an honest-and-truly witch. Mrs. Porter isn’t her witch name, though. Her witch name is Morbidda Destiny. The big kids on the street told me so. And she eats toads and casts spells and flies to witch meetings on her broomstick every midnight.”

Karen is a big talker and speaks in hyperboles often. Her young age is evident through her strong imagination and gullibility, but it is also clear that she is very bright and quick for her age. Mary Anne’s experience babysitting Karen and Andrew turns out to be the strangest of all, but she develops confidence through navigating the challenges.

“I managed a tiny, forced smile. Very forced. I couldn’t believe Mom’s news. Why would she want to risk getting married again?”

Kristy’s true fears are revealed when her mother announces the engagement. Kristy’s father left after the divorce and disappeared from her life, and she worries that the same thing will happen again. Kristy’s fears about committed relationships are an obstacle that she slowly has to overcome.

“Watson talked a mile a minute during the drive, trying to tell me everything I’d need to know. I was glad I’d read the Baby-sitters Club Notebook, though, because he didn’t say anything about Mrs. Porter, the witch next door, or Boo-Boo the attack cat.”

As the weeks go on, the girls become wiser and learn to prevent issues they experienced in the past. The log gives them warnings about what they are about to deal with, and Watson’s emergency situation is a prime example of why a log like this is needed.

“I wasn’t upset, but I wasn’t happy either. I could only think of questions.”

Kristy’s feelings toward the engagement change from total fear to mixed feelings, confusion, and worry as she confronts Navigating Family Changes. She wonders how much her life will be affected, not knowing if a blended family is something she is ready for.

“The club has helped all of us. It helped Stacey make some friends. I think it helped give Mary Anne the courage to stand up to her father. And it showed Claudia that she can be good at something besides art, even if it’s not a genius kind of thing like Janine’s good at.”

The club not only brings the girls together but also helps them experience Self-Growth Through Responsibility and Agency. Each girl gets something different out of the club, but it is exactly what each of them needs, and they find the confidence to address the conflicts in their lives.