Thoughts before reading:
I always liked Dawn as a kid, but I've read a lot of hate about her from other people who are revisiting these books, so I've been very curious to see what I think this time around. She was my second favorite growing up, because I also cared deeply about the environment and animals, and lived in California. I was envious of her diet, because my parents wouldn't let me be vegetarian. Plus she just seemed glamourous and cool to me.
I remember the basics from this book, and I know that I read it as a kid, because I always tried to get all the Dawn books. I can't remember if I liked it specifically or not though.
Really not a fan of this cover. The others so far have been cute, but here Dawn looks like a middle aged woman. Especially with that outfit? It looks like frumpy mom clothes. Definitely not how I would picture her at all. The later cover I've seen is a lot better.
The basics:
Dawn is sitting for the Pikes when she briefly meets the Barrett kids: Buddy (8), Suzi (4), and Marnie (1). Not long after, she gets a job sitting for them and is shocked by how disorganized their mother is. She leaves in a rush, without giving Dawn any instructions or phone numbers. Plus, the house is a pigsty and the kids are just as messy. Her and her husband have recently divorced, and she's having trouble dealing with the kids alone and looking for work. Dawn decides to help out, and makes cleaning into a game so the kids will help her. She gets everything done and befriends the kids before Mrs. Barrett returns home. Quickly after this she becomes their regular sitter.
Mary Anne's dad and Dawn's mom are also still dating, which has the girls very excited, but Kristy still very jealous. She's still disagreeing with everything Dawn says and giving her a hard time. The fact that Dawn is helping Mary Anne redo her room is also adding to the problem. However, Dawn handles Kristy's jealousy really maturely- she's totally understanding, works to include her, and even invites Kristy over so they can spend time together one on one. Kristy is really interested in Dawn's old barn, and they spend an afternoon swinging from a rope in the hay loft down into the hay on the floor. Dawn wins Kristy over after they get to talking some, and Kristy makes her alternate officer of the club.
Despite this victory, the problems Dawn is having at the Barrett's are adding up. She's sitting for them several times a week now, and the kids are relying on her for homework and other problems they need their mother for. There's also an incident where Dawn gives Marnie a brownie, not knowing she's allergic to chocolate, and is thankfully stopped just in time. Another time, Suzi is very ill and Dawn can't reach her mother at all.
Finally one day Dawn is sitting at the Barrett's yet again and Buddy goes missing from the front yard. The Pikes and other neighbors show up to help a frantic Dawn search for him, until Jordan Pike says he saw Buddy get into a car that morning. The police are called, but no one can get in touch with Mrs. Barrett. It turns out that Buddy's dad was the one who picked him up, because he was angry that it was his weekend with the kids and Mrs. Barrett forgot.
Dawn finally stands up to Mrs. Barrett and tells her she can't sit for her anymore, because the kids need their mother more than a sitter. They talk it over together and agree to a trial run where Dawn will get paid extra to clean and come early to get phone numbers and information before the sitting job begins.
Kristy is also worried during this book that she will have to quit the club when her family moves into Watson's house (her mom is marrying him in September). She ends up deciding to raise dues instead so she can pay Charlie to drive her to Claudia's house for meetings. Everyone is relieved that the club will stay together, and the book ends with Jeff taking a picture of the five girls for Mary Anne to frame in her newly decorated bedroom.
Timeline:
April-May of 7th grade: we've skipped over a few months! They definitely shouldn't be rushing through time here, lol! Soon there will be nothing to do but repeat 8th grade forever...
My thoughts:
The title of this book is super misleading. The Barrett kids actually listen to Dawn easily and seem to always help her clean the house. After one afternoon, they already adored her and called her their favorite sitter. The only brief problem was Dawn giving them a no gun rule after she came over to find Buddy playing with toy guns. Even so, he disobeys her for about 30 seconds before she regains control. The real problem, of course, is their mother. Even so, I can't help but have sympathy for her after reading that she's only 33 years old. She's young and single for the first time with 3 kids, and unemployed. Plus her divorce wasn't friendly, so there's no co-parenting happening yet. I never would have picked up on this as a kid. All adults seem so old then.
Dawn complains a lot about the weather in this book. At one point she's mad because it's memorial weekend and it's only 70 degrees out, which she says is way too cold and means she can't go to the beach. I can see her having trouble getting used to snow and actual cold, but really? I live in California and 70 is gorgeous weather, and actually perfect for the beach. There are a lot of other funny California stereotypes too, and I know they continue through the series. We don't all eat tofu and raw vegetables, or healthy at all. We don't all hate cold and rain. I'm not sure the author has ever even been to the west coast.
One thing I remember always loving about these books was how creative the girls are when they babysit, with activities and games for the kids. They gave me countless ideas for things to do when I was a kid. Then when I was older, I used a lot of their ideas when I started babysitting myself.
Misc:
*Dawn's mom is ridiculously disorganized, to the point where she can't even get ready for a date without her 12 year old daughter helping her get dressed. This seems really pathetic to me...is something wrong with her or has she just never had to take care of herself?
*There's another babysitting chapter with Karen and Andrew where the plot centers around Mrs. Porter being a witch and putting spells on Boo Boo (the cat). Honestly, it would be so nice if something else could happen on one of these sitting jobs. I read most of the Little Sister books before I grew into the BSC and plenty of other things happened.
*I loved Dawn's house as a kid, it sounded like a dream come true, with the history, the old barn, the secret passage...
*Watson's house is 3 1/2 miles away from Bradford Court. It's crazy how that little distance can ruin your life when you're a kid
*Dawn says on Memorial Day, "In Connecticut people barbeque things, especially at picnics." Uhm we do that in CA too, Dawn.
*This is the first book that was mostly about babysitting and not another central conflict
*The book list in the back has another book that never happened: #35, Stacey and the New Kids on the Block. Probably too close to the bad 90s band name?
Books mentioned:
None! Dawn must not be a big reader
My rating:
4 stars. I really enjoyed this one, and so far I still really like Dawn. She was easy-going, calm, and handled all her conflicts really maturely.
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