#15 Little Miss Stoneybrook...and Dawn

Sorry it has taken me so long to get this posted.  I hate this book.

Ah, this book annoyed me in so many ways as a kid.  Maybe it was because Ann kept pushing that pageants are sexist and I didn’t get what sexist meant, or maybe it was because the girls, yet again, start fighting.  As a grown up, this book pisses me off in so many ways.  I get that Sharon is supposed to be disorganized and scatterbrained, but don’t you think she would have at least thought about what a drastic change she was making for her kids.  They had just gone through a divorce; did she really think it was a good idea to move them across the country, to a different climate, a different culture and  that far away from their dad?  I get she probably needed to get away, but maybe move a few hours away, then slowly transition back east.  Anyway, I digress.

Chapter one, we’re at a meeting.  “And before we go any farther, maybe I should explain who the club members are and what the Babysitter’s Club is.”  Please do, Dawn, since the name in and of itself is not self explanatory.  Wow, the anger is already seeping out.  Mallory and Jessi are “inducted” into the club and Dawn gets her panties in a twist because she wasn’t inducted.

She gets home and after dinner she finds out that Jeff was in trouble at school again.  This time, though, there is no fighting and Jeff begs to go back to California to live with his dad.  Sharon agrees and starts calling her ex and her lawyer about custody arrangements.  Mommy Moment:  Sharon, forget about yourself and move your family back to California.  That’s what I’d do.  Dawn is terribly upset by this and is hurt and angry with her brother (which he has every right to be) and spends the rest of the evening crying.

The next day, Dawn is at the meeting a little early and she and Claudia spy an ad for the Little Missy Stoneybrook contest.  Instantly Claudia proclaims it sexist, as do all of the other girls when they come in.  Thank you, Ann, for shoving your views down our throats.  Anyway, Dawn gets asked to help Margo and Claire Pike get ready for the Little Miss Stoneybrook pageant.  Mommy Moment:  I think the reason Mrs. Pike asked Dawn specifically is because she knows Sharon and knows what’s happening with Jeff and thinks this might take her mind off things.  Ha!  My K key is sticking and it spelled Pie.  Margo and Claire shall henceforth be known as Pie.  None of the other sitters are overly happy that she gets asked to take the job and this begins a little competition between the girls over who is the best sitter. 

Kristy has a sitting job for her siblings and manages to talk Karen into entering the contest.  Watson and Elizabeth aren’t overly excited about it and Kristy promises she’ll help her prepare for the pageant. 

Back at the Schafer household, Sharon is picking at dinner, Dawn and Jeff aren’t saying much and finally it all comes to a head.  Jeff is legally able to live with his father for six months to see if the behavior problems improve.  Jeff is ecstatic; Dawn is shocked (that’s what she says) and numb.  She admits she misses California and her friends and her father (pay attention Sharon!!), but that she’s not going to leave her mother.  She calls MA and then spends her evening thinking about Pie.

She meets with Pie the next day and discovers that Margo’s talent is reciting The House that Jack Built and peeling a banana with her feet.  Claire’s talent is singing Popeye the Sailor Man.  Then they try curtseying, which is a disaster.  Dawn realizes they aren’t pageant material.  Mommy Moment:  Aside from plot contrivance. I’m thinking Mrs. Pike knew this too and didn’t want to spend much time on it, but the girls reeeeally wanted to do it, so she hired a sitter to help them.  It’s what I would do if I had a daughter whining about it.  Or I’d just say no.

Mary Anne sits for the St. Perkins girls and convinces Mariah to ask her mom to let her enter the competition.  Again, Mrs. Perkins says it’s okay as long as MA helps her get ready.  Then Claudia sits for Charlotte and talks her into entering the pageant.  You know, Charlotte, the one with terrible stage fright.  And yet again, the mom says okay, as long as Claudia helps her get ready.  Because if your girls wins, you are the best babysitter.  Logic…..it goes bye-bye!

Mallory and Jessi sit for the Pike hoard.  They are all annoyed by Pie practicing for the pageant.

The next meeting is super awkward as none of the girls want to talk about what their pageant contestants are doing.  Then Sharon calls with a non sitting question and Dawn drops the bombshell that Jeff’s going back to California.  Apparently Sharon has become really clingy with Dawn, as though to keep her from going away (remember that in future books) What I find interesting is that none of the girls really says anything supportive or comforting.

Friday is the last day before the pageant and the last day with Jeff in Connecticut.  So of course, Dawn is spending the afternoon getting the girls ready for the next day.  They do a few practice runs, and stop and hide when Charlotte and Claudia come in.  Arg, these girls!

After a quick dinner of leftovers, the Schafers are on the road to the airport.  Jeff pretty much waltzes onto the plane and Dawn breaks down, wondering what it was going to be like growing up without him and him growing up without her.  Mommy Moment:  Seriously, Sharon.  You have to do what’s best for your kids.  Jeff needs to be in California and Dawn needs to be with Jeff.  Arg.

The next day is pageant day.  Dawn hustles over to help Pie get ready and she and Mrs. Pike head to the pageant.  They get the girls checked in and start preparing for the pageant.  Boo-Boo Alert:  Sabrina Bouvier is only a little girl.  In later books, she’s in middle school.  All of the girls’ charges doe well, except for Charlotte, who runs off the stage in tears and refuses to come back.  Myriah Perkins comes in second (Sabrina Bouvier wins, of course).  All the sitters admit that they really wanted to win to prove they were good babysitters.  Common Sense Moment: How would your sitting charge winning a pageant show that you’re a good sitter?  I’d think keeping the kids alive and safe would be a better measure.

One evening, Dawn is sitting at home reading a magazine when the phone rings.  It’s Jeff!  They have a great conversation and Jeff says he misses her.  She is happy to know Jeff is happy, even though it’s really hard to have him so far away.

Then Claire calls…there’s a beautiful child contest at Bellair’s….