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A review by ssshira
Claudia's Book by Ann M. Martin
5.0
in this second PORTRAIT COLLECTION book by [a:Nola Thacker|133114|Nola Thacker|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_50x66-6a03a5c12233c941481992b82eea8d23.png], claudia tells her life story:
-at four: she, mary anne, and kristy destroy wet cement that workers have laid on her driveway. when mimi catches them she has the guy smooth the cement over and lets them press their hands into it. because mimi is understanding af even when she shouldn't be.
-at six: claud has a circus-themed birthday party. she invites her whole class but only right at the end of the last school day, so maybe they stuffed the invites in their backpacks and forgot about them, or maybe they're all at camp or something -- nobody shows up. claud is understandably really upset, so the kishis, spiers, and thomases surprise her by re-throwing the party and have a wonderful time
-second grade: the truth about the tooth fairy: claud thinks that she steals teeth from kids' mouths. she catches her mom taking the tooth and has a revelation that if the tooth fairy isn't real, maybe santa and the easter bunny aren't real either.
-fourth grade: goes to a private school for underperforming kids. scholastically she does better but she gets really depressed: withdraws from her friendships with kristy and mary anne, sleeps all the time, etc.
-at eleven: goes to the beach with the thomases. when she and kristy are babysitting a 4.5 year old david michael, they let him go get a hot dog by himself and lose him. they find him but, REALLY? he is 4.5 and you're letting him walk off to buy a hot dog?
notes:
-this is the same month that [b:Stacey vs. the BSC|794905|Stacey vs. the BSC (The Baby-Sitters Club, #83)|Ann M. Martin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1387700062s/794905.jpg|1958895] came out, but this one must take place first because there is no reference to stacey not being in the bsc, a fight, or anything.
-no reference to jessi's race or skin color or anything. we already know she's black anyway, so do they REALLY need to remind us, with their classic, "mal and jessi are similar and different: they both like horses but mal is white and jessi is black."
-she gets a B- on her autobiography project for spelling and grammar errors. REALLY? what a jerk teacher! she did so well and tried so hard!
-the portrayal of pre-adolescent depression is pretty spot on.
claudia outfits:
-"Looking back at me from the mirror wasn't a butterfly: just Claudia Kishi, with long black hair and brown eyes and an enormous shirt and patchwork vest over striped leggings. I looked down at my high-tops and back at the earrings I was wearing. I'd made them myself out of leftover bits of broken jewelry that my friends and family had given me: patchwork earrings."
kindergarten class photo outfit:
-"In that picture, my hair was in pigtails and I was wearing double ribbons on each pigtail -- four colors in all -- to match the flowered blouse I was wearing with my purple Oshkosh overalls. I think I had purple sneakers, too."
sixth bday party outfit:
-"Even though it was summer, I was wearing black tights and my tall black rainboots and my red jacket with the brass buttons. I had a T-shirt with a lion's head painted on the front and I wore that under the jacket."
other outfits:
mary anne (claud's 6th bday party):
-"Mary Anne was wearing a pink flowered dress with pink tights and flat black patent leather shoes. Her hair was fixed in pigtails and tied with pink bows."
kristy (claud's 6th bday party):
-"Kristy was wearing navy blue shorts with a matching camp shirt, white socks, and her best sneakers."
snacks in claudia's room:
-fruit roll-up in the pocket of her good winter coat
-hershey's hugs in the pocket of her good winter coat
-at four: she, mary anne, and kristy destroy wet cement that workers have laid on her driveway. when mimi catches them she has the guy smooth the cement over and lets them press their hands into it. because mimi is understanding af even when she shouldn't be.
-at six: claud has a circus-themed birthday party. she invites her whole class but only right at the end of the last school day, so maybe they stuffed the invites in their backpacks and forgot about them, or maybe they're all at camp or something -- nobody shows up. claud is understandably really upset, so the kishis, spiers, and thomases surprise her by re-throwing the party and have a wonderful time
-second grade: the truth about the tooth fairy: claud thinks that she steals teeth from kids' mouths. she catches her mom taking the tooth and has a revelation that if the tooth fairy isn't real, maybe santa and the easter bunny aren't real either.
-fourth grade: goes to a private school for underperforming kids. scholastically she does better but she gets really depressed: withdraws from her friendships with kristy and mary anne, sleeps all the time, etc.
-at eleven: goes to the beach with the thomases. when she and kristy are babysitting a 4.5 year old david michael, they let him go get a hot dog by himself and lose him. they find him but, REALLY? he is 4.5 and you're letting him walk off to buy a hot dog?
notes:
-this is the same month that [b:Stacey vs. the BSC|794905|Stacey vs. the BSC (The Baby-Sitters Club, #83)|Ann M. Martin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1387700062s/794905.jpg|1958895] came out, but this one must take place first because there is no reference to stacey not being in the bsc, a fight, or anything.
-no reference to jessi's race or skin color or anything. we already know she's black anyway, so do they REALLY need to remind us, with their classic, "mal and jessi are similar and different: they both like horses but mal is white and jessi is black."
-she gets a B- on her autobiography project for spelling and grammar errors. REALLY? what a jerk teacher! she did so well and tried so hard!
-the portrayal of pre-adolescent depression is pretty spot on.
claudia outfits:
-"Looking back at me from the mirror wasn't a butterfly: just Claudia Kishi, with long black hair and brown eyes and an enormous shirt and patchwork vest over striped leggings. I looked down at my high-tops and back at the earrings I was wearing. I'd made them myself out of leftover bits of broken jewelry that my friends and family had given me: patchwork earrings."
kindergarten class photo outfit:
-"In that picture, my hair was in pigtails and I was wearing double ribbons on each pigtail -- four colors in all -- to match the flowered blouse I was wearing with my purple Oshkosh overalls. I think I had purple sneakers, too."
sixth bday party outfit:
-"Even though it was summer, I was wearing black tights and my tall black rainboots and my red jacket with the brass buttons. I had a T-shirt with a lion's head painted on the front and I wore that under the jacket."
other outfits:
mary anne (claud's 6th bday party):
-"Mary Anne was wearing a pink flowered dress with pink tights and flat black patent leather shoes. Her hair was fixed in pigtails and tied with pink bows."
kristy (claud's 6th bday party):
-"Kristy was wearing navy blue shorts with a matching camp shirt, white socks, and her best sneakers."
snacks in claudia's room:
-fruit roll-up in the pocket of her good winter coat
-hershey's hugs in the pocket of her good winter coat