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The Baby-Sitters Club #120
Mary Anne and the Playground Fight
Stoneybrook is going to have its own playground camp this summer, and six counseling jobs are up for grabs. When nine BSC members apply, the competition heats up to the boiling point! .
126 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1998
40 people are currently reading
533 people want to read
About the author
Ann M. Martin
1,120 books3,075 followersAnn Matthews Martin was born on August 12, 1955. She grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, with her parents and her younger sister, Jane. After graduating from Smith College, Ann became a teacher and then an editor of children's books. She's now a full-time writer.
Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.
Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.
Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.
After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...
Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.
Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.
Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.
After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
November 21, 2018
this is my first time reading this book.
in this book by ghostwriter Diane Molleson (never heard of her? it’s because this is the only bsc book she ever wrote) the bsc fight over the few available positions at a summer playground camp. similar to the hawaii trip in Aloha, Baby-sitters! (and the logistics plotline about earning money for the hawaii trip in Dawn and Too Many Sitters), sms is semi-sponsoring a trip to london and paris. the trip falls in the middle of the playground camp, but still, the baby-sitters who are planning to go on the trip still want to work at the camp. mary anne is torn (so what else is new? she’s got no backbone which is one of the main reasons I hate her so much): she wants to go to europe with kristy and everyone, but when dawn says she plans to spend the whole summer in stoneybrook, mary anne decides to stick around stoneybrook. kristy says on her application for playground camp that she’ll be available the whole summer, even though she knows she’s going to europe, pissing off all of her friends. she also decides that the bsc members going to europe should get extra jobs since they need money for the trip, further pissing off all her friends. in the end, claudia, mary anne, dawn, and logan get jobs at the camp, while kristy, abby, stacey, jessi, and mal decide to go to europe. in one subplot the bsc host a stuffed animal sale to fundraise for the trip. in another subplot, victoria kent (from Mary Anne and the Little Princess) is moving back to england and is bummed about it because she thinks she’s all ‘murrican now.
highlights:
-alan gray tries to shoot a spitball at a kid in class but accidentally hits the teacher instead! genius!
-it’s fun reading a book by a ghostwriter who hasn’t written other books, since most of the ghostwriters are immediately identifiable by their writing style (*cough* Peter Lerangis *cough cough*) and this book didn’t really feel like other bsc books. for some reason, diane molleson decided that claudia’s outfit (see below) would basically be a stacey outfit, and I’m here for it.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-victoria is such a brat. she's mad that mary anne is hanging out with dawn, her SISTER, instead of her. then she gets mad when she finds out mary anne isn't going to london. the world doesn’t revolve around you just because you’re a princess!
-claud says kristy bulldozes the competition and kristy says claud is jealous because she has no confidence. WOOF. kristy is a JERK, dude.
-victoria has a bbq going away party to be all american. the bsc are helping and at one point claud is scooping ice cream and kristy takes it out of her hands and starts doing it because claudia is "too slow" apparently. UGGGHHH! I’m so mad at kristy!
-in the end kristy apologizes for being a jerk and all is forgiven. by everyone except me.
claudia outfit:
-"On this day she was wearing an oversized black jumpsuit over a white T-shirt with the sleeves rolled up, plus white socks and black high-top sneakers with silver laces. The laces matched her silver nail polish, silver earrings, and the rings she wore on every finger, even her thumb."
snacks in claudia’s room:
-potato chips (n.s.)
-ring dings (n.s.)
-m&ms (n.s.)
-carrot sticks (n.s.)
-sour cream and onion potato chips under her bed
-salt and vinegar potato chips (n.s.)
-cheez doodles under her bed
-tortilla chips (n.s.)
in this book by ghostwriter Diane Molleson (never heard of her? it’s because this is the only bsc book she ever wrote) the bsc fight over the few available positions at a summer playground camp. similar to the hawaii trip in Aloha, Baby-sitters! (and the logistics plotline about earning money for the hawaii trip in Dawn and Too Many Sitters), sms is semi-sponsoring a trip to london and paris. the trip falls in the middle of the playground camp, but still, the baby-sitters who are planning to go on the trip still want to work at the camp. mary anne is torn (so what else is new? she’s got no backbone which is one of the main reasons I hate her so much): she wants to go to europe with kristy and everyone, but when dawn says she plans to spend the whole summer in stoneybrook, mary anne decides to stick around stoneybrook. kristy says on her application for playground camp that she’ll be available the whole summer, even though she knows she’s going to europe, pissing off all of her friends. she also decides that the bsc members going to europe should get extra jobs since they need money for the trip, further pissing off all her friends. in the end, claudia, mary anne, dawn, and logan get jobs at the camp, while kristy, abby, stacey, jessi, and mal decide to go to europe. in one subplot the bsc host a stuffed animal sale to fundraise for the trip. in another subplot, victoria kent (from Mary Anne and the Little Princess) is moving back to england and is bummed about it because she thinks she’s all ‘murrican now.
highlights:
-alan gray tries to shoot a spitball at a kid in class but accidentally hits the teacher instead! genius!
-it’s fun reading a book by a ghostwriter who hasn’t written other books, since most of the ghostwriters are immediately identifiable by their writing style (*cough* Peter Lerangis *cough cough*) and this book didn’t really feel like other bsc books. for some reason, diane molleson decided that claudia’s outfit (see below) would basically be a stacey outfit, and I’m here for it.
lowlights/nitpicks:
-victoria is such a brat. she's mad that mary anne is hanging out with dawn, her SISTER, instead of her. then she gets mad when she finds out mary anne isn't going to london. the world doesn’t revolve around you just because you’re a princess!
-claud says kristy bulldozes the competition and kristy says claud is jealous because she has no confidence. WOOF. kristy is a JERK, dude.
-victoria has a bbq going away party to be all american. the bsc are helping and at one point claud is scooping ice cream and kristy takes it out of her hands and starts doing it because claudia is "too slow" apparently. UGGGHHH! I’m so mad at kristy!
-in the end kristy apologizes for being a jerk and all is forgiven. by everyone except me.
claudia outfit:
-"On this day she was wearing an oversized black jumpsuit over a white T-shirt with the sleeves rolled up, plus white socks and black high-top sneakers with silver laces. The laces matched her silver nail polish, silver earrings, and the rings she wore on every finger, even her thumb."
snacks in claudia’s room:
-potato chips (n.s.)
-ring dings (n.s.)
-m&ms (n.s.)
-carrot sticks (n.s.)
-sour cream and onion potato chips under her bed
-salt and vinegar potato chips (n.s.)
-cheez doodles under her bed
-tortilla chips (n.s.)
February 26, 2021
The title and cover were misleading. This book was not about a playground fight. None of the scenes even took place at the playground. Instead, the babysitters were competing for counselor jobs at a summer playground camp. Stoneybrook Middle School was planning a week-long trip to London and Paris (Baby-Sitters' European Vacation). The babysitters who worked at the playground camp should not go on the trip because they would have to miss a week of work. Some of the babysitters, particularly Kristy, downplayed their interest in going on the Europe trip because they really wanted the playground job. As Ann M. Martin stated in her letter to the reader, "And you’re not being fair to anyone if, like Kristy, you don’t play by the rules ... Mary Anne and her friends might have had an easier time if they had been honest with themselves and with one another from the beginning."
Meanwhile, Victoria Kent, an eight year-old girl and distant relative of the British royal family who was first introduced in Mary Anne and the Little Princess, was moving back to England. Mary Anne and Victoria had a weird relationship. Victoria was possessive of Mary Anne and did not want her to spend time with Dawn, Mary Anne's sister. Mary Anne did not want to tell Victoria that she enjoyed a certain book when she was eight because she thought it would sound condescending. Victoria wanted to be called Vicki because it sounded more American. Like Victoria, I was also eight in 1998, but none of the girls my age named Victoria went by Vicki. Perhaps Victoria did not want to be called Tory because people would associate her with the British Conservative Party of the same name.
Meanwhile, Victoria Kent, an eight year-old girl and distant relative of the British royal family who was first introduced in Mary Anne and the Little Princess, was moving back to England. Mary Anne and Victoria had a weird relationship. Victoria was possessive of Mary Anne and did not want her to spend time with Dawn, Mary Anne's sister. Mary Anne did not want to tell Victoria that she enjoyed a certain book when she was eight because she thought it would sound condescending. Victoria wanted to be called Vicki because it sounded more American. Like Victoria, I was also eight in 1998, but none of the girls my age named Victoria went by Vicki. Perhaps Victoria did not want to be called Tory because people would associate her with the British Conservative Party of the same name.
January 28, 2021
This was a really frustrating one - I think in part because the title and the cover are misleading? I'd been hoping to read about the BSC having gotten their playground camp jobs and struggling in them for some reason? Instead it was all centered around them applying and fighting about who was going to get the jobs in the first place.
The subplot with Victoria Kent was something I just found odd. She didn't feel like a super full-fledged character, more like a caricature, or someone's idea of a British kid. (Also, her friendship with Mary Anne blurred all kinds of boundaries. She's 8.)
Needless to say, not my favorite BSC book.
The subplot with Victoria Kent was something I just found odd. She didn't feel like a super full-fledged character, more like a caricature, or someone's idea of a British kid. (Also, her friendship with Mary Anne blurred all kinds of boundaries. She's 8.)
Needless to say, not my favorite BSC book.
November 21, 2024
The last few Mary Anne books haven't even been that bad, so color me extremely disappointed that this book brought us back to boring. In Mary Anne's defense, it's the other baby sitters who are insufferable in this book. I honestly don't even remember the B storyline and I read this book less than a month ago, but the main storyline is difficult to digest because it's mostly about in-fighting--I like my babysitters less backstab-y.
July 29, 2017
There were times in the series when Mary Anne could be...more than a little bit of a pain, that's for sure. In this book, however, she is honestly pretty tolerable and by far not the worst behaving babysitter of the group. Really I think my favorite part is how Kristy got cut down to size for a change.
That alone made this book a total win!
That alone made this book a total win!
March 18, 2023
When I was 10 I joined a readers club/group where we got a new book every week. I chose The babysitters club.
The books are fantastic! So enjoyable. I loved getting the book every week. They are super quick reads and I was able to read it in one day.
Highly recommend for young teenagers to read or even younger if they are able too read well.
The books are fantastic! So enjoyable. I loved getting the book every week. They are super quick reads and I was able to read it in one day.
Highly recommend for young teenagers to read or even younger if they are able too read well.
December 22, 2023
Mary Anne is anxious for the summer: Dawn is coming to visit; SMS is planning a trip to England and France; and there is a playground camp counselor job opening up! Mary Anne (and the rest of the BSC) want to do both...and the competition gets in the way of their friendship. Only when the jobs are announced do the girls make up.
January 19, 2021
(LL)
This was an entire book dedicated to setting up the last of the BSC’s Super Specials, so it was pretty boring. Also, what kid would want to be a baby-sitter for two weeks instead of going to Europe? Come on.
This was an entire book dedicated to setting up the last of the BSC’s Super Specials, so it was pretty boring. Also, what kid would want to be a baby-sitter for two weeks instead of going to Europe? Come on.
January 19, 2022
Mary Anne and the playground fight was about Mary Anne would she rather go to England and visit one of her clients or stay with Dawn? Mary Anne choses Dawn. My favorite character was Mary Anne because she wasn't mean like the other BC members.
July 26, 2023
Lmao the BSC really are the crappiest friends to each other. I wish Vicki had been in more books, to make her leaving a little more impactful.
June 13, 2019
Meh. This one was a little light on plot.
November 27, 2019
Review on www.audible.com please listen to this book.
Read
April 17, 2021Read my recap at A Year with the BSC via Stoneybrook Forever: www.livethemovies.com/bsc-blog/mary-a...
Read
November 10, 2023FINALLY a BSC novel that's just about babysitting! (And fighting with your friends, but you know.)
Read
February 1, 2026Learning American Sign Language from young Matt Braddock, the club's newest charge, Jessi is swept up in local efforts to introduce sign language to the many interested children and prepares a special surprise for Matt.
July 6, 2011
one of the least objectionable later series mary anne book. which is not to say it wasn't dull. but at least mary anne wasn't a self-centered emotional manipulater. well, not as much as usual.
it's the end of the school year & there are two big summer announcements: 1) there is going to be a summer-long day camp at the park & there are counseling jobs available for six stoneybrook middle school students. & 2) the school is offering another discount travel package for nine days in july, this time to london & paris. naturally, all the babysitters want playground jobs, & they all want to go to europe. mary anne is hopeful that dawn can also get a playground job & a spot on the europe trip, though i don't know why she would get either one, seeing as how she doesn't even live in stoneybrook. whatever. unfortunately, there is a lot of interest among students in both the jobs & the trip. mary anne is concerned that dawn won't make the waiting list for the trip, & won't be considered for a job. dude, you don't even know if she wants to do either of these things. chill.
naturally, everyone in the club applies for the playground jobs. & most of the babysitters put their names down for the europe trip. mary anne thinks it over some more & realizes that she kind of just wants to stay in stoneybrook for the summer. she wants to spend quality time with dawn & logan, & she also doesn't think it's realistic to expect to get a playground counselor job when you are already planning to be absent for an entire work week. she privately decides not to go to europe, although she pitches in with the fundraiser the other babysitters organize to help pay for their tickets--collecting & reselling donated stuffed animals. kind of gross. i have never been a big fan of the used stuffed animal concept. stuffed animals can hold weird smells, & sometimes worse.
dawn also decides not to go to europe, though she does apply for a playground job. because everyone in the club (except shannon) applied, there is a lot of competitiveness. kristy says that she doesn't think mallory & jessi will get jobs because they are too young. mallory & jessi are very offended, asking kristy why she lets them babysit if they are so young. that's a question i'd actually like to see answered. eleven is awfully young to be babysitting the way these girls do. kristy makes some remark about claudia not being confident enough for the playground job, & she scraps with mary anne too. basically, it's less a club-wide fight than kristy just being a total jerk to everyone. she is totally convinced that she'll get a playground counselor gig because she has so much experience babysitting & being a camp counselor.
she notices that claudia mentioned on her application that she wouldn't go on the europe trip if she gets a playground job. kristy is all, "smart. you're leaving your options open & can ask for the time off once you have the job." claudia is like, "no, i really won't go." when mary anne admits that she's not going either, whether she gets the job or not, kristy is really mean about it. hey, kristy. not everyone can just drop $400 to go on some dumb trip to europe. (that's not why mary anne is skipping it, but still.)
someone else is also devastated to learn that mary anne won't be going to europe: victoria kent. her family is moving back to england at the end of june, & she is miserable about leaving all her american friends, american food, american TV, & mary anne, with whom i guess she really bonded. she tells mary anne to come visit her in england, & mary anne says she will, but she doesn't think to tell victoria anything after she decides to not go on the trip. stacey spills the beans instead & then mary anne has a mess to clean up. which she does. an american-themed barbecue is involved. no one cares about some spoiled little british jenny prezzioso slumming it with american culture, dude. moving on...
all the older babysitters are interviewed for the playground gigs, & stacey, abby, & kristy 9who are definitely going to europe) all play down their attachment to the upcoming trip. the club gets into a big fight after, & mary anne accuses them of being deceitful. eventually the playground jobs are announced--claudia, dawn, logan, & mary anne are hired. they learn that the others were not hired because of their intentions to go on the trip. so it did matter after all. everyone apologizes & kristy acknowledges she wanted it both ways--to get the job & to go to europe.
whatever, i'm over it. basically, this was 125 pages of exposition for super special #15.
it's the end of the school year & there are two big summer announcements: 1) there is going to be a summer-long day camp at the park & there are counseling jobs available for six stoneybrook middle school students. & 2) the school is offering another discount travel package for nine days in july, this time to london & paris. naturally, all the babysitters want playground jobs, & they all want to go to europe. mary anne is hopeful that dawn can also get a playground job & a spot on the europe trip, though i don't know why she would get either one, seeing as how she doesn't even live in stoneybrook. whatever. unfortunately, there is a lot of interest among students in both the jobs & the trip. mary anne is concerned that dawn won't make the waiting list for the trip, & won't be considered for a job. dude, you don't even know if she wants to do either of these things. chill.
naturally, everyone in the club applies for the playground jobs. & most of the babysitters put their names down for the europe trip. mary anne thinks it over some more & realizes that she kind of just wants to stay in stoneybrook for the summer. she wants to spend quality time with dawn & logan, & she also doesn't think it's realistic to expect to get a playground counselor job when you are already planning to be absent for an entire work week. she privately decides not to go to europe, although she pitches in with the fundraiser the other babysitters organize to help pay for their tickets--collecting & reselling donated stuffed animals. kind of gross. i have never been a big fan of the used stuffed animal concept. stuffed animals can hold weird smells, & sometimes worse.
dawn also decides not to go to europe, though she does apply for a playground job. because everyone in the club (except shannon) applied, there is a lot of competitiveness. kristy says that she doesn't think mallory & jessi will get jobs because they are too young. mallory & jessi are very offended, asking kristy why she lets them babysit if they are so young. that's a question i'd actually like to see answered. eleven is awfully young to be babysitting the way these girls do. kristy makes some remark about claudia not being confident enough for the playground job, & she scraps with mary anne too. basically, it's less a club-wide fight than kristy just being a total jerk to everyone. she is totally convinced that she'll get a playground counselor gig because she has so much experience babysitting & being a camp counselor.
she notices that claudia mentioned on her application that she wouldn't go on the europe trip if she gets a playground job. kristy is all, "smart. you're leaving your options open & can ask for the time off once you have the job." claudia is like, "no, i really won't go." when mary anne admits that she's not going either, whether she gets the job or not, kristy is really mean about it. hey, kristy. not everyone can just drop $400 to go on some dumb trip to europe. (that's not why mary anne is skipping it, but still.)
someone else is also devastated to learn that mary anne won't be going to europe: victoria kent. her family is moving back to england at the end of june, & she is miserable about leaving all her american friends, american food, american TV, & mary anne, with whom i guess she really bonded. she tells mary anne to come visit her in england, & mary anne says she will, but she doesn't think to tell victoria anything after she decides to not go on the trip. stacey spills the beans instead & then mary anne has a mess to clean up. which she does. an american-themed barbecue is involved. no one cares about some spoiled little british jenny prezzioso slumming it with american culture, dude. moving on...
all the older babysitters are interviewed for the playground gigs, & stacey, abby, & kristy 9who are definitely going to europe) all play down their attachment to the upcoming trip. the club gets into a big fight after, & mary anne accuses them of being deceitful. eventually the playground jobs are announced--claudia, dawn, logan, & mary anne are hired. they learn that the others were not hired because of their intentions to go on the trip. so it did matter after all. everyone apologizes & kristy acknowledges she wanted it both ways--to get the job & to go to europe.
whatever, i'm over it. basically, this was 125 pages of exposition for super special #15.
December 31, 2024
This was enjoyable and since I just finished Dawn Diary Two for once it felt like I was reading in order a nice change. This one tried to be a Mary Anne Saves the Day but instead of the whole club fighting its just Kristy being a bigger asshole than Dawn is in California Diaries which is saying something. As the school year is ending yet again there are two major announcements. There will be a playground day camp that's hiring six SMS students. Also in the summer the school has arranged for another summer trip like the one to Hawaii last year, which is confusing in a story where they stay in 8th grade forever. This time they are going to Europe specifically London and Paris. Naturally everyone wants to do both. Kristy is a complete jerk wanting to do both a shrugging off the fact that she'll leave her employer short handed for nine days in a job that's already pretty short to begin with. She bullies Mallory and Jessi for being too young, she bullies Claudia who says she will not go to Europe if she gets a job. She also bullies Mary Anne for wanting to stay home with Dawn, though why anyone will stay willingly with Dawn is beyond me. Kristy is just an awful bully throughout and I'm still not sure why anyone likes her. The b plot involves the little princess Victoria who is being a spoiled brat because she's going back to England. Someone described her as a British Jenny Prezzios which was the best description I could give her. It's one of the better books but you can tell they are winding the series down.
November 1, 2013
In which the babysitters bitch at each other over a summer job at playground camp. Unfortunately, k. Ron and Abby the Horrible do not engage in playground fisticuffs, which would have made this so much better.
June 1, 2007
you should be unfair to anyone.
May 22, 2025
This was okay. Not sure if it's because I've been reading so many in a row, but the conflict in this one felt a bit thin.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews