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Abby and the Best Kid Ever is the 116th book in The Baby-Sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin.

Back Cover Summary[]

When Lou McNally was last in Stoneybrook, she was the Worst Kid Ever. Now she's back...and Abby is going to be her baby-sitter!

Abby is prepared for the worst. But instead of acting like a holy terror, Lou is a perfect angel. In fact, Abby thinks Lou is being too perfect.

Is the new Lou too good to be true?

Main Plot[]

All of the schools in Stoneybrook are submitting projects to the exhibition for black history month. Abby ropes in some of the clients to help with her project.

Subplot[]

Corrie and Sean Addison are moving to Seattle and Nate and Joey Nicholls move in to their old house.

Characters[]

Abby's Family

BSC Members

Kids

Pre-teens

Adults

Locations[]

Pop Culture and Real-Life References[]

  • Twinkies, Hershey Hugs (junk food)
  • Wilma Rudolph, Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, Rosa Parks, Jesse Owens, Henry Box Brown, Harriet Tubman (real people)
  • Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Tale of Two Cities (books)
  • Negro Baseball League
  • Underground Railroad
  • Uncle Tom's Cabin
  • Nancy Drew
  • Apple & Eve (brand)
  • 60 Minutes
  • Diane Sawyer
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger

Continuity and Inconsistencies[]

Continuity

Inconsistencies

  • Vanessa is noted to have to wear her mothers glasses (without the lenses) on page 85 when she should have her own prescription ones.
  • This book seems to ignore being set after Mary Anne and the Library Mystery because although Sean is mentioned to be a troubled boy, his fire antics are not mentioned here. The Addison's are moving, so there is not a possible way for the events in that book to occur after these.

Ann M. Martin's Dear Reader Letter[]

Dear Reader,

Abby and the Best Kid Ever is the second book in which Lou McNally appears. She was first introduced in #62 Kristy and the Worst Kid Ever. So many readers asked for another book about Lou that I finally wrote one. My editors and I are always surprised to see which new character strikes a chord with readers. Another character who, like Lou, appealed to kids was Danielle Roberts, who appeared first in #48 Jessi's Wish and then, after lots of requests from readers, in #82 Jessi and the Troublemaker. Another character who has appealed to readers is Susan Felder from #32 Kristy and the Secret of Susan. So far, Susan hasn’t had another book of her own, but she will make an appearance in Super Special #15, Baby-sitters' European Vacation!

There are some other newer characters my editors and I like a lot. So far they have appeared once, but we hope someday to bring them back. One of them is Amy Porter, Dawn’s cousin, from #87 Stacey and the Bad Girls. Mara, Kyle, and Brenda from Stacey and the Mystery at the Mall might also show up again. Unfortunately, we probably won’t see Corrie and Sean Addison again, since they are moving out of Stoneybrook. Sometimes it’s sad to see characters go, but it’s great to meet new ones.

Trivia[]

  • This is the return of Lou McNally since she appeared in Kristy and the Worst Kid Ever.
  • This is the final appearance of the Addison Family in the main series when they move to Seattle Washington.
  • This is the first appearance of the Nicholls Family in the series.
  • Abby volunteered to be part of the exhibition to get extra credit.
  • It's noted that Claudia is the baby-sitter closest to the Addisons.
  • Abby's not the best student but she's not a slacker.
  • Happy shares the same name as the dog from Seventh Heaven which was in its second season when this book was published.
  • Lou would love Abby to give her a soccer lesson.
  • Claudia plans on leaving Stoneybrook "in the next couple of years" (presumably after graduation) for New York or Paris.
  • There's an Amazon Moving Company that helps the McNally's move in.
  • Lou calls Abby's project a "big important middle school project."
  • Stacey reads Finances for Dummies.
  • Abby's project is a 60 minutes style documentary with the clients.
  • Linny and Jay become friends.
  • Abby does not know who she will live with if something happens to their mom.
  • Anna sleeps until 8 normally.
  • Abby did not want to move and tried to convince her mother not to take a promotion.
  • Abby got an A on her project.
  • Jessi is not really mentioned much in this book.
Baby-Sitters Club Books
The Summer Before | #1 Kristy's Great Idea | #2 Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls | #3 The Truth About Stacey | #4 Mary Anne Saves the Day | #5 Dawn and the Impossible Three | #6 Kristy's Big Day | #7 Claudia and Mean Janine | #8 Boy-Crazy Stacey | #9 The Ghost at Dawn's House | #10 Logan Likes Mary Anne! | #11 Kristy and the Snobs | #12 Claudia and the New Girl | #13 Good-bye Stacey, Good-bye | #14 Hello, Mallory | #15 Little Miss Stoneybrook... and Dawn | #16 Jessi's Secret Language | #17 Mary Anne's Bad-Luck Mystery | #18 Stacey's Mistake | #19 Claudia and the Bad Joke | #20 Kristy and the Walking Disaster | #21 Mallory and the Trouble with Twins | #22 Jessi Ramsey, Pet-sitter | #23 Dawn on the Coast | #24 Kristy and the Mother's Day Surprise | #25 Mary Anne and the Search for Tigger | #26 Claudia and the Sad Good-bye | #27 Jessi and the Superbrat | #28 Welcome Back, Stacey! | #29 Mallory and the Mystery Diary | #30 Mary Anne and the Great Romance | #31 Dawn's Wicked Stepsister | #32 Kristy and the Secret of Susan | #33 Claudia and the Great Search | #34 Mary Anne and Too Many Boys | #35 Stacey and the Mystery of Stoneybrook | #36 Jessi's Baby-Sitter | #37 Dawn and the Older Boy | #38 Kristy's Mystery Admirer | #39 Poor Mallory! | #40 Claudia and the Middle School Mystery | #41 Mary Anne vs. Logan | #42 Jessi and the Dance School Phantom | #43 Stacey's Emergency | #44 Dawn and the Big Sleepover | #45 Kristy and the Baby Parade | #46 Mary Anne Misses Logan | #47 Mallory on Strike | #48 Jessi's Wish | #49 Claudia and the Genius of Elm Street | #50 Dawn's Big Date | #51 Stacey's Ex-Best Friend | #52 Mary Anne + 2 Many Babies | #53 Kristy for President | #54 Mallory and the Dream Horse | #55 Jessi's Gold Medal | #56 Keep Out, Claudia! | #57 Dawn Saves the Planet | #58 Stacey's Choice | #59 Mallory Hates Boys (and Gym) | #60 Mary Anne's Makeover | #61 Jessi and the Awful Secret | #62 Kristy and the Worst Kid Ever | #63 Claudia's Freind Friend | #64 Dawn's Family Feud | #65 Stacey's Big Crush | #66 Maid Mary Anne | #67 Dawn's Big Move | #68 Jessi and the Bad Baby-sitter | #69 Get Well Soon, Mallory! | #70 Stacey and the Cheerleaders | #71 Claudia and the Perfect Boy | #72 Dawn and the We Love Kids Club | #73 Mary Anne and Miss Priss | #74 Kristy and the Copycat | #75 Jessi's Horrible Prank | #76 Stacey's Lie | #77 Dawn and Whitney, Friends Forever | #78 Claudia and Crazy Peaches | #79 Mary Anne Breaks the Rules | #80 Mallory Pike, No. 1 Fan | #81 Kristy and Mr. Mom | #82 Jessi and the Troublemaker | #83 Stacey vs. the BSC | #84 Dawn and the School Spirit War | #85 Claudia Kishi, Live From WSTO! | #86 Mary Anne and Camp BSC | #87 Stacey and the Bad Girls | #88 Farewell, Dawn | #89 Kristy and the Dirty Diapers | #90 Welcome to the BSC, Abby! | #91 Claudia and the First Thanksgiving | #92 Mallory's Christmas Wish | #93 Mary Anne and the Memory Garden | #94 Stacey McGill, Super Sitter | #95 Kristy + Bart = ? | #96 Abby's Lucky Thirteen | #97 Claudia and the World's Cutest Baby | #98 Dawn and Too Many Sitters | #99 Stacey's Broken Heart | #100 Kristy's Worst Idea | #101 Claudia Kishi, Middle School Dropout | #102 Mary Anne and the Little Princess | #103 Happy Holidays, Jessi | #104 Abby's Twin | #105 Stacey the Math Whiz | #106 Claudia, Queen of the Seventh Grade | #107 Mind Your Own Business, Kristy! | #108 Don't Give Up, Mallory! | #109 Mary Anne to the Rescue | #110 Abby the Bad Sport | #111 Stacey's Secret Friend | #112 Kristy and the Sister War | #113 Claudia Makes Up Her Mind | #114 The Secret Life of Mary Anne Spier | #115 Jessi's Big Break | #116 Abby and the Best Kid Ever | #117 Claudia and the Terrible Truth | #118 Kristy Thomas, Dog Trainer | #119 Stacey's Ex-Boyfriend | #120 Mary Anne and the Playground Fight | #121 Abby in Wonderland | #122 Kristy in Charge | #123 Claudia's Big Party | #124 Stacey McGill... Matchmaker? | #125 Mary Anne in the Middle | #126 The All-New Mallory Pike | #127 Abby's Un-Valentine | #128 Claudia and the Little Liar | #129 Kristy at Bat | #130 Stacey's Movie | #131 The Fire at Mary Anne's House
Super Specials
#1 Baby-sitters on Board! | #2 Baby-sitters' Summer Vacation | #3 Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation | #4 Baby-sitters' Island Adventure | #5 California Girls! | #6 New York, New York! | #7 Snowbound | #8 Baby-sitters at Shadow Lake | #9 Starring the Baby-sitters Club #10 Sea City, Here We Come! | #11 The Baby-sitters Remember | #12 Here Come the Bridesmaids! | #13 Aloha, Baby-sitters! | #14 BSC in the USA | #15 Baby-sitters' European Vacation
Portrait Collection
Stacey's Book | Claudia's Book | Dawn's Book | Mary Anne's Book | Kristy's Book | Abby's Book
Other
The Baby-Sitters Club Notebook (1987) | The Baby-Sitters Club Postcard Book (1991) | Trivia & Puzzle Fun Book (1992) | Ann M. Martin: The Story of the author of the Baby-sitters Club (1993) | The Baby-Sitters Club Guide to Babysitting (1993) | The Baby-Sitters Club Chain Letter (1993) | The Baby-Sitters Club Secret Santa (1994) | Audio Books on Cassette Tape (1994-5) | BSC Movie Novelization (1995) | The Complete Guide to the Baby-Sitters Club (1996) | Autograph Book (1998) | BSC Graphic Novels (2006-present) | We Are the Baby-Sitters Club: Essays and Artwork from Grown-Up Readers (2021) | Welcome to Stoneybrook: A Guided Journal (2021) | The Official Coloring Book (2023)
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