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Claudia Makes Up Her Mind is the 113th book in The Baby-Sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin.

Back Cover Summary[]

Claudia loves seventh grade now. She has great new friends, solid grades, and even a steady boyfriend, Mark. Suddenly, she's offered the chance to return to the eighth grade. It's an easy choice, right? Her friends in the BSC think so. But her seventh grade friends don't. Claudia's worried about handling the work, too. And what about Mark?

This is turning out to be one of the hardest decisions Claudia has ever made.

Main Plot[]

Claudia has to decide between staying in seventh grade or going back to eighth grade. Meanwhile, Stoneybrook Middle School hosted a color war. The color war is a competition among the grades in sports, spelling bees, bake sales, games, etc. The winning class receives a check from the Stoneybrook Chamber of Commerce to be donated to charity.

Subplot[]

The BSC charges form their own color war. Participants include the Papadakis Family, Kuhn Family, Pike Family, Barrett/DeWitt Family, Arnold Twins, Charlotte Johanssen, Jamie Newton, and the Rodowsky Family. Events included a baseball game, leaf raking contest, and a hoola hoop contest.

Characters[]

Claudia's Family

Extended Family


BSC Members

Kids

Pre-Teens

Teenagers

Adults

Locations[]

Pop Culture and Real-Life References[]

  • Cocoa Puffs
  • Guinness World Records
  • The Mets
  • Christopher Colombus
  • Joan Miro

Continuity and Inconsistencies[]

Continuity

  • Claudia brings up her double date with Kristy from the previous book.

Inconsistencies

  • The Kishi's have a makeshift nursery in little room that used to be a playroom for Janine and Claudia. This room has never been mentioned before and makes no farther appearance in the series.
  • Mary Anne misspells Papadakis in her notebook entry in chapter nine.

Ann M. Martin's Dear Reader Letter[]

Dear Reader,

I’ve received lots of letters from readers who are having friendship problems, especially problems involving having two very different groups of friends. Kids want to know how they can stay friends with classmates who are different from each other or who do not know each other well. Claudia thinks she’s going to face this very problem in Claudia Makes Up Her Mind, but she finds that she doesn’t have to choose one group of friends over the other. By making friends in the seventh grade, she has simply widened her circle of friends.

Many people have different kinds of friends — friends from school, family friends, friends from a sports team — and it’s not necessary for all of your friends to be friends with each other. What’s important is that you enjoy spending time with them. When I was in eighth grade, I had my neighborhood friends (including my best friend Beth) with whom I would hang out after school and during the summer. I also had my school friends, kids I mostly saw in my classes or in the afternoons during after-school activities, such as art club. Some of my friends didn’t even know each other, but they were my friends and they were all important to me in different ways.

Trivia[]

  • This book briefly mentions sixth-grade SMS student Sara Erickson, who was the winner of the 1996 BSC Summer Sweeps contest, in which part of the prize was a part in a future BSC book. Sara was announced as the winner in the May/June 1997 BSC Fan Club newsletter.
  • This is Stoneybrook Middle School's 35 Color War.
  • Brandon Klein tried to get everyone in homeroom to blow their nose a 8:06.
  • Most students see the guidance counselor once a year according to Claudia.
  • Claudia think that the school could move her back to the sixth grade.
  • Mrs. Amer notes her cognitive skills, creative thinking, and maturity are above the seventh graders which makes her think Claudia should go back to the eighth grade.
  • Ron Tibbets is the Alan Gray of the seventh grade.
  • Claudia acknowledges that Alan has a crush on Kristy.
  • Jackie gets hit in the butt with a baseball.
  • Stacey starts thinking of Christmas shopping in November.
  • It's been ten days since Claudia has seen Russ, Peaches, and Lynn.
  • Mark and Claudia break up and agree to be friends.
  • There's a sixth grader that plays in a garage band at SMS.
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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