Claudia and Crazy Peaches is the 78th book in The Baby-Sitters Club series.
Back Cover Summary[]
Claudia can't believe her luck—wacky Aunt Peaches, one of her favorite people on the planet, is moving back to Stoneybrook...and she's going to have a baby!
Claudia's sure that life with Peaches around will be nonstop fun. At first, it is. But then one of Peaches' crazy adventures gets Claudia in trouble. Claudia's really mad—so mad that she blows up at Peaches. And before Claudia can apologize, something awful happens.
Claudia would give anything to take back her angry words now. Is there any way she can make things right again?
Plot[]
Subplot[]
A new client has arrived: seven-year old Natalie Springer and classmate of Karen Brewer. Claudia Kishi was the first to babysit for her, but there's a problem with Natalie, she's kinda the outcast of Ms. Colman's class, and has NO friends. Her classmates/enemies Leslie Morris, Pamela Harding, and Jannie Gilbert come and bully Natalie for having no friends.
Claudia then takes Natalie to Carle Playground, where she meets a lot of BSC clients: Charlotte Johanssen, Becca Ramsey. Haley Braddock, Corrie Addison, Vanessa, Margo, and Claire Pike, twins Marilyn and Carolyn Arnold, Johnny, James, and Mathew Hobart, the genius Rosie Wilder, and Jamie Newton.
Finally, Natalie made some new friends, Charlotte Johanssen and Becca Ramsey, who go her by "Nat".
Characters[]
Claudia's Family
Extended Family
BSC Members
Kids
- Natalie Springer
- Charlotte Johanssen
- Becca Ramsey
- Haley Braddock
- Corrie Addison
- Leslie Morris
- Pamela Harding
- Jannie Gilbert (mentioned)
- Leif and Lindsey - kids who live near Natalie on Rockville Court
- Vanessa, Margo, and Claire Pike
- Arnold Twins
- James, Mathew, and Johnny Hobart
- Rosie Wilder
- Jamie Newton
Teenagers
- Robert Brewster (mentioned)
Adults
- Mrs. Hall
- Mr. and Mrs. Springer
- Giuseppe DeSalvio - shop owner
Locations[]
- Kishi House
- Stoneybrook Middle School
- Springer House
- Carle Playground
- Baby and Company
- Brenner Field
- In Good Taste
- The Connecticut Yankee Gift Shop (mentioned)
- Art's (mentioned)
- Benedict House
Pop Culture and Real-Life References[]
- The Wizard of Oz, The Miracle of Life, Bringing Up Baby (movies)
- The Black Stallion
- Consumer Reports
- Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant
- The Girl Scouts
- The Ten Commandments
- Better Homes and Gardens
Continuity and Inconsistencies[]
Continuity
- Claudia references to the time Natalie stayed with Karen in Karen's Kite in chapter four.
- Shannon is still part of the BSC since Dawn left in Dawn's Big Move.
- Janine is still dating Jerry who was first mentioned in The Mystery at Claudia's House.
Inconsistencies
- Russ and Peaches stay in the den even though Mr. and Mrs. Kishi made Mimi's old bedroom a spare room.
- Peaches promises not to get anchovies in the pizza when Claudia asks about them, but in Claudia and the Sad Good-bye it’s hinted that Claudia likes anchovies. She's also willing to try them in Stacey's Problem.
Ann M. Martin's Dear Reader Letter[]
Dear Reader,
In Claudia and Crazy Peaches, we get to know Aunt Peaches better, and to see the special relationship Claudia has with her aunt. I have three aunts — Aunt Adele, Aunt Martha, and Aunt Merlena — and I have special memories of all of them.
Aunt Martha is my father’s sister-in-law. She and Uncle Lyman used to give my sister and me the best presents. One Christmas, when we were very little, they gave us stockings with garters. They were meant for grown women, and we thought they were hysterical! Another year they gave my sister a red cuckoo clock, and they gave me a music box with two dancing figures under a glass dome. I still have the music box.
Aunt Merlena, my mother’s sister-in-law, was my only aunt who lived nearby. And she loved arts and crafts as much as I did. We made puppets together once, she showed me how to make doll clothes, and one summer day she invited me over especially so that we could make my birthday party invitations together.
Aunt Adele is my father’s sister, and we are extremely close. We talk on the phone a lot, and we share a love of sewing and needlework. We exchange patterns in the mail, we give each other sewing tips, but mostly we just enjoy talking. I’m very lucky to have three such wonderful aunts — maybe that’s where the idea for Claudia and her wonderful aunt came from.
Trivia[]
- Claudia painted her ceiling with stars, moons, and a purple polka-dotted cow she did the weekend before the start of the book.
- Claudia has a theory that as an artist if you can’t eat it or wear it – paint it
- Stacey, Mary Anne, Jessi, Mallory, Logan, and Claudia usually walk to school together.
- Claudia still has her Personals column.
- The last time Claudia saw Peaches was at Mimi's funeral.
- Mimi taught Mary Anne how to knit and then Mary Anne turned around to teach Claudia.
- Claudia calls Dawn in California
- This is the only book where Natalie goes by "Nat."
- Claudia likes to clean.
- Haley’s best friends with Vanessa Pike and Corrie is usually seen with her brother.
- Karen says that Natalie is kind of the outcast in her class. It’s not that the kids are mean to her. It’s just that they don’t notice her.
- Bohren’s Movers helps move Peaches and Russ into their new house
- Mimi is mentioned throughout the book
- Working titles of this book include: Claudia and the Friendship Campaign and Claudia and the Rules of Friendship [1]