Claudia's not worried when she hears her newest baby-sitting charge, Betsy Sobak, is a great practical joker. After all, how much harm can one little girl do?
Plenty. Claudia breaks her leg as a result of one of Betsy's mean jokes...and now she's talking about quitting the club. "Baby-sitting," she says, "is just too dangerous." Kristy thinks Betsy needs to be taught a lesson. She also thinks the Baby-sitters are just the ones to do it.
Watch out, Betsy Sobak! The joke war is on!
Summary[]
Main Plot[]
There is a practical joke war going on in Stoneybrook due to a slapstick comedy festival at the Stoneybrook Public Library. Claudia gets caught up in it the worst when she sits for Betsy Sobak and breaks her leg as the result of a joke. Now the club has to convince Betsy that jokes that hurt people are not jokes at all.
Sub Plot[]
Since Claudia broke her leg, she has a lot of time to sit and reflect on her life in baby-sitting. She starts to wonder if maybe she should just quit the BSC and focus on her art, like she had contemplated doing in book #12 . In the end, she realizes she would miss the kids too much and stays in the club.
Ann M. Martin's Dear Reader Letter[]
Dear Reader,
In Claudia and the Bad Joke, trouble starts when Betsy Sobak is carried away by the practical jokes she receives from McBuzz’s Mail Order. When I was young, I loved to order things through the mail — from the backs of cereal boxes, from comic books, and, best of all, from bubblegum wrappers. My prize possession was a piece of fool’s gold, which came in a little gray flannel sack. It cost twenty-five cents, but I thought it was very valuable. Back then, hardly any catalogues came in the mail.
But every fall, Sears Roebuck sent out its Christmas catalogue, The Wish Book. I pored through it, turning down the corners of pages on which I saw toys I wanted. Today, I still do most of my shopping through catalogues. I just love getting things in the mail, although it’s been a long time since I ordered a practical joke.
Trivia[]
Characters watch the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
