Claudia and the First Thanksgiving is the 91st book in The Baby-Sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin.
Back Cover Summary[]
Claudia's drama class gets to write a play for the third graders at SES and help them stage it! They decide on a Thanksgiving story, adding a few little twists to make it more fun.
Claud's teacher okays the script, and the third graders love it. But some parents, and even a few teachers, don't. They want a traditional play...or no play at all.
It's a choice between censorship and letting the kids down. How can Claud and her class decide?
Main Plot[]
Claudia joins a new short takes course with Abby and Stacey to create a play for the third graders at Stoneybrook Elementary School. The class play is called Alice and the Pilgrims and is about the first Thanksgiving. The play soon gets censored due to subject matter.
Subplot[]
Everyone's Thanksgiving plans fall through and Kristy gets permission to host a Thanksgiving meal at her house. Only Shannon and Logan's Thanksgiving plans don't fall through. Dawn Schafer comes as a surprise last minute. The reasons for the cancelations is as follows:
- Kristy - "Uncle Neal broke his leg, so Aunt Colleen and Uncle Wallace are going up to help him and Aunt Theo for the holidays. Uncle Neal’s invited a whole bunch of his relatives"
- Mary Anne - her grandmother canceled because she can’t get a nonstop flight.
- Jessi - "My relatives in Oakley were invited along on a church retreat. They’d been on the waiting list, and some spaces opened up."
- Claudia - Uncle Russ's family from Ireland is coming to visit
- Abby - "
- Stacey - "I’m not going to New York for Thanksgiving, either. My mom and dad got things totally mixed up. He’s actually going to be out of town, so it’ll be Mom and me in good old Stoneybrook."
- Mallory - "Marie and Phil called. The apartment we were going to stay in is totally under water. A pipe in the apartment above it broke. They’re just hoping they can have it cleaned up in time for Christmas.”
Characters[]
Claudia's Family
Extended Family
- Peaches Benedict (mentioned)
- Russ Benedict (mentioned)
BSC Members
- Kristy Thomas
- Stacey McGill
- Mary Anne Spier
- Claudia Kishi
- Mallory Pike
- Jessi Ramsey
- Dawn Schafer
- Abby Stevenson
- Logan Bruno
- Shannon Kilbourne
Kids
- Betsy Sobak
- Arnold Twins
- Charlotte Johanssen
- Nicky Pike
- Buddy Barrett
- Jake, Patsy, and Laurel Kuhn
- James Hobart
- Lindsey DeWitt
- Tyson - narrator
- Susie Albion - girl in the play
Teenagers
Adults
- Mrs. Boyden
- Mrs. Sobak (mentioned)
- Verna Baker (mentioned)
- Ms. Garcia
- Linda Arnold (mentioned)
- Donald - student librarian as Stoneybrook Public Library
- Ms. Reynolds - Stoneybrook Elementary School principal
- Caroline Kuhn
- Mrs. Albion - parent that didn't approve of the play
- Various Protestors
- Mr. Benjamin Taylor
Families
Locations[]
- Kishi House
- Stoneybrook Middle School
- Stoneybrook University (mentioned)
- Brewer/Thomas House
- Stoneybrook Elementary School
- Arnold House (mentioned)
Pop Culture and Real-Life References[]
- Marx Brothers
- The Incredible Journey and Homeward Bound
- The first Thanksgiving and the Salem Witch Trials
Continuity and Inconsistencies[]
Continuity
- Claudia recalls the events of Stacey and the Mystery at the Mall, Claudia and the Bad Joke, Mary Anne and Camp BSC, Mal catching mono in Get Well Soon, Mallory!
- Charlotte and Becca's stage fright is mentioned before.
- Mary Anne remembers being "Maid Mary Anne"
Inconsistencies
- Charlotte Johanssen is in third grade in this book when she's supposed to be in fourth grade.
Ann M. Martin's Dear Reader Letter[]
Dear Reader,
Claudia and the First Thanksgiving is one of the first holiday stories in the Baby-sitters Club series. Like Kristy’s little sister Karen, I love holidays. And I especially like a large gathering of people for Thanksgiving dinner, although I never attended Thanksgiving for 37 people!
Like Claudia in this book, I think that no matter what the background of Thanksgiving, it is a wonderful holiday – a time to celebrate with family and friends, and to be thankful for what we have. Over the years I’ve celebrated the holiday in many different cities and many different settings. I don’t remember every Thanksgiving, but the most memorable one when I was growing up was the year the oven caught fire, and the firefighters had to come over to put out the fire before we could eat!
Trivia[]
- The Pikes miss their second chance to go to NYC over Thanksgiving, the first in Get Well Soon, Mallory!.
- Stacey might want to run a small company someday.
- Dawn visits and meets Abby.
- One wall of the Pike's family room is covered in cork.
- There are three 3rd grade classes at SES.
- Russ has relatives living in Ireland.
- Claudia misses a meeting due to a sitting job.
- Mary Anne is called "Mar" in one scene.
- Claudia likes gym class.
- Claudia uses different color pens.
- The Miller Family from Kristy's Big Day is mentioned in the book.
- This is one of several books about censorship alongside Mary Anne and the Library Mystery and Kristy Power!.
- Claudia acknowledges that the play her class wrote wasn't great
- In chapter 14, honorary baby-sitters include Charlie, Sam, Janine, and Anna who had volunteered to help out.
- Sam knows orgami
- Claudia knows fancy calligraphy