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Dawn and Whitney, Friends Forever is the 77th book in The Baby-Sitters Club series.

Back Cover[]

Dawn gets a special job through the We Love Kids Club. Actually, it's not really a baby-sitting job. Dawn has been hired to keep twelve year old Whitney company while her parents are out. Whitney, who has Down's Syndrome, is delighted to have Dawn as her friend. Dawn thinks Whitney is great, too. She's warm and fun to be around.

The only problem is Whitney doesn't know her parents are paying Dawn to be with her. And what if Whitney finds out...?

Plot[]

Dawn takes a weekly job looking after Whitney Cater. Whitney has Downs Syndrome and needs someone to stay with her. Whitney is trying to become more independent and wants to do things like pierce her ears, shop on her own, etc. Whitney helps Dawn out with other baby-sitting charges and the two of them strike up a friendship. Whitney even gives Dawn a friendship necklace. One day, Dawn lets slip that she is there as a baby-sitter instead of a friend, which upsets Whitney very much. After working things out, the members of the We Love Kids Club make Whitney a special helper and honorary member of the club, which makes Whitney very happy.

Subplot[]

  • Dawn's dad has broken up with Carol and is casually dating several women, none of whom Dawn or Jeff like. Finally, he makes amends with Carol and asks her to marry him.
  • Back in Stoneybrook, Franklin DeWitt and Mrs. Barrett have become engaged and need to start house hunting. The Baby-sitters Club steps in and helps keep the seven kids under control.

Characters[]

Mary Anne's Dawn's Family

BSC Members

Kids

Pre-Teens

Teenagers

  • Alana - daughter of one of Jack's dates

Adults

Locations[]

  • Cater House
  • Schafer House
  • Barrett House
  • Palo City Mall
  • Unnamed Park

Pop Culture and Real-Life References[]

  • Charlie Chaplin film The Gold Rush
  • Corky from the show Life Goes On
  • Keanu Reeves
  • Cheaper by the Dozen (book)
  • Chanel and Poison Perfume
  • Troll Dolls
  • Bach and Mozart
  • Swiss Family Robinson

Continuity and Inconsistencies[]

Continuity

Inconsistencies

  • Despite the family being vegetarians both Jack and Jeff eat hot dogs
  • Dawn is usually pretty organized and clean, however she mentions that she doesn't clean her room when her friends come over.
  • Dawn doesn't know of any girls named Alana except for a girl in her class, yet there's another that was with Stacey in California Girls!.
  • At one point Dawn suddenly begins referring to herself in the third person for no apparent reason.

Ann M. Martin's Dear Reader Letter[]

Dear Reader,

Although I haven’t gotten to know anyone with Down syndrome as well as Dawn gets to know Whitney in Dawn and Whitney, Friends Forever, when I was younger I worked with kids with various disabilities. During the summers when I was in college, I worked at Eden Institute, a school for children and young people with autism. But for a couple of summers when I was in high school, I worked at a day camp for kids with disabilities.

Some of the kids at the camp had Down syndrome, like Whitney; many of them did not. The day camp was a typical summer program. The counselors and the kids went swimming, did arts and crafts, put on plays, took field trips, and went to the playground. Although I had done lots of baby-sitting and some tutoring, I had not worked with kids with disabilities before, so I was a little nervous. But the day camp turned out to be a wonderful experience. I liked getting to know the kids and meeting some of their families. In fact, I enjoyed the experience enough so that a couple of years later, when a friend of mine told me about Eden Institute, I decided to volunteer there. Now, years later, Eden is still an important part of my life.

Trivia[]

  • Whitney becomes an honorary member and special helper of the We ♥ Kids Club.
  • Mrs. Barrett will take the DeWitt name, but the kids won't.
  • The book helps prompt the start of Here Come the Bridesmaids! when two couples got engaged.
  • Jeff loves to tell jokes.
  • Dawn can walk to Whitney's house
  • Dawn is a summer and Mallory is a fall.
  • Buddy and Suzy watch celebrity mud wrestling.
  • Dawn has never met anyone with down's syndrome before.
  • According to Dawn, the messes Jeff makes are awesome, Jack just closes the door sometimes and says as long as he can’t smell anything, he’s assuming it’s okay.
  • The Barretts and the DeWitts share a bizarre taste in food
  • Dawn doesn't have a properly sized bra
  • Elizabeth Thomas Brewer is friends with Natalie Barrett
  • To Mary Anne a wedding is a world class event
  • Shannon and Kristy narrate chapter 12
  • The DeWitts and Barretts go house hunting
  • This is the second time a kid goes missing on Dawn's sitting job, the first being Buddy in Dawn and the Impossible Three.
  • Dawn calls Mary Anne first to tell her about her dad getting remarried.
  • On the family date at the seafood restaurant, Dawn’s dad is called Richard. His proper name is Jack. It's possible this was on purpose, as it was Jack's date who referred to him that way and she clearly didn't like him (or his kids).
  • The working title of book was Dawn and the Trouble With Friends [1]

Gallery[]

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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