Hello, Mallory is the fourteenth book in the original The Baby-Sitters Club series. Following Stacey's move, the club invites younger, former charge Mallory Pike and her friend Jessi Ramsey to join the club.
Mallory Pike has always wanted to be a member of the Baby-sitters Club. The Baby-sitters are so much fun to be around and so grown-up. Now the club members have invited Mallory to a meeting. This might be her big chance!
But the Baby-Sitters don't make it easy. First, Claudia makes Mal feel like a baby on her first official baby-sitting job. Then, they give her a written test—with questions nobody could answer!
Mallory's beginning to think she doesn't want to be part of the Baby-sitters Club. Maybe with her new friend Jessi she'll start a club of her own...
It's time to show those Baby-sitters what couple of a new girls can do!
Summary[]
Main Plot[]
Mallory is invited to a meeting of the Baby-Sitters Club. At the meeting, Mallory tries to impress the other girls by telling them how she babysat for six of her brothers and sisters while her parents took her brother, Nicky to the hospital after he injured his finger during volleyball with his friend, Buddy.
The other girls think that Mallory wasn't being responsible enough and could've prevented Nicky's accident. The girls will let Mallory join the club if she takes a baby-sitting test and goes on a trial baby-sitting job with Claudia.
When Mallory takes the test, the girls ask her a lot of questions such as teething, how to use a tourniquet, and they have her draw a picture of the digestive system. Mallory ends up failing the test.
Mallory goes with Claudia to baby-sit for the Perkins girls, but Claudia constantly watches over her, making Mallory feel nervous and stupid. At the next club meeting, Claudia gives Mallory a low rating on her sitting job. Kristy tells Mallory she can't join the club unless she takes another test. Mallory refuses and she quits the club.
Mallory and her new friend, Jessi start their own baby-sitting club called Kids' Incorporated. Meanwhile, the other members of the BSC feel like they treated Mallory unfairly and she deserves to have another chance.
The girls offer to give Mallory another chance to join the club. Mallory agrees only if Jessi can join the club as well. In the end, both Mallory and Jessi become members of the Baby-Sitters Club.
Sub Plot[]
Jessi Ramsey moves into the neighborhood and she has a hard time adjusting to being the only black girl in the 6th grade. One day, Mallory introduces herself to Jessi and they become close friends.
Mrs. Perkins has a baby girl named Laura Elizabeth, and Myriah & Gabbie are happy to have a baby sister.
Ann M. Martin's Dear Reader Letter[]
Dear Reader,
In Hello, Mallory, Mallory Pike, formerly a sitting charge of the Baby-sitters Club, finally becomes a full-fledged member herself. In earlier books, Mallory had expressed frustration at having a baby-sitter when she felt she was a perfectly capable baby-sitter herself. Also, I had received a number of letters from readers asking for a younger member of the BSC, since many readers were Mallory’s age or younger. Then I decided that Mallory needed a best friend, so I created one for her — Jessi Ramsey.
Although I usually compare myself to Mary Anne, I am like Mallory Pike in several ways. I am the oldest in my family (even though I have only one younger sister and no brothers). I was just as horse-crazy as Mallory is. And I enjoyed writing and illustrating stories. Like Mallory, I also had a mouthful of braces, which I hated!
