Kristy and the Mother's Day Surprise is the 24th book in the original The Baby-Sitters Club Series. Kristy and The Baby-sitters Club plan a huge outing as a surprise for their clients.
Back Cover[]
Mother's Day is coming up, and the Baby-sitters have the same problem they do every year: What do they get their mothers? Kristy, especially, wants to do something nice for her mom. Mrs. Brewer has been acting kind of strange and secretive lately, and Kristy's worried about her.
But then Kristy gets another one of her great ideas. Why don't the Baby-sitters treat their moms—and the mothers of the kids they sit for—to a day off without any kids around?
Together with Stacey, the Baby-sitters plan a gigantic baby-sitting party. It's a Mother's Day surprise that couldn't be beat!...until Kristy's mom reveals a very special surprise of her own.
Summary[]
Main Plot[]
Kristy decides to give the mothers of some of their charges a day off by taking the kids to a carnival, feeding them lunch, play at the park, and then take them back to Claudia's house for crafts & stories. Stacey even comes up to Stoneybrook for the weekend since they are watching 21 kids.
Subplot[]
Meanwhile, Kristy's mother, Elizabeth and stepfather, Watson have been dropping hints about having another child. Kristy thinks that her parents want to get pregnant, but in the end, they adopt a 2-year-old Vietnamese girl named Emily Michelle Thomas-Brewer, who comes home on Mother's Day.
Characters[]
Kristy's Family
- Kristy Thomas
- David Michael Thomas
- Sam Thomas
- Charlie Thomas
- Karen Brewer
- Andrew Brewer
- Elizabeth Thomas-Brewer
- Watson Brewer
BSC Members
Kids
- Becca Ramsey
- Charlotte Johanssen
- Jamie and Lucy Newton
- Archie, Shea, and Jackie Rodowsky
- Vanessa, Nicky, Margo, and Claire Pike
- Buddy, Suzi, and Marnie Barrett
- Myriah, Gabbie, and Laura Perkins
- Matt and Haley Braddock
- Jenny Prezzioso
- Nina Marshall
- Emily Michelle Brewer
Teenagers
- Bart Taylor (mentioned)
Adults
- Mrs. Newton (mentioned)
- Mrs. Perkins (mentioned)
- Mrs. Barrett (mentioned)
- Mrs. Rodowsky (mentioned)
- Dr. Johanssen (mentioned)
- Mr. Newton (mentioned)
- Mr. Perkins (mentioned)
- Mr. Ramsey (mentioned)
- Mr. Rodowsky (mentioned)
- Mr. Braddock (mentioned)
Locations[]
- Brewer/Thomas House
- Kishi House
- Newton House
Pop Culture and Real-Life References[]
- Titanic
- Home on the Range
- Sesame Street
- Brian's Song, Love Story (movies)
- Beaver Cleaver
- P.T. Barnum
- Wheel of Fortune
- The Addams Family
- Where the Wild Things Are, One Morning in Maine, The Cat in the Hat, If I Ran the Circus, Paddington (books)
- Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
Continuity and Inconsistencies[]
Continuity
- Mimi's stroke from Claudia and Mean Janine has been talked about.
- On page 33 Kristy references Mallory's haircut which she got in Mallory and the Trouble with Twins.
- Kristy remembers when the BSC sat for fourteen kids while preparing for her mothers wedding in Kristy's Big Day on page 69. She also recalls sitting for ten kids in New York from Stacey's Mistake.
- The playgroup from Claudia and Mean Janine is brought up on page 74.
- On page 99, the Disney trip from Baby-sitters on Board! is brought up.
- On page 103 Margo's motion sickness is mentioned which first came up in Boy-Crazy Stacey.
- In chapter 4, Kristy says that her bossiness cause a huge fight amongst the club members awhile back. The reference could be to Jessi Ramsey, Pet-sitter.
Inconsistencies
- Elizabeth mentions the flashlight code that Kristy and Mary Anne used before Kristy moved. Elizabeth says Kristy made it up. But in Kristy’s Great Idea, Kristy says Mary Anne invented their flashlight code.
- Claudia mentions Funland (an amusement park) in chapter 6. In Karen's Lucky Penny, Karen, Andrew, and some of their friends take a trip to Funland. But in that book, Funland is said to be new.
Ann M. Martin's Dear Reader Letter[]
Dear Reader:
In Kristy and the Mother’s Day Surprise, Kristy is thrilled when Emily Michelle joins the family. It’s been a long time since there was a baby in my family. I was two years old when my sister Jane was born. I’ve been told that when my parents brought Jane home from the hospital, my mother knelt down and opened up her arms to me. She hadn’t seen me in a week. I started running, then shot right past her to my father, who was holding my new baby sister.
I might have ignored my mother then, but I never forgot her on Mother’s Day. Here are ways you can honor someone special on Mother’s Day: Cook an easy meal. Do chores around the house. Make her a card. Or give her the day off, just like the members of the Baby-sitters Club did.
Trivia[]
- From the original cover to the reprint, Kristy's face changes and she goes from wearing no hat to wearing a red baseball cap.
- A reprint is set to come out on April 4th 2023 [1].
- It's mentioned that Sam baby-sits his siblings in this chapter.
- This is the first time Stacey returned to Stoneybrook since her move in Good-bye Stacey, Good-bye.
- Kristy wasn't sure if she wanted anymore siblings.
- Families that were invited but couldn't come were: the Arnold Twins, Betsy Sobak, the Papadakasises, and the Delaney's. It's most likely because they have other plans for Mother's Day.
- Stacey had gotten a haircut prior to seeing the BSC.
- Mr. Pike watches Marnie during the event so Natalie could have the day off.
- Mr. Kishi helps with the kid's lunches.
- Kristy thinks that Karen develops a crush on Shea Rodowsky.
- This is the first appearance of Emily Michelle Brewer in the series.