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Kristy in Charge is the 122nd book in The Baby-Sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin.

Back Cover Summary[]

For one crazy week, the kids at Stoneybrook Middle School have become…teachers! Mallory faces an out-of-control English class. Mary Anne is student-teaching social studies. And Kristy has her first-choice assignment—teaching gym!

There's only one big problem—and his name is Cary Retlin. Cary and Kristy are supposed to be teaching the gym class together. But instead, they've started a gym war. Stoneybrook Middle School has never seen a teacher feud like this before—and Kristy's determined to do anything she can to win.

Main Plot[]

SMS is doing a special program called Teachers of Tomorrow where students can volunteer to teach classes for a week. Kristy, Mary Anne, Mallory, and Stacey volunteer for the program. Kristy is teaching a girls’ gym class. Unfortunately, shes team-teaching a with her arch rival, Cary Retlin, Kristy learns a few lessons she never knew she needed.

Subplot[]

Mallory volunteers for TOT, and she’s assigned to an eighth-grade English class. It doesn’t go well for her.

Vanessa likes the idea of TOT, and she tries to teach her siblings poetry.

Characters[]

Kristy's Family

BSC Members

Kids

Pre-teens

  • Jennifer, Anson—Students in Ms. Walden's seventh grade gym class

Teenagers

Adults

Locations[]

Pop Culture and Real-Life References[]

  • Igor and Dracula
  • Edward Lear
  • Emily Dickinson
  • Robert Frost
  • Super Mario
  • Jock James

Continuity and Inconsistencies[]

Continuity

Inconsistencies

  • There's a typo on page 118. "I felt was so happy about the way class had gone that I hurried to English, sure that Mallory's last teaching experience would also go well." When it should either say "I felt" or "I was" but not both.
  • Kristy says Andrew is five years old. In other books, he’s four or four going on five.

Ann M. Martin's Dear Reader Letter[]

Dear Reader,

In Kristy in Charge, Kristy discovers that being a good teacher is more difficult than she had expected. Over the years, I’ve had many wonderful teachers. My first favorite teacher was Mr. Mackey, who was my art teacher for first grade through fifth grade. (I named Karen Brewer’s art teacher after him.) Mr. Mackey knew how to make art creative, fun, and interesting. (When he arrived at our class, he always raised his arms and swung himself through the doorway!) My next favorite teacher was Miss Kushel, who taught me in third grade. She helped give me a love of reading, and I adored her because she thought I could do anything. In seventh and eighth grade my wonderful creative writing teacher was Mr. Dougherty (whom Mallory’s creative writing teacher is named for). He sparked our imaginations and told us we could all be great writers. There have been many other great teachers since, but Mr. Mackey, Miss Kushel, and Mr. Dougherty stand out. They gave me wonderful gifts and showed me what a great teacher can do.

Trivia[]

  • This is the first and only appearance of Cary Retlin in the main series.
  • This is the start of the problems that Mallory starts to have in school which eventually leads to her moving to Riverbend Hall Boarding School.
  • Kristy would be principal if she could.
  • Shannon gets a job sitting for Charlotte on page 19.
  • Vanessa only believes in how a poem sounds.
  • Some students in Ms. Walden's class have taken karate.
  • Kristy used to like Ms. Walden until this experience.
  • Kristy was stunned when she learned that some of her teachers don't like her. She was also stunned when Ms. Walden told her that the teachers don’t all like each other.
  • Vanessa's favorite teacher was Mrs. James.
  • Abby wrote a poem and is going to submit it to a literary magazine.
  • Mary Anne stood up in the middle of class and shouted at everyone to be quiet.
  • The advice that Abby gives Vanessa about making learning fun is similar to what Kristy tells Karen about teachers in Karen's School.
  • Mary Anne thought Logan wanted to volunteer for TOT. It’s not said if he does end up volunteering.
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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