Mary Anne + 2 Many Babies is the 52nd book in The Baby-Sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin.
Back Cover Summary[]
Mary Anne can't stop thinking about babies. First she starts baby-sitting for a pair of adorable baby twins. Then she and Dawn decide it would be great to have a little baby brother or sister of their own. But Mary Anne learns that taking care of a baby is a big responsibility when she and Logan have to play pretend parents to an egg "baby" for a special class at school. "Sammie," their egg, has to be watched all the time, and Mary Anne and Logan barely have time to breathe. Taking care of a "baby" isn't all it's cracked up to be!
Summary[]
Mary Anne and Logan are "married" in their modern living class, the assignment is to plan a budget and pretend to be parents to an "egg" baby, which they name "Samantha". Logan and Mary Anne fight, but make up then write a thirty-two page report on their experience.
Pairs[]
- Mary Anne and Logan Bruno (Baby Samantha, is an editorial assistant)
- Kristy and Alan Gray (Baby Izzy became a car mechanic)
- Stacey and Austin Bentley (Baby Bobby went to teach high school history)
- Dawn and Aaron Albright (Baby Skip went to medical school)
- Angela and Kevin (Baby Cathy, got lost at the park)
- Miles and Shawna (unnamed baby)
- Zoe and Tarik
Subplots[]
The baby-sitters bring their eggs to sitting jobs. Linny, Hannie, and Sari take care of Izzy. The Pike Family wants to pretend to be parents also and play house.
Stacey babysits Karen's classmate, Bobby Gianelli, and his sister Alicia. She also brings her egg, which is named after Bobby hinself. The family is a new client of the BSC.
Mary Anne and Dawn want a younger sibling, especially a sister. Mary Anne's favorite girl names are Tara, Charity, Adele, Frannie, Lizzie, Margaret, Bea, and then Will for a boy. Dawn's favorite boy name is Douglas. Their parents tell them that it’s not going to happen. The girls change their minds after the Modern Living class, and their parents say that they still don’t want another child. They say the sisters can get another pet, but they decline.
Characters[]
Mary Anne and Dawn's Family
BSC Members
Kids
- Kerry Bruno and Hunter Bruno
- Ricky and Rose Salem
- Jordan, Adam, Byron, Vanessa, Nicky, Margo, and Claire Pike
- Bobby and Alicia Gianelli
- Linny, Hannie, and Sari Papadakis
- Tara and Bea - girls who play with the Salem twins
- Matt and Haley Braddock (mentioned)
Teenagers
- Shillaber Twins (mentioned)
- Shawna Riverson
- Erica Blumberg
- Gordon Brown
- Howie Johnson
- Alan Gray
- Austin Bentley (mentioned)
- Miles - Shawna's partner
- Angela, Zoe, Tarik, Kevin - kids in Mary Anne's class
Adults
- Mrs. Salem
- Mrs. Boyden
- Louise Bruno
- Older couple that admires the twins
- Mr. Gianelli
Locations[]
- Spier/Schafer house
- Kishi House
- Stoneybrook Middle School
- Bruno House
Pop Culture and Real-Life References[]
- Humpty Dumpty
- The Telltale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe
- Kodak
Continuity and Inconsistencies[]
Continuity
- References to Kristy and the Baby Parade, Kristy's Big Day, Boy-Crazy Stacey, Mary Anne Saves the Day
Inconsistencies
- Dawn and Mary Anne aren't in the same homeroom anymore, despite them sharing in previous books.
- Despite being depicted as fairly intelligent in Claudia and the Middle School Mystery, Shawna Riverson is written to be more airhead like in this book.
- Mary Anne recalls a time when Jamie refused to go to sleep, implying she was his sitter. This happened in The Ghost At Dawn’s House, but Claudia was the sitter. But she probably read about it in the notebook.
- Stacey says Bobby and Alicia are known to have dark brown hair, and olive skin, but on the covers of the BSLS books, Bobby is shown to have brown hair and white skin.
Ann M. Martin's Dear Reader Letter[]
Dear Reader,
In Mary Anne + 2 Many Babies, the members of the Baby-sitters Club take care of many infants. If you are going to baby-sit for an infant, it is important to be prepared. Baby-sitting for an infant is very different from sitting for an older child. You might think it will be easy because you don’t have to entertain an infant. Wrong! If you’re going to sit for an infant, there’s a lot you need to know.
Babies can’t tell you what they need, so you have to be prepared. In fact, don’t be surprised if parents with a new baby don’t call you right away with a sitting job. There’s a good chance they may ask a sitter who’s older, or even an adult.
A good way to show clients that you are capable of taking care of a new baby is to take an infant care course. Check with the Red Cross or the Y in your community to see if they offer such a course. When I was thirteen, I took a course at my church. Another way to learn how to take care of a baby is to start out as a parent’s helper — helping out while the mom or dad is at home. Believe me, they’ll welcome the help!
Trivia[]
- The Shillaber Twins parents are divorced, and their mother had a baby shortly before this book.
- Stamford is confirmed to be the nearest city to Stoneybrook in this book.
- Stacey mentions when she was five, she was terrified of pigeons.
- Mary Anne and Logan write a 32 page report.
- Byron shows his nicer side when he agrees to be a pretend egg parent with Vanessa. While Adam refuses to pair up and Jordan was talked into being paired with Margo.
- This is the first appearance of the Gianelli Family in the main series and new clients. They would later return in Mary Anne and Camp BSC.
- Stacey says Bobby and Alicia are known to have dark hair, and dark skin, but on the covers of the BSLS books, Bobby is shown to have brown hair and white skin.
- This is the last appearance of the Salem Family in the series she first appeared in Kristy and the Baby Parade.
- Stoneybrook's real estate is high with an apartment being anywhere from two thousand to eight hundred dollars a month.
- The Salem family calls the BSC fairly regularly.
- Mary Anne's favorite girl names are Tara, Charity, Adele, Frannie, Lizzie, Margaret, Bea, and then Will for a boy.
- Dawn's favorite boy name is Douglas
- Jessi's is Mary Rose
- Mary Anne has a purse that doesn't zip.
- Logan slings his backpack around.
- Stoneybrook Elementary School hosts a parents night.
- The Bruno family has a word processor.
- The next class is health.
- This books working title was likely Mary Anne's Babies on her bookmark.
- Claudia’s partner for the baby project isn’t said, and her baby’s name weren’t mentioned. Her baby was a boy, though.