Mary Anne and the Memory Garden is the 93rd book in The Baby-Sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin.
Back Cover Summary[]
After a fun winter break, Mary Anne is glad to be back at SMS. She's excited about her English project, and optimistic about the weeks ahead.
Nothing could have prepared Mary Anne for the awful news that Amelia Freeman, a friend and a partner on her English project, has suddenly died.
Everyone at school is shocked and saddened. Gradually the other kids recover. But Mary Anne only feels worse. If only she could do something for Amelia...
Main Plot[]
Subplot[]
Characters[]
Mary Anne's Family
BSC Members
Kids
- Erick DeWitt & Ryan DeWitt
- Corey McKinsey - Erick's friend (mentioned)
- Stephie Robertson
- Clover Austin & Daffodil Austin
Pre-Teens
- Josh Freeman
- Benny Ott - kid in Mallory's class
Teenagers
Stoneybrook
- Amelia Freeman
- Barbara Hirsch
- Gordon Brown
- Alan Gray
- Bea Foster
- Dorianne Wallingford (mentioned)
- Amanda Martin, Jeff Cummings, Bill Torrance - 8th graders at SMS mentioned
- Peter Hayes
- Brian Hall
- Howie Johnson, Trevor Sandbourne (mentioned)
- Emily Bernstein
- Pete Black
- Ashley Wyeth
California
- Sunny Winslow
- Maggie Blume (mentioned)
Adults
Stoneybrook
- Mr. Blake
- Mrs. Simon
- Howard Kingbridge
- Mrs. Amer
- Mrs. Hobart (mentioned)
- Kathleen - grief counselor that talks to Mary Anne
- Mrs. Seitz - guidance counselor that starts up the SMS chapter of S.A.D.D. with Kristy
- Dr. Reese
- Mr. Benjamin Taylor (mentioned)
- School Superintendent (mentioned)
- Mr. & Mrs. Freeman (mentioned)
California
- Cynthia DeWitt
- Mrs. McKinsey - neighbor of the DeWitts
- James L. Cruickshank
- Carol Olson
- Mr. Clune - Client of the We Love Kids Club
Locations[]
Stoneybrook
- Stoneybrook Middle School
- Spier/Schafer House
- Kishi House
- Pietros (mentioned)
- Stoneybrook Day School (mentioned)
- Carle Playground (mentioned)
California
- DeWitt House
- Vacant Lot
- Tuscan Arizona (mentioned)
- Winslow House
Pop Culture and Real-Life References[]
- William Shakespeare
- Rube Goldberg
- Casper the Friendly Ghost
- Queen Elizabeth
- Ann Landers
- Sir Francis Drake
- Edmund Spenser
- Mary Queen of Scotts
- Jeep Cherokee
- Raggedy Anne & Andy
- Amazing Grace
- Volkswagen
- The Secret Garden
- We're Off to See the Wizard (song)
Continuity and Inconsistencies[]
Continuity
- Mary Anne recalls her modern living class in Mary Anne + 2 Many Babies on page 20.
- Mimi's funeral is mentioned on page 57.
- This is the second book Amelia is shown in. The first was Dawn Saves the Planet.
Inconsistencies
Ann M. Martin's Dear Reader Letter[]
Dear Reader:
Every year I receive 15,000 letters from readers of the Baby-sitters Club books. Over the years I have received many letters requesting a story dealing with the death of a classmate. The letters were from kids who had experienced this themselves and thought that reading about the subject might make them and others feel better. I had also received letters about the problem of drunk driving. And so this was the beginning of Mary Anne and the Memory Garden.
Some kids told me that they wanted to find a meaningful way to remember the person they had lost, but didn’t know what to do. This is the problem Mary Anne experiences in the book. Several years ago, when friends of mine died tragically, people close to them got together and decided to remember them with a project that eventually became the Lisa Novak Libraries. People throughout the country donate new books to be sorted into libraries for children. A memorial doesn’t have to be quite that big; it can be as simple as a scrapbook, or a garden like Mary Anne’s. People may leave, but memories live on forever.
Trivia[]
- None of the BSC members baby-sit in this book and the sitting chapters are Dawn's in California.
- Richard used to put up the Christmas tree a week before the holiday and take them down by new year. Since his and Sharon's wedding they put it up the day after Thanksgiving.
- Sharon doesn't know the lyrics to songs that aren't Christmas related.
- One of Dawn's favorite treats are honey granola snaps.
- Trevor Sandbourne has a new girlfriend in this book.
- Going to the mailbox is one of Mary Anne's favorite things to do.
- The BSC doesn't call their clients by their first names.
- The BSC has taken a first aid course as mentioned on page 64.
- Kristy starts the Stoneybrook chapter of S.A.D.D.
- The guy who hit the Freeman family has been stopped four times for drunk driving and didn't have a driver’s license.
- Abby and Claudia were the only BSC members to lose a close relative.
- The BSC sends flowers for Amelia's funeral.
- It's mentioned that Ben baby-sits his own brothers sometimes.
- Mary Anne wears a navy blue plaid skirt and nice sweater to Amelia's funeral.
- Carol has a friend that makes birdhouses.
- Claudia announces Peaches Benedict is pregnant in chapter 15.
- The Freemans have moved to Stoneybrook at some point as mentioned on page 145.
- The Berkhoff family donated the bench.
- Stoneybrook Middle School built a garden in the courtyard in honor of Amelia.