As the newest member of the Baby-sitters Club, Abby Stevenson is going a million miles an hour. She has so many things to get used to — SMS, her friends in the BSC, and all those wild baby-sitting charges. Plus, Abby's worried her twin sister and mom aren't excited about living in Stoneybrook.
Abby thinks she has everything under control. But then she has an asthma attack while baby-sitting and must be rushed to the hospital. And now Kristy is starting to have her doubts about Abby.
Abby knows she's good enough for the Baby-sitters Club. Now all she has to do is prove it!
Main Plot[]
Kristy decides to hire Abby Stevenson for Dawn's replacement in the Baby-sitters club. She also tries to hire Abby's sister, Anna, but Anna said she is too busy with music.
Meanwhile, Abby has an asthma attack while babysitting. She has to go to the hospital leaving her charges with Kristy. At school the next day Kristy tries to talk to her about her asthma.
Later Kristy forbids Abby from taking another job and begins reconsider Abby's membership.
She later signs her family to run a carnival booth. They sell cakes day 1 is fine but day 2 no one wants a cake. Earlier the twins find a box of their deceased dads stuff. They assume their mom forgot about it which quickly angers them. She then hear that the train her mom is on had a crash which panics her. Mom turns out to be okay. Anna, Abby, and their mom become closer.
The Boston Marathon and former runners - Grete Weitz & Florence Joyner
I Love Lucy
Woodstock
Continuity and Inconsistencies[]
Continuity
Inconsistencies
The Arnold twins are described as both having the exact same bowl-cut hair on page 72. However, Marilyn is noted to have longer hair in previous and later books.
Abby played on a soccer team in Long Island although Anna said in the previous book Abby would never dream of playing on a team.
On page 109 the train changed from the 11:45 train to the 12:45 train in the next sentence.
Ann M. Martin's Dear Reader Letter[]
Dear Reader,
After Dawn returned to California, I was very happy to be able to create a new member of the Baby-sitters Club. The last new member I created was Jessi, and that was back in book number fourteen! There were so many things to decide – the character’s personality, where she came from, what her family was like. And I wanted a character who was different from the other girls in the Baby-sitters Club. Many readers had asked for a character who is a twin. Many others had asked for a character who is Jewish. So we took these and other things into consideration, and created Abby and Anna Stevenson, whom you have just read about in Abby’s very first book, Welcome to the BSC, Abby. And all you Dawn fans, take heart. Abby may be the new BSC member, but Dawn will always be a part of the Baby-sitters Club.
Trivia[]
In first drafts of this book Abby's placeholder name was Lucy and Anna's was Ethel.
Anna and Shannon become friends.
Mr. Major dresses up like a clown for kids in the hospital.
Abby's dad went to Woodstock.
Kristy cancels a club meeting because of a carnival.
Abby is a feminist
Abby thinks her dad would get along with Dawn.
There's a Stoneybrook Arts fund
Abby has an asthma attack while sitting for the Papadakis kids.
It's implied that Abby doesn't like school.
Logan comes to a meeting in this book.
Mrs. Stevenson and Anna don't want to participate in the arts fair until Abby pushed them.
Kristy calls Skylar Korman Skylark on page 53.
Elvira the goat is in this book.
Mrs. Stevenson has a cell phone.
The fair raised enough money for arts programs across Stoneybrook for a year.
This is the second time a BSC member had to go to the hospital as a patient on a job—the first time was when Claudia broke her right leg in Claudia and the Bad Joke.
Gallery[]
1995 front cover
Planned but unreleased 1995 18" Kenner doll of Abby wearing her outfit from the cover of #90
