Kristy's Great Idea

Claudia is one of four members of the Baby-Sitters Club. She is a complex character who is passionate about art, design, and fashion. Kristy recalls how Claudia has never really been into toys and always seems more mature than her peers. When the novel opens, Kristy is worried that she and Claudia are drifting apart, as Claudia is getting into makeup and boys, while Kristy maintains no interest in those things. The club brings Claudia, Kristy, and Mary Anne back together, renewing their friendship and giving them all reasons to spend time together again.

Claudia “has this wild streak in her” and is a rebellious person who tries to stand out (27). Her older sister is a “certified genius” and takes up most of their parents’ attention and pride, and Kristy wonders if Claudia’s extreme fashion choices are a way to compensate for that. Claudia is nominated vice president of the club because she has a telephone and because, like Kristy, she has leadership skills.

Claudia knows how to express herself respectfully and communicate when she has an issue; she has no qualms about telling Kristy when she’s being rude and can handle a room full of rowdy children. Claudia’s parents lecture her for not spending enough time on schoolwork, which almost gets in the way of her being in the club, but Claudia’s determination and potential shine brightest when she’s challenged in this way. She brings her grades up and manages to find a way to fit her homework in without disturbing her time with the club.

Mary Anne is Kristy’s best friend and main companion throughout the story. Kristy feels like she and Mary Anne are opposites in almost every way, aside from their long brown hair. Mary Anne is reserved, particularly around people she doesn’t know, and is prone to getting easily upset and crying. Her father is extremely strict and protective because her mother died when she was very young, and Mary Anne is all he has left. He only allows her to wear her hair in braids, and he controls how she spends her money and when she talks to her friends.

Mary Anne becomes the secretary of the Baby-Sitters Club and is also the most level-headed when it comes to babysitting itself. She is the first to babysit Karen and Andrew and has the unusual experience of having to save a violent cat from a supposed witch next door. Mary Anne grows through her initial experiences at the club because it gives her confidence and a sense of responsibility. She also has the support of three great friends. As a result, she stands up to her father and negotiates with him about spending her money the way she wants to.

Stacey is the fourth member to join the Baby-Sitters Club and the only member who didn’t grow up in Stoneybrook. This sets her apart from the others at first, and she is initially presented as a stranger that Kristy holds suspicions toward. Stacey has “huge blue eyes framed by dark lashes, and fluffy blonde hair that look[s] like it had been styled recently” (34). Kristy is sure that her strong fashion sense is why Claudia initially liked her.

Stacey moved to Stoneybrook with her family from New York City about a year after she was diagnosed with diabetes. At the end of the novel, she mentions how she was bullied for fainting at school and that her parents wanted her to have a fresh start somewhere quiet. Since Stacey grew up in the city, she has had experiences that the other girls have not. She is the first to develop a crush, and it happens to be on Kristy’s older brother Sam.

Stacey comes to the club with a secret, one that she spends weeks lying about in an effort to hide. Her secret causes conflict in the club because Kristy is certain that she’s hiding something and feels offended by her secrecy. When Stacey finally feels comfortable and Kristy stops pressuring her, she tells the other girls that she has diabetes. They assure her that she need not feel ashamed about it, and Stacey gains the understanding friends that she has always needed.

Kristy’s immediate family is made up of her mother; her younger brother, David Michael; and her two older brothers, Charlie and Sam. All these characters stay relatively static throughout the story, exhibiting a few central traits and existing more as devices that lead to Kristy’s own personal growth.

Kristy’s mother is kind and patient and puts up with Kristy’s tantrums and stubbornness toward the changes happening in their family. She understands why Kristy is resistant and is always the loving mother that Kristy needs. Kristy’s mother is also often busy, which means that Kristy and her brothers have to babysit David Michael once a week each. The rest of the time, Kristy’s mother hires other sitters.

Charlie is a football player and usually not around, but like his brothers, he enjoys Watson’s company and is happy to have him as part of the family. Sam appears when Stacey babysits David Michael and Sam and Stacey develop a crush on each other. The majority of Kristy’s initial babysitting experience comes from watching David Michael, and she knows him so well that she knows exactly what he needs and doesn’t need. Having a younger brother in the family helps Kristy take responsibility and learn to consider the needs of others before her own. Kristy’s mother eventually announces that she is getting engaged to Watson, and Kristy finally starts to accept the way her future looks.