42 pages • 1 hour read
Ann M. MartinKristy's Great Idea
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1986A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is a central motif in the story, enabling the characters’ self-growth. Kristy has the initial idea for the club, primarily wanting to help out families in Stoneybrook but also wanting a way to earn money and bring her friends closer together again. She immediately gets to work planning the details of the club and recruits Mary Anne and Claudia, who also recruits Stacey.
When the club has four members, it is diverse and large enough to accommodate almost anyone who calls. The girls create a newspaper ad and pool their money to fund it, as well as distribute flyers. They demonstrate poise and respect when interacting with clients, and they delegate official positions among themselves to help their club run smoothly. When problems arise, the girls find ways to prevent them from reoccurring, such as when they decide to keep a log of their experiences. Each of the girls finds that they gain confidence, support, and new skills by being a part of the club: Kristy makes peace with Watson and realizes that she makes a great leader, Claudia demonstrates wisdom in conflict resolution, Mary Anne finds the nerve to stand up to her father, and Stacey finally finds the friends and acceptance she always wanted.
Fashion
Fashion is an important motif in the novel because it helps characterize each of the girls, particularly Stacey and Claudia. As the girls approach adolescence, they are developing their identities and discovering that they can communicate through appearance. Fashion also illustrates the division between Kristy and Mary Anne and between Claudia and Stacey. Kristy and Mary Anne are still of a younger mentality in some ways and only recently gave up playing with dolls. Claudia and Stacey, on the other hand, are already interested in boys and testing the waters with makeup and clothing.
Kristy always notices Claudia’s outfits and describes them in detail: “She was wearing short, very baggy lavender plaid overalls, a white lacey blouse, a black fedora, and red high-top sneakers without socks” (26). She believes that Claudia dresses outlandishly to stand out in a family where her sister is regarded as a genius. Stacey’s fashion is more pristine and fancier, and this is the first thing Kristy notices about her. Stacey’s appearance reflects her more cosmopolitan upbringing in New York City.
Kristy herself dresses plainly and doesn’t care much about what she wears. Mary Anne is only allowed to wear her hair in braids, which acts as a symbol of the oppression she feels at home. Learning to work together despite their differences is all part of The Importance of Friendship and Teamwork, and the girls slowly learn to celebrate rather than criticize one another’s unique choices.
Suburban Life
The Baby-Sitters Club takes place in Stoneybrook, a fictional suburban town in Connecticut. The motif of suburban life sheds light on character differences while emphasizing the seclusion and safety of the setting. Starting a club for babysitting is relatively easy for Kristy and the others because no such business exists in their town, because they already have a strong network in the area, and because it is safe enough for the girls to distribute flyers and take new clients.
By contrast, Stacey comes from New York City, and she often talks about her experiences there, which vastly differ from life in the suburbs. She surprises the other girls when she says that she was allowed to take the train by herself. Growing up in the city gave Stacey a chance to develop a sense of maturity and agency, which is part of the reason why Claudia admires her. She sees in Stacey the person she hopes to evolve into. Mary Anne is also fascinated by Stacey’s city life and dreams of leaving the suburbs someday, which suggests that she might have a more adventurous side to her. During their experiences with babysitting clients, the girls get to know more people in the neighborhood, and the diverse array of families that live there is slowly revealed.
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By Ann M. Martin
