Little Sister Super Special #5: Karen's Baby

Tagline: Karen's a fairy godsister!

Cover: That is a creepy looking baby. And that is a terrible pattern on the walls.

Plot!: Karen is excited about Nancy's soon-to-be-born little brother or sister. She's pestering the Dawses every chance to get. Finally little Daniel is born, but he's pretty little and kind of sick, and that freaks Nancy out. Eventually he can come home and Nancy calms down and everyone's happy. She makes Karen's Danny's fairy godsister, which doesn't happen until the end of the book even though it was included on the cover.

Points of Interest:

• When the book starts, Karen is pestering her mom for a little brother or sister. Her mom says it is out of the question. Maybe Seth is sterile? Also, she tells Karen that she already has a little brother, but doesn't say anything about a little sister (Emily Michelle). Is that weird, or would it be weirder for Lisa to mention her?
  
• Karen has taken to calling the Dawses' house all the time to see if Nancy's mom has gone into labour yet. And...the adults allow this? Karen seems weirdly overinvested in someone else's baby.
  
• BSC shoutout! They have a sleepover at Kristy's/Karen's, and the BSC gives Nancy advice on taking care of a baby.
  
• Someone in Stoneybrook goes into labour, and they DON'T call the BSC! Nancy goes to stay at Karen's Little House instead.
  
• Nancy names her little brother Daniel. I wonder if her parents were planning to use their veto power if they didn't like the name she chose.
  
• When Nancy sees her brother, she gets scared and starts crying because he's so little.
  
• We all get a Cultural Awareness lesson in what a Mezuzah is. Because Nancy's Jewish, remember.
  
• The Three Musketeers decide to sell the baby supplies that they made. Because people are dying to own mobiles and bottle warmers made by seven year olds.
  
• Nancy's mom spends about five days in the hospital.
  
• Daniel comes to school as a special show and share guest. He's a few weeks old. But in the accompanying illustration, he looks about six months old. I don't know a lot about babies, and I know they change pretty quickly, but still...something looks off.
  
• Nancy makes Karen Danny's fairy godsister in an elaborate ceremony that involves a crown with Karen's name on it. Karen loves it.
• In the back pages, there's a list of the most popular boys's and girls' names from 1950, 1980, and 1988. The 1988 girls names are: Jessica, Jennifer, Stephanie, Melissa, Nicole, Ashley, Tiffany, Amanda, Christina, and Samantha. That sounds about right.
  

Final Thought: I'd never really realized that a Little Sister Super Special is the same size (20 chapters) as a regular LS book, only with crafts and stuff at the end. Huh.