BABY SITTERS LITTLE SISTER #9

"Karen's Sleepover"

Martin, A., & Tang, S. (1990). Karen's sleepover. New York: Scholastic.

Readability Lexile: 450L

Target Audience: White girls ages 5-9

Setting: A sleepover in Stoneybrook (A wealthy subdivision)

Theme: Friendship, a misunderstanding, and forgiveness

Characters: Karen, her family, and friends

Summary: Seven-year-old Karen Brewer lives in Stoneybrook, Connecticut, with her mother, stepfather, and little brother, Andrew. Every other weekend and for two weeks during the summer, she and Andrew live with their father, stepmother, stepsister, three stepbrothers, and an adopted baby sister. Karen is having her very first sleepover at her father's house, and she can invite ten people. She and her friends are going to tell spooky stories, try on makeup, and raid the refrigerator. 

After her dad and step-mom give her the okay, she invites all the girls in her class to come. Then she gets into an argument with one of her best friends and it just so happens that a new girl enters the class named Pamela. Pamela is way too grown for her age and it soon becomes apparent that she shouldn't have been invited to the party. It's a good story about friendship, forgiveness, and also about how people are not what you think they are by just looking at them.

The problem with this Baby-Sitter book is its complete lack of diversity. While it does contain a descent moral to the story factor, I don't see any other group represented except rich, snotty, white girls. If you're a rich, snooty white girl, give it a read. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. This book does not meet the requirements of high quality literature set forth by Norton (2011)