"Babysitters Club 007 Claudia And Mean Janine" - читать интересную книгу автора (Babysitters Club)

As soon as Mrs. McGill gave Stacey permission to use their house, my friends and I decided to spend one afternoon talking to our clients about the play group in person. We thought the door-to-door approach would be nicer than just a flier stuck in a mailbox, and nicer even than a phone call. So after lunch one day, the five of us set off.
We did have fliers with us. We had spent a long time writing the flier, making sure it included all the information parents would need to know. We planned to hand them out in person, though, and then stay around to answer questions.
This is what our flier looked like:
SUMMER PLAY GROUP.
Give your kids a treat!
Art projects, stories, games!
Come to the Baby-sitters Club.
Summer Play Group!
Place: Stacey McGill's backyard.
612 Fawcett Avenue. Time: 9:00-12:30 - Mondays,
Wednesdays, Fridays during July. Cost: $3 per child per morning.
For further details, call:. THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB.
KL 5-3231. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, 5:30-6:00.
SUMMER PLAY GROUP:. the unique alternative to baby-sitting.
Our first stop was Jamie Newton's house. We found four-year-old Jamie, his mom, and his baby sister, Lucy, in the front yard.
"Hi-hi!" called Jamie when he saw us. "Are you here to baby-sit me?"
"No," I said, laughing. "Five baby-sitters! What would you do with five baby-sitters, Jamie?"
"Have lots of fun," he replied cheerfully.
"Hi, Mrs. Newton," said Kristy. "Hiya, Lucy."
Lucy is only about seven months old. She's adorable. She can sit up, and she knows how to crawl. Not very fast yet, but she's getting there. She gave us a big grin, and we could see that a couple of new teeth were coming in.
Lucy was sitting on a blanket next to Mrs. Newton, teething on a cookie and playing with a colorful set of plastic rings.
"Hello, girls," said Mrs. Newton. "Goodness, it's the whole club. What's going on?"
"This," replied Kristy, and she handed Jamie's mother one of our fliers.
Mrs. Newton read it carefully. "What a wonderful idea!" she said when she was finished. "You certainly are ambitious, girls."
"We thought it would be fun," said Kristy.
"And a good experience for the children," added Dawn, trying to sound adult.
"I couldn't agree with you more," replied Mrs. Newton. "Jamie starts nursery school in September. This will be perfect for him. He's not around kids his own age much, and I'm afraid school will be sort of a shock for him. If he can at least get used to sharing before he goes to school, that'll be a step in the right direction."
"Great!" I said. "So we can count on Jamie? I mean, he doesn't have to come every time. You don't even have to let us know whether you'll bring him or not. But you're interested?"
"Definitely. He'll be there."
The other club members and I managed to wait until we were safely out of sight of the Newtons' house before we let out little shrieks of excitement.
"Let's go to the Pikes' next," suggested Mary Anne. "Then we can go to the Prezziosos' and the Barretts'. They're all in that neighborhood."
We quickened our pace.
"I bet the Pikes will want to send Claire and Margo," said Stacey as we walked along, "and maybe Vanessa and Nicky. Mallory and the triplets are probably too old." (There are eight Pike kids.)
"I'm sure Mrs. Barrett will want to send Buddy and Suzi," said Dawn thoughtfully,
"but I don't know about Marnie. I'd love to have her, but she's not even two years old. That's kind of little."
What nobody was saying (or at least what no one except Mary Anne was saying) was that we hoped Mrs. Prezzioso wouldn't want to send four-year-old Jenny, either. Mary Anne's the only one who likes her. If you ask me, Jenny is a big fat brat. With a capital B.
Kristy rang the Pikes' doorbell, and Mallory answered it. Mallory, the oldest Pike, just had a birthday, and is eleven. She's very good with her younger brothers and sisters. I bet she'll be a baby-sitter herself one day.
"Hi, Mal," said Kristy. "Is your mom here?"
"Yeah, she's out back. Hold on a sec." Mallory yelled for her mother, then let us into the living room. "What's up?" she asked. "How come you're all here? . . . Did one of the triplets do something?"
I giggled. "No. Why?"
"Oh, I don't know. Usually, one of the triplets has done something. And when you open the door and see a whole posse of babysitters, you think. . . ." Mallory shrugged.
"You think trouble?" asked Kristy.
"Yup."
My friends and I talked to Mrs. Pike and left
one of our fliers with her. Mallory seemed interested in the play group, but before we had left, she walked off glumly.
We looked questioningly at Mrs. Pike. "Is Mallory okay?" asked Mary Anne.
Mrs. Pike nodded. "She's at a funny age, though. She thinks she's too old for some things and too young for most others. I'm sure she'd like to come to the play group, but feels she's too grown up for it."
"Maybe," said Kristy, "she could come for free and be our helper. I don't think we can afford to pay her. But if she wanted to be a sort of baby-sitter-in-training, we'd love to have her. She's always a help."
"That's a lovely idea!" said Mrs. Pike. "I'll talk to her about it. I know she'll be delighted. And," she added as the members of the club were leaving, "I'll probably be sending Claire, Margo, and maybe Nicky to the play group every now and then."
"Great!" we said. "Thanks, Mrs. Pike."