Part of The Baby-Sitters Club, book 44
First published 1991
Dawn watches the Pike children and their friends excitedly share letters from their pen pals at a New Mexico elementary school. The Baby-sitters Club members enjoy hearing about these new friendships between Stoneybrook Elementary students like Charlotte and Becca and their distant correspondents. Then devastating news arrives: fire has completely destroyed the pen pals' school building. Dawn feels crushed by this tragedy affecting children she has never met but cares about deeply. She decides to take action and launches a fundraising campaign to help rebuild the damaged school. To thank all the Stoneybrook kids who participate in her relief effort, Dawn plans an enormous sleepover party as their reward. She commits to hosting one hundred children for the night, ordering thirty pizzas to feed the crowd. As the date approaches, Dawn begins to wonder if she has bitten off more than she can chew. This babysitting challenge will test every skill she has learned.
Genres: fiction, family-life, contemporary
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, small-town
Setting: New Mexico, Stoneybrook
138 pages · Paperback · Scholastic Inc.