It’s ten o’clock. Do you know where your kitten is? Though Mary Anne may have shaken off the chain letter curse back in Book 17, her bad luck (and ominous mail streak) continues in her next spin as narrator when her beloved pet goes missing and her usually exemplary boyfriend turns distant and moody in Book 25: Mary Anne and the Search for Tigger.

Grab a flashlight and a stack of posters from Mrs. Brewer’s office Xerox and head out with us and our return guest Tim as we hunt for the littlest tiger-striped cat and encounter local kids LARPing as cops and criminals along the way. 

Age-Inappropriate Watchlist for Stoneybrook Children

Magnum, P.I.

Matlock

COPS

Are the Brunos a problem family? Do trees grow in fields and make for good hiding spots? Add your two cents at [email protected].

Find us on Instagram @stoneybrookreunion, and more from Tim at alternateending.com.

It’s springtime in Stoneybrook, and Mother’s Day looms large in the minds of our baby-sitters– with glances askance to Mary Anne, of course. Kristy’s Idea Brain comes up with a gift for their clients: a day off for the moms while the BSC takes charge of their kids. Join us at the Sudsy’s Carnival midway and please try not to barf as we, like Kristy, are pleasantly distracted from what turns out to be the *real* surprise of Kristy and the Mother's Day Surprise.

This episode’s pop culture deep cuts and rabbit holes:

• For the carnival curious: According to Wikipedia, the term “midway games” originated at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893.

• Vintage V8 and Sunny D commercials

• “Side by Side” from Richie Rich (1994)

After a slumber party send-off, Dawn spends spring break in Orange County with her father and brother and tries on a more laid-back lifestyle among many other blondes making similar snack (but questionable beach) choices. Dawn considers what her quotidian routine would be like if she decides to stay, and whether the abundant sunshine and other items on the California pros list win out over the few on the Stoneybrook one. 

Slide into the booth beside us at Cabbages and Kings as we hash over pizza fouls, flight attendant fails, and preferred alternatives to LAX in our review of Dawn on the Coast.

As mentioned on this episode:

Sardi’s portraits artists: Alex Gard, John Mackey, Donald Bevan, and Richard Baratz

A glimpse of the TV-on-a-cart scene from Back to the Future (1985)

List of BSC books written by Ann M. Martin and other authors

A brief fan history of Bear Country at Disneyland, and changes to that area of the park since 1989

Jessi has a break from ballet classes and her regular gig with the Braddocks’, and she can’t wait to kick back and crack open a good horse book…until she hears that the Mancusi menagerie is in need of a last-minute sitter. What was supposed to be a chill week for Jessi takes a few worrying turns, with an escaped snake, a very fat, self-isolating hamster, and a row among the senior sitters about club roles.

Invite yourself (and all of the neighborhood children) over to the Mancusis’ and squawk with us and our avian friend Frank about Jessi Ramsey, Pet-Sitter.

As mentioned, for as long as the links last:

Zack Morris is Trash (Funny or Die)

hamster etymology (Merriam-Webster)

Pee-wee and the snakes, from Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985)

Star Trek: The Trouble with Tribbles (1967)

Cold-Blooded: What’s It Mean? (Zoo Atlanta)

Hamsters navigating video game levels and other environments, from homuraham

Did you decode the Mancusi pet naming convention? Sneak us a hint at [email protected]. 

Follow us on Instagram @stoneybrookreunion.

Mallory is on a mission to age up her appearance, and the pull of the piercing boutique and her desire for a decent haircut compel her to take on a twice-a-week sitting job with the Arnold twins to fund her physical transformation. The new charges seem to be identical, but don’t let the precious matching looks (right down to their pinky rings) deceive you–these girls are tired of being treated like carbon copies and have some hijinks up their lace-edged sleeves. 

In the first episode of our third season, meet us and The New Mallory Pike at the Merry-Go-Round as we select accessories and debate about the relative prevalence of minivans vs. station wagons and the best chicken nuggets in the late ‘80s. 

***

Check out the work of Hodges Soileau at the artist’s site, https://www.hodgessoileau.com/. 

***

Did you plan twinning moments with a friend or participate in peanut hunts as a kid? Share your reminiscences with us at [email protected].

Follow us on Instagram at @stoneybrookreunion.

Calling all Gen-Xers and Millenials! Did you have a rainbow dolphin binder for your math homework? Perhaps a painterly panda? Did you prefer Hunter the cheetah or Forrest the tiger as your big cat of choice? Was your sticker collection game TOTALLY ON POINT? Ours too! We watched Glitter and Greed: The Lisa Frank Story, and were instantly transported to our early days of school-supply shopping. Join us as we work through the docuseries (and debate Sanrio characters), during our brief break between seasons.

We'll be back in a couple of weeks! Until then, tune in to our special Emergency Meeting, releasing on Thursday!

Somehow it’s summer again in the Baby-sitters-verse, and that means it’s time for more Super Special-style world-building! In Baby-sitters’ Summer Vacation, the map expands upstate as the Stoneybrook sitters cajole Stacey into leaving the comforts of concrete (?) and Bloomingdale’s to join them as counselors-in-training at Camp Mohawk/Camp Moosehead. Excavate your embroidery floss and meet us and CharJo at the craft cabin as we unravel the common threads between Super Special #2 and The Parent Trap and hear about real-life camp experiences from the other side of the lake with our guest (and Cameron’s cousin) Tobin.

Find Tobin on Substack: 43rd Degree

Classic Camp Media Watch List

Meatballs (1979)

Ernest Goes to Camp (1987)

Salute Your Shorts (1991-1992)

Addams Family Values (1993)

Camp Nowhere (1994)

Heavyweights (1995)

Wet Hot American Summer (2001)

What did it take to convince you to go to (or remain at) summer camp? Send a(n online) postcard to [email protected].

See the map that suggests there are no 12-year-old cabins (or campers) on Instagram @stoneybrookreunion.

Hello, sports (and romance) fans! You’re in for a treat–this week’s book/episode is light on babysitting and heavy on baseball (and crush-induced butterflies). When all of the kids in Stoneybrook seem to be in their backyards with bats and gloves, Kristy notices that the local little league has left out her younger siblings and many of the club’s charges. In a typical Kristy move, she decides to start and coach a softball team of her own–but her Krushers [sic] aren’t the only game in town. Soon neighborhood cutie Bart and his Bashers challenge them to a face-off. Find us under the bleachers as we hunt for bottle caps and chat about how Kristy’s motley crew fares (and who the real heart of the story is) in Kristy and the Walking Disaster.

Watch List for Even Non-Sports Fans:

Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949)

The Bad News Bears (1976)

The Sandlot (1993)

Little Giants (1994)

Friday Night Lights (2006-2011)

Illustrated book about the Endurance/Shackleton’s journey: https://flyingeyebooks.com/book/shackletons-journey/

A prank gone awry during a gig lands Claudia in the hospital and launches her into an existential crisis. If babysitting is this risky, she’s not sure it’s for her! While Claudia recovers and once again mulls whether she’ll leave the club, the BSC takes on the serious business of sitting for and waging a practical joke war with the new problem child charge, Betsy. Sit beside us on the Sobaks’ sofa (but watch out for that whoopee cushion!) as we discuss Claudia and the Bad Joke, and what Lady Gaga and Kristy Thomas have in common.

Grandma’s/Home from School Programs List

Noozles

Barney & Friends

Wheel of Fortune -or- Jeopardy

The Price is Right

Your soap of choice

Your afternoon talk show of choice

A 3+ hour block of Designing Women

Where did you find the finest prank goods for grade school hijinks? Let us know at [email protected]. 

Follow us on Instagram @stoneybrookreunion.