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Post by Kylie90210 on Nov 11, 2008 23:30:35 GMT -5
Please discuss this book here.
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fluffycakes
Junior Sitter
A silken-haired beauty with a laugh like pealing bells
Posts: 868
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Post by fluffycakes on Dec 13, 2008 19:41:18 GMT -5
Aww, nobody's commented on this book yet. I might as well get the ball rolling...
I thought it was an okay book. It was pretty typical, though: Karen, Hannie and Nancy get into a fight over something petty. Then they make up. How many times has this happened in the series? Although to be fair, I guess that's pretty normal, given their ages.
I liked the idea of Karen and co. granting that little boy's wish. It was really sweet of her to be so concerned over it. But one thing I don't understand is why Lisa couldn't have been more helpful. At Karen's age, I wasn't paying for all of my Christmas presents by myself. I used some of my allowance, sure, but my parents funded most of my gift-giving. Lisa was being a tightwad. Even if she didn't want to pay Karen's share of the present herself, she could've contributed more than a dime here and a nickle there. It was for charity, after all.
The idea to give the Druckers a new tree was thoughtful and sweet. It was cool reading about how the whole neighbourhood pitched in. I thought the part about Mrs. Drucker being in the hospital because of falling and breaking her hip was too similar to Karen's Wish, though. Ann could have come up with something else.
All in all, this isn't my favourite LS holiday book by any means, but it's getting me in the holiday spirit! Has anyone else read this one?
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Post by annieb on Dec 14, 2008 15:56:28 GMT -5
I have read this book.Karen, Hannie and Nancy always seem to get in a fight about something trivial. I'm surprised they stayed friends that long. This is one book and you can read to get in the holiday spirit.
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tiff85
Junior Sitter
Posts: 583
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Post by tiff85 on Dec 19, 2008 21:33:50 GMT -5
I am going to read this again soon. I can agree about Lisa contributing to help Karen pay for the Christmas present.
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scrounge
Sitter-In-Training
Boo and bullfrogs!
Posts: 414
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Post by scrounge on Jan 1, 2009 2:00:11 GMT -5
Karen's parents were pretty cheap a lot of times when she was trying to earn money for special things. Instead of saying "you do some extra chores and I'll help you pay for the ____" they just paid her a nickel or a dime at a time while she also had to annoy everyone else in the house and/or do inordinate amounts of work for nickels and dimes. Also they allowed her to demand money for things like reading a story to Emily. My parents would have laughed me out of the room if I'd demanded a quarter for reading to my much younger brother.
Overall I liked this book pretty well. The fight was fairly petty, but most of their fights were. I liked how Nancy solved the problem of which friend to take to the play, and I liked them getting the gift for the child they chose off the giving tree, and I liked the chapter where they picked out the perfect tree for the Druckers with the money they'd collected from the other neighbors. It's probably my favorite regular-series Christmas themed Little Sister book.
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tiff85
Junior Sitter
Posts: 583
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Post by tiff85 on Apr 10, 2009 19:37:01 GMT -5
I know. Considering the kind of money Watson made you would think they could help her out with the special things. What's a nickel and dime going to buy? lol.
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Post by sweetvalleygirl99 on Apr 13, 2009 15:55:38 GMT -5
Yup, petty fights over nothing among seven-year old girls is pretty normal ;D. You wouldn't believe what people fought over in my class in grade school, so much drama ;D. And we were only 7-8, go figure! It's like, save the drama for later please lol.
Even though I hated it when Hannie and Nancy ganged up on Karen in this book during their fight, I did like that AMM or the ghostwriter that wrote this actually showed them doing friendship things, like playing with each other, without Karen around. That was something that needed to be explored more in the series, the friendship between Nancy and Hannie. We all know that Karen is best friends with both of them, but are they both best friends with each other? I guess in this book it's pretty clear that they are at least friends and enjoy each other's company outside of Karen.
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wanderingfrog
Sitting For The Arnolds
Official BSC Archivist
Posts: 2,552
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Post by wanderingfrog on Jan 2, 2011 11:36:52 GMT -5
Recently read this book for the first time and I thought Karen was really a brat about Nancy inviting Hannie to the play. It wasn't as if she had two extra tickets and invited Hannie and someone else without making sure Karen couldn't go -- she only had one extra ticket, Karen said she thought she was busy then, so Nancy invited Hannie. Karen really seemed to think she should have been invited instead of Hannie. It's pretty selfish to be complaining that she should've been the one invited; I would've been more sympathetic if she'd said something like, "Why didn't you put both our names in a hat and pick one?" Although I think she's being bratty, I do admit that it's not very nice of them to gang up on
I liked them buying the tree for the Druckers and the fire engine for Martin. I don't think Lisa in this book is as bad as Watson in Karen's Angel. In this one, Karen decides herself that she wants to earn four dollars toward the fire truck, and Lisa pays her to do some chores. In Karen's Angel, Watson instructs a seven-year-old and a four-year-old to use their own money to buy an angel for the family's Christmas tree. What?
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Post by anzuhana on Feb 24, 2011 13:41:00 GMT -5
I thought that Karen was a brat about Nancy inviting Hannie to the play. After all, Karen thought that she might be busy that night. I did like reading about Nancy and Hannie being friends with each other.
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Post by zoar3 on Nov 2, 2013 11:15:51 GMT -5
I loved reading about the neighborhood coming together for the Druckers. I wish that had been a bigger part of the story, perhaps at the end some type of final gathering. The fight was awfully petty as others have said and I felt awful for Karen when Hannie and Nancy decided to strike out against her. I definitely agree that could have also been an opportunity for Nancy and Hannie to develop a little more of a friendship and really for Karen to think about why both girls meant so much to her. I did have the thought that at least the fight was different. I remember in the book where Karen and her Big House neighborhood friends are putting on an ice skating show to raise Valentine's Day $, neither Karen nor Hannie ask if Nancy would like to participate. Thankfully Nancy was able to tell them that herself finally but even though Hannie might not know the Druckers very well, I could see her feeling a bit left out there. Although I am glad it was just Karen and Nancy. I really do like the entire Papadakis family, Hannie included but often feel Nancy might have truly been a closer friend to Karen. Oh and for a smile check out Andrew's reindeer ornament on page 94--looks like a happy reindeer doggie.
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msstock87
Sitting For The Braddocks
Here Comes The Bride!
Created by Rie.
Posts: 3,618
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Post by msstock87 on Nov 19, 2013 19:53:43 GMT -5
I haven't read this one in a long time, but it's on my list to read this year. I love all of the Little Sister Christmas books. I loved how the neighborhood came together.
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Post by Honeybee on Dec 27, 2017 0:37:04 GMT -5
I like this book. It was different kind of Christmas book to read. I didn't like it, when the girls fights. Who's the Druckers? I don't remember them, in other books. It was nice of the girls, buying the fire truck for Martin.
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LadyDru
Sitter-In-Training
Posts: 373
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Post by LadyDru on May 24, 2020 8:21:16 GMT -5
I was eager to read this book for ages but it was a let down when it comes to the fight..I thought it was over something that happened when school was about to end, only to find out it was another petty fight because of bad communication/not being upfront..ugh..was kind of OOC for Nancy to burst out crying when she usually retorts something nasty. Pamela's gloating didn't help matters, either.
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Post by sparklymouse on Dec 25, 2021 16:24:30 GMT -5
Karen seemed confused by the broken hip when Nannie had literally the same injury on Christmas. She mentioned breaking the angel in the previous Christmas book but nothing about that.
It sounds like most people on here thought that Hannie and Nancy were being mean and ganging up on Karen. I saw it as Karen being rude and wrong and the other two not putting up with it. I do think Grandma B. messed up by not getting 3 tickets. She knew Nancy had two best friends.
Who is this Barton family of five kids in Karen's neighborhood? One of them had my name, so that excited me.
I laughed when the girls were debating who Nancy should take. Hannie said neither girl should go with. Karen was like "Who else is there? We're the most fun."
Andrew, Karen, and Lisa all made construction paper and pipe cleaner ornaments, and then here came Seth with his professional wood carved one. Lol.
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Katie
New To Stoneybrook
Posts: 153
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Post by Katie on Dec 26, 2021 2:52:54 GMT -5
I will admit I laughed when Pamela snottily told Karen that some friendships were better than others.
Karen definitely overreacted about the play but I remember petty fights with friends like that in elementary school.
Felt bad for Natalie. Karen was using her as a replacement to eat lunch with then she complained about it being less fun than Nancy and Hannie. And course ditched her as soon as the fight ended. Natalie deserved a friend too but she was always an afterthought or replacement in many of the books. Why couldn't the ghostwriters give her a break?
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