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Post by aln1982 on May 18, 2007 16:25:57 GMT -5
This is one of the first mysteries, actually one of the first BSC books, that I read and owned. I love it for nostalgic reasons but think it’s good anyway. It was the one that introduced me to the Krushers and made me like them. (Of course, I was then obsessed with the whole idea of starting my own team, which didn’t work I can see how Kristy would feel guilty, though it wasn’t really her fault. I really liked reading about the search for Jake and doubted he’d been kidnapped but still, there is that possibility. My favorite parts of the book, though, were the scenes where the Kuhn girls stay with the Pikes and the McGills. This book introduced me to the Kuhn kids and I still like them just as much as I ever did. I read this one at the same time as Kristy and the Haunted Mansion, my other favorite mystery, and it is still one of my favorites. I think all of the first BSC books I read/owned are the ones on my favorite list. I hated home-ec too because I actually wanted to cook and sew and all we did was notebook work on "latchkey kids". Only made one batch of rice krispy treats and nothing else. I was so mad that I ended up getting out of the second semester to do an independent study. (Thankfully that was only in 6th grade and I was homeschooled from then on so did "home ec" on my own every day
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starrynight
Sitting For The Kuhns
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Post by starrynight on May 22, 2007 14:36:40 GMT -5
^ I liked Home Ec, but it drove me crazy that the teacher wouldn't let me work ahead on our sewing project, even though I could. So, when she was absent one day, I went ahead and did it anyway. Incidentally, I always find myself wanting peanut butter cups when I read this one...I love the description of the store owner filling up the paper bag with goodies for Jake after he's found! I always imagine what's going into the bag in great detail!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2007 11:34:38 GMT -5
I always liked this one.
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Amalia
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Post by Amalia on May 23, 2007 23:06:36 GMT -5
^ Me too. If I were her, I would have made her mom's special chocolate cake. It might have impressed the teacher and boosted up her grade higher.
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Post by aln1982 on May 28, 2007 0:06:11 GMT -5
I was just thinking about the Home Ec subplot and I know they used MA for the irony factor since she's the most "homemaker" type usually, but I think it would have been more interesting to see another one of the girls taking home ec. Though it would have been difficult in this book (she was too busy searching for Jake ), Kristy in Home Ec would make a great story, I think. And I can just imagine Claud creating works of art instead of following the recipe (though she does do the cooking contest) and sewing her own "creations". Same with Stacey (but I think I do remember her mentioning something about knowing how to sew and cook in a book, and then there is the needlepoint project she takes to Sea City so maybe she has hidden talents). I can just imagine how Dawn would react to having to make chocolate chip cookies or some kind of "junk" like that. I just think those might have been some interesting alternate subplots, not that I don't like the one with MA well enough. I laugh about it every time I make jello jigglers or see the commercial with Bill Cosby (though that hasn't been on forever).
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2007 13:09:58 GMT -5
Is home ec in middle/junior high school all that common these days, anyways? I'm not really sure, as I went to a fairly small school...but then again, so was SMS, methinks...
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Post by aln1982 on Jun 8, 2007 16:26:46 GMT -5
^ We had it when I was in 6th grade and until I was in 8th (which was in 1994 or 1995) but then it was discontinued because the teacher retired. I'm also from a pretty small school (not sure in comparison with Stoneybrook) but think it is getting less common. Don't need to know how to cook and sew as much these days with all of the "modern conveniences" and women are expected to work outside the home instead of being "homemakers" too. Back to this book and MA, does she participate at all in the search or is she too preoccupied? Also, does it say she can cook other things but not just jello? If not, this seems inconsistent with books like Claud and the Recipe for Disaster.
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alula
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Post by alula on Jun 10, 2007 16:41:14 GMT -5
At my middle school in the mid-90s, all the sixth-graders took one quarter each of art, chorus, home ec, and wood shop, and then you could pick your electives for seventh and eighth grade. I actually do enjoy some of the "domestic" stuff on its own, but I never took the other electives because the projects were really dumb, although I barely remember now what I did take besides art. At my high school, the cooking classes at least were taken about equally by boys and girls, and the sewing classes had more of a design emphasis, I think.
The thing about the Jello always makes me laugh because my mom's an occupational therapist specializing in mental health issues, and making Jello is actually a competency test they use to see if people can follow a set of simple directions, so I could never understand what on earth Mary Anne kept doing to mess that up.
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Amalia
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Post by Amalia on Jun 11, 2007 0:56:47 GMT -5
I think that MA's teacher was just unusually strict and picky. I would have failed home-ec too if I had that teacher.
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alula
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Post by alula on Jun 11, 2007 15:41:58 GMT -5
Oh, yeah, the teacher was obviously nutty--I think at one point she gave a table-setting test and measured to see that the plates were one inch away from the edge of the table or something? I just meant about the Jello--the only way I can think of to not make Jello jell is to either put in one of the few fresh or frozen fruits that have enzymes that keep gelatine from setting (frozen pineapple is the most common culprit--canned is fine) or to just mess up the proportion of water to Jello mix, which is where the following the directions come in. Otherwise, you can do pretty much whatever you want to it if you keep the basic proportions of liquid and gelatine (which was why it didn't take a master chef to invent the Jello shot). I could see messing it up once, but obviously MA must have just developed a total complex because really, it's measuring a couple of cups of water, stirring and sticking something in the fridge. If you can cook dinner for your family, you can make Jello.
/apparently knows way too much about Jello--the question is, does Dawn? She should have led a protest about the injustice of forcing home ec students to make Jello!
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starrynight
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Post by starrynight on Jun 11, 2007 16:13:23 GMT -5
^ Not to mention the fact that gelatin comes from animal products!
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Post by aln1982 on Jun 11, 2007 16:33:46 GMT -5
Oh, yeah, the teacher was obviously nutty--I think at one point she gave a table-setting test and measured to see that the plates were one inch away from the edge of the table or something? I just meant about the Jello--the only way I can think of to not make Jello jell is to either put in one of the few fresh or frozen fruits that have enzymes that keep gelatine from setting (frozen pineapple is the most common culprit--canned is fine) or to just mess up the proportion of water to Jello mix, which is where the following the directions come in. Otherwise, you can do pretty much whatever you want to it if you keep the basic proportions of liquid and gelatine (which was why it didn't take a master chef to invent the Jello shot). I could see messing it up once, but obviously MA must have just developed a total complex because really, it's measuring a couple of cups of water, stirring and sticking something in the fridge. If you can cook dinner for your family, you can make Jello. /apparently knows way too much about Jello--the question is, does Dawn? She should have led a protest about the injustice of forcing home ec students to make Jello! Love it about Dawn ;D I had forgotten how insane the teacher was with the table setting test. But I guess I can see how someone could keep messing something so easy like jello up. It would be hard but just one wrong thing could do it (mom messed up brownies from a mix today ;D) As for gelatin coming from animal products, this made me laugh because it reminded me of when my dad came home from having heart surgery. He was really out of it and crabby and my grandma had made him some jello but he yelled at me and said "I can't eat that! I'm on a low fat, low sodium diet now and jello has fat in it because it comes from animals." He doesn't remember saying this but we still tease him about it ;D I'm going to go remind him of it right now.... ;D The thought of jello being a "fatty" food still makes me laugh.
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Post by Kylie90210 on Sept 25, 2007 22:13:30 GMT -5
That MA Home Ec plot line annoyed me, it was quite OOC. Who cares if you fail Home Ec, a kid you know is missing, possibly dead. We all know if he were missing these days, the chances of finding him wouldn't be as good This one kinda scared me, cause although i knew theyd find him, I didn't know where he was! Little kids missing is scary
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janey83
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Post by janey83 on Oct 9, 2007 15:42:37 GMT -5
I remember reading this book and wanting to strangle Mary Anne. First of all, she should have just gone out and helped with the search for Jake. Jello on requires boiling 1 cup of water, mixing with the powder, added with a cup of cool water and sticking in the fridge (I made jello last night). Would have left plenty of time for searching! AHH!
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starrynight
Sitting For The Kuhns
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Post by starrynight on Oct 9, 2007 16:16:44 GMT -5
I never thought about Jello taking so little time when I read this as a kid, but I guess you're right. Funny note: one of the ads at the top of the page is for Jello shot cups.
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