Karen's Birthday: A Graphic Novel (Baby-Sitters Little Sister #6)

My daughter loves the series!

The book is easy to read. My daughter loves it.

We’ve largely enjoyed the other books in this series, but I really disliked this one and I’m not sure I want my daughter reading it again. Everyone is so awful to Karen and it’s not sufficiently acknowledged or accounted for. The way Karen’s parents — and shockingly and uncharacteristically, Kristy! — behave is really upsetting. A 7-year-old making outsized birthday requests? Gasp, how shocking! Karen’s dad calling her a brat, her mom telling her to “shape up,” Kristy berating her on the phone, everyone acting like Karen’s totally reasonable desire to have her two families celebrate together is ridiculous… it all felt cartoonishly (no pun intended) outsized and not in the same tone as the other books. The behavior didn’t feel realistic, but the worst part is that there’s no real reckoning. It just felt like a book about adults being emotionally manipulative and borderline abusive to a small child, and never fully owning up to those actions. The book even seems to sanction some of this terrible behavior. It’s ultimately so… bleak? What a huge bummer.

My granddaughter loves these books! She Can't wait for a next one to come out!

My kids love this new book!