Claudia and Mean Janine

Ann M. Martin's Claudia and Mean Janine is a sister story for 9 year olds about an arty girl living in the shadow of a genius.

What happens

Claudia Kishi is thirteen. She loves art class, Nancy Drew mysteries and junk food. She's got sweets stashed all over her bedroom (the mysteries are hidden under the mattress, because her parents don't approve).

Her big sister Janine is sixteen and super clever. She's spending the summer holidays taking college courses. She also talks like a dictionary. When she asks over breakfast how the club will manage once its founder lives in a different district, Claudia just begs her to talk in English!

Claudia narrates, and she's refreshingly honest. She's pretty sure she's a disappointment to her parents, because brains matter so much to them. And she admits she's a teeny bit jealous of Janine.

Meanwhile the Baby-Sitters Club is starting a summer play group in Stacey's back garden, with art projects, stories and games three mornings a week. Then little Jenny turns up in a spotless pink party dress and shiny shoes. She's slipped over and got grass on it in no time.

Holding the house together is Mimi, Claudia's gentle grandmother, who lives with the family and calls her "my Claudia". Her waffle-for-dinner nights are lovely.

It's worth knowing that the story turns serious quite early on. After a row over a board game, where Claudia calls Janine a nerd and snaps at Mimi too, Mimi goes to bed early. The girls hear a thud and find her collapsed on her bedroom floor. It's a serious stroke and she's taken into intensive care.

Claudia can't stop wondering whether her argument caused it. That could be hard going for a child whose own grandparent has been ill. For others it shows a family getting through a frightening moment (and at a big sister who stays calm, checks for a pulse and tells Claudia to ring for an ambulance).

Claudia and Janine are both teenagers, so your reader is reading a little bit up. Have they ever been compared to a brother or sister who seems to get everything right? They'll be right there with Claudia.

This is the seventh Baby-Sitters Club book. Claudia soon fills you in on the club. If you'd rather start where the club began, that's Kristy's Great Idea.

What to read next

If it's the sister squabbles they love, try The Worst Thing About My Sister by Jacqueline Wilson. Marty draws her own superhero comics, her big sister Melissa loves pink and lip gloss, and it opens with a fight over an eye pencil Marty used up drawing.