Karen's School Picture

Baby-Sitters Little Sister Graphic Novels #5

by Katy Farina (Illustrator), Ann M. Martin

Another graphic novel in this fun series spin-off of The Baby-sitters Club, featuring Kristy's little stepsister!

Karen has to get glasses! She doesn't want them, especially because school pictures are going to be taken soon. But she picks out some pretty pink ones and thinks she looks very grown-up.

Then Yicky Ricky at school starts calling her names, like Owl Girl and Googly Eyes. If Karen wears her glasses for the school picture, Ricky will make fun of her. If she doesn't wear them, she'll feel like she's afraid to be herself. Glasses or no glasses, that Ricky is going to get it!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Fiction, Childrens, Graphic Novels Comics, Comics, Juvenile

128 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2022

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Karen's unhappy when it turns out she needs glasses just in time for school pictures. It's a fairly typical take on the subject, with reluctance to wear the glasses and teasing from a classmate all resolved in time for a happy ending, but I enjoyed it all the same. Karen seems more reasonable, perhaps because the book has jumped ahead to 2nd grade, and she has actually matured slightly.

If you are worried about spoilers, changes to the Brewer household are shown here that have not yet occurred in the main Baby-Sitters graphic novel series and do not occur in the novel series until book #24. Watson and Elizabeth adopt a Vietnamese baby, and Elizabeth's mother moves in with them to help out.

[Jennifer Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great blast from the past! I remember when I first got glasses and am glad I didn't have anyone bully me about them!

[Diana Flores · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty cute graphic novel for younger readers. Love Karen's attitude and optimism. The storyline is nothing original, but the family dynamics are so sweet it's worth the 30-minute read.

[Bailey Novinbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this one except for the glaring plot hole of them adopting an entire sibling and never mentioning how/why/when

[Azuri Valero · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. the pictures were adorable, the story was cute.

[Genres and Journals *Tia* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another adventure with Karen and family. Karen discovers she needs glasses right before school picture day and we follow along with her as she becomes accustomed to wearing them. She isn’t the brattiest character in this volume which I call a win! Lol.

[Honor #literallyslayqueen ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was really good and I chose this one because I love the babysitters club books so I found this! Karen has to get glasses because she can’t see without them.
It’s school pictures soon and Ricky makes fun of her and calls her names. On school picture day, Ricky takes off his glasses for the photo. But she sees her teacher and friends all wearing their glasses. She made HER decision. She was keeping her glasses on! Ricky apologized to Karen and they had a good school photos!



Honor ♥️

[Imani · Rating 4 out of 5]

obviously light-hearted and fun since it's directed for 8-10 years olds I think. Read just because I liked the baby sitters graphic novel series and the little sisters series is similar just based on Kristy's little sister Karen.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 -- Not my favourite in the series, but as an adult, I can super relate to Karen's glasses delimma.

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute and reminded me of my glasses days. Can't wait for the next one.

[Avery · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad she likes your glasses!!!!

[Abigail McClead · Rating 3 out of 5]

It kind of funny because he called her owl eyes and she cried
But yeah I guess I liked this book it was ok

[Laura Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am fully 28 and I'm blasting through these books for the nostalgia. Absolutely amazing, no regrets. I do miss how super 90s the originals were, but this is such a cute modernization!!!

[Sue Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it

[Katie R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

She has glasses like me lol

[Christy Broderick⁷ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, getting glasses for the first time. I remember that 🤓 This was a cute story about Karen getting her new glasses, how she adjusts to them, and how she helps out a friend who needs them as well.

[Olivia Guimond · Rating 5 out of 5]

That boy is so rude. PS it’s me out. But he got what he deserved🤬

[Rancie Mohamed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than the previous book tbh, ✨I LOVE IT✨

Review to come soon.
_____________________________________________________

✨Review time✨

Well…i did it…i finished my challenge.

I know it’s been 3 weeks since i started this challenge, but here we are, the end of a not-so-long challenge.

*Round of applause*
*and then slowly fades away*

Thank you, thank you, and now, here we are, the review.

I happened to like this book so much more than book 4, it was SOOO fast and SOOO addictive to read that i read this book in a day (almost).

And the characters are so likable in this one, Karen is slowly becoming better, she may have still been the old Karen, but she was very enjoyable in this book.

Hannie is still the same old Hannie that I loved, love her 🫶🏻

And in this book, I really liked Nancy alot more, in the previous book, she was SUCH a drama queen, but in this book, she SOO MUCH BETTER, love her development ❤️.

The only reason why I’m going to give this book a 4.5 ⭐️ is because of Ricky, I JUST ABSOLUTELY HATE HIM!!!

But regardless, at least i enjoyed the book, SOOO glad it doesn’t have friend drama 😁
_____________________________________________________

Checklist:

Karen’s witch: ✅, 4.75 ⭐️
Karen’s roller skates: ✅, 5 ⭐️
Karen’s worst day: ✅, 3.5 ⭐️
Karen’s kittycat club: ✅, 2.25 ⭐️
Karen’s school picture: ✅, 4.5 ⭐️

FINALLY!! I FINISHED MY CHALLENGE!!!!

Thank you guys so so so much for reading my review of book 5, it honestly almost takes a while for me to complete this challenge because i have ALOT of books to continue reading, but it’s honestly so worth it :)

Thank you and goodbye.

*Round of applause*

……………

Ok, i am acting like it’s from a broadway show, but I’m just doing this for fun :), that’s all, now—really this time—thank you for reading my review.

[Ellon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute and relatable! I know I read the Little Sister books when I was younger (even if I don't remember the plots AT ALL) and I can totally see why I gravitated to them instead of the Baby-sitter's Club. I am much more like Karen (even the bratty parts lol). This book was great with showing the feelings of getting glasses (I remember vividly getting mine). I didn't love the interactions with Ricky because I think Karen forgave him a little too quickly for how horrible he was. But I still really liked the book!

[Dara Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a reader who was a fan of the Baby-Sitters Club in elementary school, I was excited to read this spin-off of the popular series I grew up on. I found the story relatable to my own childhood and it made me more excited to follow our main character and see how she overcomes something I also went through. Karen experiences a very common thing a lot of young kids in elementary school have to: getting glasses and feeling like you're going to look like a TOTALLY different person to your classmates. I found informative and educational moments in the story that teach the reader what certain jobs and positions are involved in eye exams and giving people glasses. I think that is a great opportunity to educate young children on certain careers they can come into contact with in their childhood and as they grow up. The story had a sweet ending that can help children who are going through the same thing as Karen resolve their issues with being made of fun for something that you need to improve your life.

I loved the bright colors the comics had to offer, always keeping up with the bright personality of our main character. I liked how expressive the main character, Karen, was along with the other side characters. I appreciate the diversity shown in the illustrations in regard to the kids in the classroom, making any kid reading this graphic novel feel seen in this story in some way. I think the comic strip style was very easy to follow and liked how there wasn't so much text to keep up with to follow the story. One thing I also noticed were the plain backgrounds with one color that were in most of the comic blocks, which I found made it more pleasing to eye and avoided being too busy on the page. It also gave the reader the opportunity to just focus on the story being told through the characters and the text. I think this is a great way to transition from picture storybooks to "bigger" books for 4th and 5th graders.

[Maria Ligeia Amate · Rating 5 out of 5]

La pequeña Karen ha vuelto para darnos unas cuantas lecciones. En esta ocasión empieza con la ilusión por hacerse la foto de fin de curso y sigue por ver regular las letras de los libros que lee, en concreto un viernes en el que está en la casa grande con su gran familia y decide leer un libro, aunque desde antes ya tenía dolores de cabeza. Al principio no le resulta muy incómodo el tema de las gafas porque con el cuento de la visita para revisarle la vista se pierde clases, algo que les encanta a la mayoría de los críos, pero después, cuando tiene que llevarlas, todo se convierte en burlas, en especial por parte de Ricky Torres, que no se deja nada dentro a la hora de opinar sobre las gafas de Karen.
Y aquí vemos como nuestra pequeña Karen cambia hasta el punto de desearle todo lo malo posible a Ricky para que la deje en paz y no se ría de ella, porque no tiene más remedio que llevar las gafas aunque en algún momento aparezca sin ellas.
Por otro lado, también nos da una lección de personalidad al aceptarse tal y como es con sus gafas rosas, su valentía al llevarlas a pesar de las burlas y el no hacerle a los demás lo que le han hecho a ella aunque pase muy malos ratos.
Es un libro con grandes mensajes aunque esté dirigido a un público infantil y se puede ir trabajando y explicando temas tan importantes como el acoso o las burlas y el daño que hacen así como la importancia de quererse tal y como somos, como siempre con unas ilustraciones a todo color en las que salen Karen, su familia y amigos y los no tan amigos. No te lo pierdas.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ughhhh, can these books BE any cuter? Please, Scholastic, let Katy Farina adapt all 122 Little Sister books (and 6 Super Specials!) and I will be happy forever. The artwork is perfect, Karen is a mood and I am here for it. There are so many panels where I cackle at her expressions - and yet, despite this, I think the brattiness that Karen is infamously known for is dialed back. (Though to be honest, I've always loved Karen's stories and never found her as insufferable as the rest of the BSC fandom seems to. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

I really enjoyed this adaptation, too. I worried that the unwanted glasses trope would be a little outdated, but it didn't seem awkward or forced at all. Though I was low-key disappointed that Karen didn't get two pairs! And I love that they kept Kristy taking Karen to the library and finding glasses-wearers in books - and that they had real-life examples in this iteration (as opposed to Doc from Snow White, Geppetto from Pinocchio, and John from Peter Pan.)

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Karen has been having headaches and her family realizes she's also having trouble reading. Karen is not happy to learn she needs glasses. School picture day is coming up, and she's doesn't want ugly glasses ruining her pictures! Karen is having a hard time adjusting, especially when Ricky in her class teases her by calling her names like Owl Girl. Is her life ruined by needing glasses?

The graphic novel adaptors have brought this story into the 21st century with just subtle changes (mostly in the illustrations), like cell phones and having Karen in a car seat still. The story itself is pretty timeless with worries about how wearing glasses will change others' perception of you. I really love Kristy's way to help Karen. It is a great idea that could also help real kids struggling with the concept of wearing glasses. I also liked the positive resolution between Ricky and Karen by the end of the book. Hand this to upper lower grade readers or lower middle grade readers who love contemporary graphic novels.

Notes on content: Some mild name calling (no examples that are really harsh) that is eventually resolved. No sexual content. No violence. Karen at one point drafts a list of mean things to do to Ricky as revenge but she throws the list away and decides not to do any of them.

[Marian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wonder if Natalie will keep anything else from her former existence or just the glasses wearing. Yes. That's my biggest take away from this.

Seriously though, I liked this one well enough. It's weird, but while I remember getting my glasses for the first time and needing them for awhile beforehand (without realizing it), I have no real memory of massive headaches from needing them. But I do remember not super loving the idea of needing them, even though genetically speaking I was doomed like Karen. I do kind of wish there'd been a mention of the headache you get *after* you get new glasses, though. Ah well. Karen's dilemma on whether to wear her glasses in her school picture is realistic enough and I like that she didn't just immediately make up her mind after Kristy takes her to the library. She still had to think it over and that seems very Karen.

Nancy remains not a redhead and my annoyance at that is still high, even if she is still one of the only characters capable of talking Karen out of a full on freakout and I do still love that about her.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a graphic novel that’s part of the Babysitters Club Little Sister series. It’s based on the original books that were popular in the 1980s/1990s.

The fifth book in the series, the story follows Karen, the little stepsister of Kristy, who founded the Babysitters Club, as she gets excited for school picture day. But she’s soon challenged with the idea that she has to get glasses, which concerns her. She’s worried wearing glasses will ruin the perfect photos she wants to take.

In short, the story deals with issues of acceptance and having confidence in who you are or your circumstances. It also illustrates that what you may see as a bad thing, may not be so bad at all.

Overall, I don’t have any negatives of the book. It does have some name droppings, which I prefer was not included, but that’s my preference, I guess.

On a positive note, I enjoyed the illustrations, which are very expressive and bring the words to life. This was a fun and easy read, and something that will appeal to readers, young and old.

Rating: G (General Audiences)
Age Range: Children’s

[Hope Burmeister · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say that I’m a bit biased towards this book for two reasons:

1. I read this series growing up and so it is incredibly nostalgic for me.
2. I was also that kid who had to get glasses in primary school so I really relate to Karen.

I don’t know how the author so perfectly captures what it is to be a kid - even the bullying Karen experiences from Ricky is unfortunately very relatable.

The crazy thing is that I also got pink glasses when I was a kid but the only difference between Karen and I is that I distinctly remember really wanting glasses and I thought I had managed to pretend my way into getting glasses (turns out I actually did need glasses).

I love the graphic version of these books as it brings them to life and makes the stories more hilarious and animated.

I love these books so much!!

[Kathryn (Dragon Bite Books)]

I am on the fence about Ms. Colman's depiction here. I was at first excited to see a Black woman in the role of a teacher, but then Ricky Torres' taunting seems so blatant and obvious that I am distraught that she did not stop it. Being an adaptation there is only so much that Farina can do to the plot, and of course, conflict makes a plot, so that bullying has to stay, but I am upset that Ricky seems to face no repercussions for his actions that come from the authority figure in his classroom. Nor do any of the children who later make fun of Ricky.

[Aud · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and relatable, up to and including the fact that people don't always appreciate it when you stand up for them. I do wonder how many kids actually get teased for wearing glasses these days, though, since it's so common, even among very young children.

I know that this spin-off is for the younger kids, but Karen's recitation about how she's a "two-two" in every single book gets to be a little old by the fifth time you read it.

[Loona is hot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, after reading this, I actually liked this! For once, Karen wasn't a total dick to everybody! I felt bad that Karen had to get glasses because I had to get some too. I liked that Karen controlled her anger in this one. Thank GOD I didn't burn this shit. Well I guess I actually liked this series for once. I haven't been this nice to the series ever since book 1.


(I BUY GOOD BOOKS!)

OMG EXCATLY WHAT I NEEDED!!!! freevbucks.com

[Ellen]

Boy is Ms. Colman asleep on the job! As someone who works in a school, it was hard to read the bullying scenes without getting frustrated. There's no way that would fly in my school. I guess it shows how far we've come since the 80s and 90s? (I haven't read all of the Karen books, so I'm curious if we learned about Emily Michelle anywhere else - what a thing to just slip in! How did adopting a new child not merit it's own book?)