The Baby Sitter Burglaries

Nancy tries to prove that a babysitter is being framed when three houses in River Heights are robbed—and the only connection the police can find is that the babysitter was employed at each.

Three houses in River Heights have been burglarized, and the police are blaming the babysitter, but Nancy doesn't think Juanita did it, so she sets out to prove Juanita's innocence.

On Friday nights many parents want to have a little fun together—without the kids. But “getting a sitter”—especially a dependable one—rarely seems trouble-free. Will the kids be safe with “that girl”? It’s a question that discomfited parents have been asking ever since the emergence of the modern American teenage girl nearly a century ago. In Babysitter, Miriam Forman-Brunell brings critical attention to the ubiquitous, yet long-overlooked babysitter in the popular imagination and American history. Informed by her research on the history of teenage girls’ culture, Forman-Brunell analyzes the babysitter, who has embodied adults’ fundamental apprehensions about girls’ pursuit of autonomy and empowerment. In fact, the grievances go both ways, as girls have been distressed by unsatisfactory working conditions. In her quest to gain a fuller picture of this largely unexamined cultural phenomenon, Forman-Brunell analyzes a wealth of diverse sources, such as The Baby-sitter’s Club book series, horror movies like The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, urban legends, magazines, newspapers, television shows, pornography, and more. Forman-Brunell shows that beyond the mundane, understandable apprehensions stirred by hiring a caretaker to “mind the children” in one’s own home, babysitters became lightning rods for society’s larger fears about gender and generational change. In the end, experts’ efforts to tame teenage girls with training courses, handbooks, and other texts failed to prevent generations from turning their backs on babysitting.

This summer, nothing’s safe at Green Spring—not even the camp itself… Elsa, a friend of Nancy and George’s and a counselor at Green Spring Pony Club’s summer camp, invites the girls for a ride one afternoon. Along the way, Elsa gushes about how a team of campers will compete in a regional pony club rally. If they win, they’ll go to the national competition! But Elsa’s excitement quickly fades when Nancy’s horse falls into a ditch, and it’s clearly a case of sabotage. This prompts Elsa to tell Nancy about some sinister happenings on the camp’s grounds. Is someone trying to hurt the campers—or the camp? Disguised as a counselor, Nancy tries to figure out who's behind the vicious accidents. And as they become more devastating, Nancy realizes she needs to move quickly. Will her sleuthing skills be enough to keep this camp’s horses and their riders on track?

Nancy joins an Elizabethan troupe as a lady to the queen’s court. There are performances and feasts, but the true drama unfolds when Nancy learns that she, the queen, and the entire festival have been targeted for sabotage.

Nancy and Bess start hunting for an elusive suspect to save the Pennington Estate. Nancy's best lead comes from someone who wants to remain anonymous.

It's the biggest crime in Stoneybrook history--one of the town's mansions is missing! Kristy & Co. are hot on the trail of the Cat Burglar, who left his sign at the scene of the crime.

Nancy gets the big picture from a really tiny clue! Nancy and her friends love Mr. Lizard's Funhouse -- it's their favorite TV show. But now Mr. Lizard is going to be replaced -- by a cooking show! Nancy gets the kids in school to sign a petition to save the Show, but when she brings it to the TV station, it says in big purple letters, "Get rid of Mr. Lizard!" From the lunch lady to a science whiz kid, anyone in school Could have written the nasty note. Then Nancy's father gives her a special gift -- a magnifying glass. It's just the thing for an upclose look at her best clue -- a distinctive purple fingerprint!