Kathryn's Inbox

By 1995 the Baby-Sitters Little Sister books, a spin-off from the Baby-Sitters Club had become such a hit in their own right that it too developed its own spin-off. And it is a real winner. The Kids in Ms Coleman's Class focuses on the second grade class at Stoneybrook Academy and fleshes out some of the beloved characters and events from the Little Sister series. Book One, Teacher's Pet opens at the start of a new school year. Nancy Dawes is nervous about starting second grade. She doesn't really know any of the other kids who have been assigned into Ms Coleman's class. Worse still, her best friend Karen Brewer who lives next door (well, when she's at the Little House) and she is only in first grade. Nancy's morning doesn't get off to the greatest of starts. All of the other kids are mean or seem to already have friends. And the teacher wants to have a day when the students bring their pets to school. (It's not realistic, but it's an Ann M Martin n...

The second graphic novel in the reimagined Sweet Valley Twins series takes its focus from goody-goody twin Elizabeth to the devilish and fundamentally flawed Jessica. This time around, we see a vulnerable side to the younger Wakefield twin. After all, it's not so easy having such a perfect sister. Especially when this is the one occasion when Jessica deserves the spotlight. The twins are taking ballet lessons. Jessica loves ballet and works harder than anyone else in the class. Coupled with a natural flair for ballet, she should be living the dream, right? Nope. It is her sister Elizabeth who gets all of the praise and recognition from their teacher, who barely even notices Jessica no matter how hard she works. The premise is interesting enough, though like all Sweet Valley tales this one is flawed--it particular the retconned ending. (In the original, the teacher paid Jessica little attention because she mistakenly believed that she was not serious about ballet. This one pans out ...