LS #66, Karen's Monsters

This book basically has three plots and I can't figure out which one is supposed to be the main plot. I guess it's the bit about the monster, because that's what the book is titled, so I'll start there.

Here is the cover. Karen has a really curly ponytail on this one, and I love her outfit. I would seriously buy it for my niece if I found it in a store, although maybe not with the boots. Karen is reacting in horror to a monster that is sitting in her garage. Charlie is building the monster (who he names Frankenstone) for the football team's homecoming float. (Sam, by the way, is riding on the Math Club float. Dressed as a giant number 5.) The parade is Halloween themed because the homecoming game is right around Halloween. Anyway, Charlie is apparently quite talented in the monster building department, because he is able to make a realistic looking monster, add LED lights to its eyes, and make it moan. Karen is a little scared of the monster, especially after a chapter where Sam and Charlie are babysitting and they turn the lights off and scare Karen, Hannie, and Nancy with the monster.

A day after the scare, Karen notices that Frank is missing from the garage. She naturally assumes he's come to life and is out menacing the neighbors, but Charlie correctly realizes that Frank has, in fact, been stolen. He thinks it might be someone from one of the other clubs who want to use Frank on their own float. He lets Karen help him look for clues. They find a tire track and some cleat marks.

Charlie's outfit did not stand the test of time nearly as well as Karen's, sorry Charlie. Karen remembers that one time, Charlie stole a rival school's mascot and hid it in their toolshed, so she suggests that they look in toolsheds. Instead, Charlie realizes that the captain of the Bricktown Bulldogs football team stole his monster. He and Karen drive to Bricktown and steal Frank back from Ellis Wood. It is a very exciting moment for Karen. Charlie is so glad to have his monster back that he arranges for Karen, David Michael, Andrew, and Emily to ride on the float in the parade. He gets monster costumes for them to wear.

As you can see, the float is a box floating in space, with the word "Halloween" printed on one end and "SCHOOL" on the long side. Karen is wrapped in bubble wrap and has cat whiskers. Andrew appears to be a Ninja Turtle, and Emily looks like a lion. David Michael is wearing rubber hands and Groucho glasses. They are the scariest monsters I ever did see.

Meanwhile, Karen's class in school is going to put on a program for their families. It is an autumn themed program. Each of the kids has to write a story and read it aloud during the program. It's a good thing there are only 18 kids in their class, because that sounds really boring for the attendees. The class makes decorations and refreshments. Nancy, despite wanting to be an actress when she grows up, is a total whiny baby about having to read her story aloud. She's scared. Karen and Hannie try to help her, by letting her practice with them as the audience, but Nancy is still terrible at it. She tries writing a story that she knows Ms. Colman won't allow her to read, titled "Fall is Stinky", but Ms. Colman just makes her write a new story. Finally on the day of the program, Karen orders everyone in the audience to turn their backs to Nancy, and she is able to overcome her stage fright and read her story aloud.

Also, Emily has been throwing tantrums in the morning through the whole book. When Nannie and Watson bring her to the program at Karen's school, Emily disappears and they find her in the kindergarten classroom. They realize that Emily has been throwing fits in the morning because she wants to go to school like the big kids. They can't find a preschool program for her, but Kristy (naturally) suggests they start a playgroup for her with Sari Papadakis and two other nearby toddlers who were made up for this book and will never be mentioned again. (Petey and Nelson are their names.)

Here is Karen, wearing a bitchin' jean jacket, stepping over a tantrum throwing Emily. But don't worry, because after Kristy comes up with the idea and Nannie is able to take Emily to her playgroup, she stops throwing tantrums in the morning, and all is (relatively) peaceful once again.