Unable to find anyone to play with, Mario agrees to help his Nana by watching cousin Gia, but caring for the toddler is challenging and Mario is near the end of his rope when he gets a reminder that spending time with family is a gift.
Mum and Dad have gone out for the night, leaving Maureen McNally to look after Alfie and Annie Rose. When disaster strikes and a water pipe starts leaking, Alfie helps Maureen halt the flood and also helps Annie Rose with some waterwork problems of her own.
Tiny Troll is very unhappy that his mother is leaving him with a babysitter while she goes to a party for grown-ups.
Lauren Child’s spunky character returns and—as if things could get any livelier in Clarice Bean’s household—Uncle Ted is babysitting! Who can Mom and Dad get to babysit the feisty Clarice, her pesky brother Minal Cricket, and the school’s guinea pig, Albert, who’s visiting for spring break? (Not to mention teenage brother Kurt, who abhors daylight; big sis Marcie, who chats on the phone all day; and Granddad, who tends to wander off.) Only Uncle Ted, firefighter and movie addict, can be persuaded. Will he survive the week?
Hopscotch is a very brave bunny—except when his parents go out and Mrs. Honeybunch comes to stay. She wants to play, but Hopscotch would much rather be alone in his special NO BABYSITTERS ALLOWED fort . . . that is, until he hears Mrs. Honeybunch reading his books all wrong. But explaining the right way to tell the stories would mean leaving his fort, and Hopscotch isn’t sure he’s brave enough for that. This sweetly funny story about separation anxiety will provide ample reassurance to young children (and their worried parents) facing babysitter night.
Tired of her baby sister always getting in her way, Rosie gives Buttercup to her babysitter, Oscar, but when she finally has the house to herself, Rosie realizes how much fun her sister really is.
It’s almost bedtime and for the first time, Mama won’t be putting Billy Bear to bed. Lucy the babysitter will be looking after him instead. They read and sing songs together, but when it’s time for bed, Billy and his stuffed rabbit just can’t fall sleep. What can be bothering them?
When his class of underachievers is assigned to spend three torturous weeks taking care of their own ‘babies’ in the form of bags of flour, Simon makes amazing discoveries about himself while coming to terms with his long-absent father.