The Baby-Sitters Club #48: Jessi's Wish

Becca comes home upset because the Kids' Club she's in might have to shut down. One of the club sponsors plans on taking an extended trip with her husband and the club can't survive with only one sponsor. After giving it some thought, Jessi offers to take her place. The teacher isn't too sure but agrees to let her help on a trial basis. Jessi goes back to the BSC and suggests that they all take a month off to do some volunteer work. Surprisingly everyone, including Kristy, agrees.

One of the members of the Kids' Club, Danielle, left because she had cancer. The kids did a fundraising drive to give the kids in the hospital toys. Danielle writes them back and lets them know that she gets to come home soon. When she does come back, no one is really sure how to treat her or what to do around her. Naturally, Becca and Charlotte who never really knew her are the ones who make her feel home again.

Jessi bonds with Danielle too and learns that she really only has two wishes. One is to go to Disney World and the other is to graduate from elementary school. It really gets to Jessi that most kids think about driving or graduating from high school but Danielle only thinks about the short term. When she tells the others, Mary Anne tells her about a foundation that grants kids wishes.

The foundation tells her that she needs information from the parents, so she calls Danielle's mom and dad to tell them what they need to do. She later learns that the foundation agreed to send Danielle, her parents, and her little brother to Disney. Danielle writes everyone letters and brings them home stickers, but she also brings back special gifts for Jessi, Charlotte, and Becca.

Jessi shows up for the last meeting of the Kids' Club before the old teacher comes back. She finds out that Danielle is back in the hospital again. Her cancer came back to the point where they don't know when or even if she'll come home again. Jessi decides to write her often and be her friend until she gets better.

*The club decides that anyone who is free will show up for meetings and that they'll depend more on the associate members for help. I find it hard to believe Kristy would agree to this.

*Mary Anne works for the disabled son of her parents, Stacey volunteers in a diabetes clinic, Dawn works with disabled kids, Mallory volunteers at the park, Claudia teaches art classes, and Kristy works in a daycare type place.

*Kristy walks into the daycare and finds the place in chaos, so she naturally takes over and does the job better than the adults do. There is seriously a scene where two teachers are working with eight babies. One won't stop crying until Kristy rocks it to sleep, and the teachers are all in shock because she never goes to sleep that easy for them.

*Jessi says that Mary Anne and Dawn's barn is awesome and wonders why they don't live there. Dawn says that it's way too cold in the winter and way too hot in the summer. I wonder how much insulating they had to use when they turned it into a house.