Amelia's Guide to Babysitting by Marissa Moss

Amelia and Carly are best friends and they have decided to go into the Babysitting Business. Selling themselves as the "Double Bee's" they are determined to make money by working together as a team: a two-for-one deal as it were. The only problem is that Amelia doesn't have much experience. So she starts this notebook to help her think things through.

If you aren't acquainted with the Amelia books, as I wasn't, the pages look like a school notebook with ruled paper and handwritten notes. There are colorful cartoon drawings and conversation bubbles to keep the pages lively and I think the spontaneous feel and the lack of textbook-ness is probably what gives the series such appeal.

Certainly any teen that is considering babysitting ought to take a look at this book. While it doesn't give any precise information on how-to care for younger children, it does a fantastic job of talking about what babysitting is like, and what problems and issues they ought to consider before beginning.

Principle amongst these questions is whether they are suited to this type of work. Amelia asks herself just that question and then devises a quiz to get her own answer. But this isn't just any old boring quiz. It's a fun, half-silly quiz with cartoons and balloon conversation. Here's an example of the first question in it.

With little kids, how do you spend most of your time?

A - Showing them how to be clean and tidy.
B - Playing with them.
C - Ignoring them.
D - Yelling at them.

With each of these options there is a picture and text. For choice-D, for example, there's a drawing of a pointing finger and two balloons. The first says, "And don't come out of your room until I say so!" While the second says, "Wow, the thrill of power."

The book uses several Quizzes to get it's points across and the author and Amelia aren't hesitant to suggest that if you are a "type-D" person that you ought to look to other means to make money.

Beyond that, the book talks about different problems that could arise, such as the parent that says 'I'll pay you next time'; the parent that expects you to do other duties; even types of babies and toddlers and parents that they might run across; and snacks!

Considerations:::
This is a Great Choice for a teen who is considering babysitting. With some help from adults or more experienced peers, newbie babysitters ought to be able to figure out what they are comfortable doing and who they will be happy working for.

The Accelerated Reading designation for this book is 3.8 which means that the average 3rd Grader in the 8th month of school should be able to read it without becoming too frustrated by the vocabulary.