- Note: This article is about the original novel. For the graphic novel, see Karen's Roller Skates (Graphic Novel).
Karen's Roller Skates is the second book in the Baby-Sitters Little Sister series.
Back Cover Summary
Karen has new roller skates. She is a very good skater. She can even do tricks.
But oh, no! Karen falls down and breaks her wrist! She has to go to the hospital and get a cast.
Karen wants somebody famous to sign her cast. It isn't going to be easy — but Karen won't give up till she gets the job done!
Plot
Karen has a new pair of roller skates and a new roller skating outfit. When she and Andrew go to their father Watson's house for the weekend (Lisa & Seth are on a vacation to Maine). Karen's step-mother Elizabeth asks Karen to walk the family's dog Shannon. Karen is a daredevil on her skates and decides to try jumping over coffee cans instead of walking the dog. She breaks her wrist while jumping over two cans. Karen has to go to the hospital to get a cast. When she gets home from the hospital, Karen becomes bossy and demands everyone give her way. The next day she goes back to the hospital to get her cast checked and she runs into Ricky Torres from her class at school. Ricky had broken his ankle on the same weekend and had a lot of signatures, including a famous baseball player. Karen doesn't want Ricky stealing her spotlight at school on Monday, so she goes around her neighborhood collecting signatures from everyone, including Mrs. Porter and Mr. Tastee. She also embellishes her story to make it sound much bigger than it really was (in her story, she was jumping over eight coffee cans and doing a double twist in the air). In the end, she gets to have her mother's friend, an actress Amy Morris, sign her cast so she can say she has a famous person's signature on her cast.
Characters in this book
Karen's Family
- Karen Brewer
- Andrew Brewer
- Big House - Watson Brewer, Elizabeth Thomas-Brewer, Charlie Thomas, Sam Thomas, Kristy Thomas, David Michael Thomas
- Little House - Lisa Engle
Kids and Teens
Adults
- At the hospital - Dr. Dellenkamp, Tom (X-ray technician), Dr. Humphrey
- Mrs. Dawes
- Mr. and Mrs. Papadakis
- Ricky Torres's parents
- Mr. Tastee/Roger Jones
- Tabitha Porter (Morbidda Destiny)
Places in this book
- Big House
- Little House
- Stoneybrook General Hospital
- Houses on McLelland Road- Morbidda Destiny's, Delaney Family,Papadakis Family
- Mr. Tastee Ice Cream Truck
Trivia
- The 2021 reprint was released July 6 2021 in Canada [1] and in the United States [2]
- On the dedication page it says: "This book is in loving memory of grandmother Adele Read Martin August 2, 1894 - April 18, 1988."
- Continuity: On page 89, Hannie mentions how they got in trouble when they went over Mrs. Porters house from Karen's Witch.
- First appearances of Ricky Torres and Mr. Tastee.
- The hospital is not named, however it's presumably Stoneybrook General Hospital.
- This is the only book where Ricky is mentioned to have a brother and a sister.
- Karen has had small accidents roller skating before.
- Seth and Lisa go on a vacation to Maine.
- Kristy insists on going to the hospital with Karen, saying that she liked hospital stuff.
- The school nurse came to Karen's class to give a first aid lesson.
- Mr. Torres is friends with a baseball player.
- Karen and Ricky share the same doctor.
- Mr. Papadakis knows the dogcatcher and Mrs. Papadakis knows the mayor.
- In this book the mayor is a man, in later books it'll be a woman.
- Shannon is baby-sitting for the Delaney's in this book.
- On page 76, Shannon's handwriting is different from her handwriting in later books.
- Karen says that Tabitha is a witchy sounding name, a witch character is named Tabitha on the show Bewitched.
- Lisa knows a movie star named Amy Morris.
Gallery
- ↑ https://www.amazon.ca/Karens-Roller-Skates-Ann-Martin/dp/1338762893/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=babysitters+club&qid=1610216105&s=books&sr=1-6
- ↑ https://www.amazon.com/Karens-Roller-Skates-Ann-Martin/dp/1338762893/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=babysitters+club&qid=1610216105&s=books&sr=1-6