Fancy Nancy and the Sensational Babysitter

Nancy is excited that her new babysitter Alex is coming over and plans an agenda including playing with dolls and looking at fashion magazines. But to her consternation, Alex turns out to be a boy! Nevertheless, Nancy has fun with Alex as they juggle, hula hoop, and drink tea. I admire this book for introducing a male babysitter as a perfectly acceptable choice but wish it had gone further by Nancy deciding it was okay to do the things on her original agenda planned for a female babysitter even after she found out that Alex was a boy. The illustrations are charming, and this is a good book for preparing children for a night with a babysitter - male or female.

Nancy is extremely stoked to have a babysitter tonight because her parents are going out. She plans the whole night out, and I mean everything (dress up, play dolls, look at fashion magazines). Nancy is surprised to find out that Alex is a boy and not a girl. Her expectations were shattered, but she soon found out that Alex was a great babysitter. Once Nancy's sister was asleep Alex and Nancy tried to juggle, hula hoop, and even ended up drinking tea with one another to end the night before Nancy's parents returned. The moral of the story for your students could be, sometimes we don't always get what we want or expect, but we should try to make the best of the situation and be open minded!

This book is fascinating with the topic and the reactions. When Nancy is confronted with a new babysitter that is a male, she is quite disturbed at first because she has to change her plans. The theme of this book encourages coping with unplanned events and finding the positive in new experiences. As always, the vocabulary in the book encourages a love for words!

The book follows Fancy Nancy, a little girl who has a flair for large vocabulary and all things frilly and feathery, as her parents go out for an evening and she is left home with a babysitter. Nancy hasn't had this babysitter before and is quite nervous that it isn't going to work out, because (yikes!), the babysitter is a boy! The language used is full of large and descriptive vocabulary and helps to establish Nancy's character as a girl who loves to use large words and play dress-up. The book takes time and uses the illustrations to establish the babysitter as a caring and fun sitter who is willing to play Nancy's games and try new things. The plot is established as something relatable to the young reader because Nancy is worried show more about how this new babysitter will treat her. The plot is paced quickly so that readers can see that the young man is a great kid and an even better sitter. The plot climaxes at the point where Nancy is asked to join him for juggling and at this point, her nerves are settled and they can now have fun spending time together.
Media: water colors, pen
Genre: Picture books, Contemporary realistic fiction ("I am very confused. In fact, I am stupefied. A teenager is in our living room-a boy teenager...this is practically a babysitting tragedy." This text is relatable to children; having a new babysitter, or expecting a girl sitter and a young boy shows up is an event that could happen to a child). show less

Fancy Nancy has plans, a whole list of them, for what she and Alex the new babysitter can do. She is surprised by who Alex really is, but it only takes her aback a short while and she finds many things to like about her new babysitter.

This is a interesting book about Nancy discovering that her babysitter is a boy. She changes her plans of playing with dolls to adapt to her "new reality". Nice to introduce kids to a new baby sitter. I like the illustrations! It is a nice book to use with first and second graders to introduce lots of "juicy" words (teaching vocabulary).
Reading Journal: count as 1 Beginning/Easy Readers book