Lulu's Mysterious Mission

Eeny meeny miney mo,

That babysitter’s got to go.

In Judith Viorst’s third Lulu story, Lulu has put her tantrum-throwing days behind her. That is, until her parents announce that they are going on vacation—WITHOUT LULU. Not only that, but they are leaving her with the terrifying Sonia Sofia Solinsky, who says hello by bellowing, “The eagle has landed,” and smiles at you with the kind of smile an alligator might give you just before eating you for dinner.

The second her parents are out of the house, Lulu tries out several elaborate schemes to bring them straight back. Ms. Solinsky utterly destroys Plans A through C, but just when Lulu thinks she’s making some headway with Plan D (proving she is an especially difficult child), her babysitter reveals an astonishing secret that changes the game entirely. Now Lulu is rushing to do exactly as Ms. Solinsky asks and crossing her fingers that her parents will go on vacation all the time—without her!

A Junior Library Guild Selection