#25 Mary Anne and the Search for Tigger

Tigger's "kidnapping"

Is not a Federal case.

Okay, Mary Anne?

Summary

Mary Anne leaves Tigger outside to play when she's at a BSC meeting, but when she gets home, she discovers he's missing. She doesn't worry too much, until he's gone without a trace for almost 24 hours. She calls Kristy, figuring that her penchant for ideas and love of animals would make her the best person to talk to. Kristy immediately calls an emergency meeting of the BSC, and the girls create a plan of action for finding Tigger. They pool their money for a reward, and make a flier. After the meeting, Mary Anne calls Logan and breaks the news to him, but to her dismay, he doesn't seem all that interested.

The next day, the BSC papers the neighborhood with as many fliers as they can. Some of the sitting charges even get involved in the hunt for Tigger, but to no avail; he's still missing. Mary Anne does get what she thinks is a clue when she checks the mail after passing out the fliers: a ransom note (cue scary music). The writer claims to have Tigger, and tells Mary Anne that she needs to leave $100 on the big rock in Brenner Field the next afternoon if she wants to see him alive again. At the BSC meeting that afternoon, Mary Anne tells the others what's going on. She even manages to talk Logan into being there, in spite of how little he seems to care about the whole situation. In fact, Logan is actually the one who comes up with the plan to hide in and around the park and wait for the "kidnapper." He figures that the note was sent by a kid, and that the seven of them can probably overpower him (or her, as Dawn reminds us).

As it turns out, Logan was right. The note was sent by a kid. He's awfully surprised when he shows up at Brenner Field and is not only surrounded by seven baby-sitters, but that his envelope full of cash contains only Monopoly money. So...no kidnapper, which is good, but Tigger is still missing, which is bad.

Later that week, Mary Anne is sitting for the Brunos. Little Hunter's allergies have been especially bad lately, and no one in the family can figure out why. Hunter knows; his sister Kerry is keeping a secret hidden in her closet, and when he takes Mary Anne in there to show her what it is, she gets a big surprise. Tigger is in there! When the Brunos get home, she tells them about the situation. Mary Anne thinks that Logan knew about Tigger all along, but didn't bother to tell her, so she runs off mad at him. They make up soon, and Logan blames his recent crankiness on some problems he's having on the baseball field.

Thoughts and Things

• Man...I can't believe how much this book annoyed me. I don't remember it being so ridiculous before! I mean, everyone is Stoneybrook pratically drops everything to find Tigger. Kristy's mom goes into her office...IN STAMFORD... ON A SATURDAY NIGHT...to copy the stupid fliers. Several BSC meetings are devoted to nothing but Tigger. Mary Anne makes everything all about her; she's mad that her dad isn't free to take a call from her in the middle of his work day, and even AFTER Dawn tells her about Logan's baseball problems, all she still thinks about is how his distance and bad attitude are affecting her. Good Lord, Mary Anne. You're supposed to be sensitive.
• I always thought Mary Anne looked good on this cover. The little girl in the pink sweatshirt, on the other hand....look at her eyes! They're crazy. You might have to get out your own copy and take a REALLY close look to get the full effect.
• Even though it was ridiculous for Mary Anne to expect her dad to drop everything to take a call about Tigger while he was in the middle of work, I have to hand it to her for actually trying to involve a parent. Logan, on the other hand, didn't want to call the police or tell any parents when they decided to ambush the kidnapper at Brenner Field. I think it would have served the kid right to have a police officer show up!
• Kerry doesn't really get in trouble for stealing Tigger. Instead, she gets some sort of light punishment (we don't really find out what) and is rewarded by getting a hair-free pet of her own, since she's proved that she's so responsible. Lesson NOT learned!