Jessi's Secret Language
- Downloads：5469
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-07-22 08:51:26
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Ann M. Martin
- ISBN：1338755463
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
America's favorite series returns with a new look and a Netflix tv show。
Jessi knows a secret language！ She learned it from Matt Braddock， the BSC's newest charge。 Matt's been deaf since birth， and he uses sign language to speak。 Since Jessi is Matt's baby-sitter， she's been using sign language， too。
Soon all the kids in Stoneybrook want to learn to sign 。 。 。 which keeps the Baby-sitters busy。 Jessi's the busiest of all: she working on another secret just for Matt。 Will she be able to keep the secret and pull off her special event？
Jessi knows a secret language！ She learned it from Matt Braddock， the BSC's newest charge。 Matt's been deaf since birth， and he uses sign language to speak。 Since Jessi is Matt's baby-sitter， she's been using sign language， too。
Soon all the kids in Stoneybrook want to learn to sign 。 。 。 which keeps the Baby-sitters busy。 Jessi's the busiest of all: she working on another secret just for Matt。 Will she be able to keep the secret and pull off her special event？
Reviews
Brandi Jones
，
Cute book。 Not 100% believable （everything came together a little too easily） but still a sweet story nonetheless。
Arianna （AriaTheBookaholic）
，
Puedo decir que es mi favorito de la saga。
Alicia
，
This was always one of my favorites from the series。 ❤️
Kristi Clemow
，
Very good story - I think Jessi and Mallory are my favorites
Bada
，
Go for it！！！
Zazie
，
By the end of this story， I was sick of it。 The beginning started fine but then it just got worse。 I'm sorry。 I'm still planning to read the rest of the series， though。 I recommend it。 By the end of this story， I was sick of it。 The beginning started fine but then it just got worse。 I'm sorry。 I'm still planning to read the rest of the series， though。 I recommend it。 。。。more
Pía
，
Me gustó bastanteee， creo que es uno de mis favoritos hasta el momento。
Leanne
，
One of my favourite BSC's， and very interesting to revisit a book about another language （ASL） while reading another language （French）。 Jessi's a great character， I love her confidence -- she's up there with Dawn and Kristy as one of my favourite BSC girls。 One of my favourite BSC's， and very interesting to revisit a book about another language （ASL） while reading another language （French）。 Jessi's a great character， I love her confidence -- she's up there with Dawn and Kristy as one of my favourite BSC girls。 。。。more
Irati Egaña
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Este libro habla sobre los niños sordos y lo desplazados que se pueden sentir。 Me ha encantado
Gina
，
Great book about American Sign Language。 I would double check the terms used in this book because it might be outdated or offensive。
Alison
，
I think this is probably my favorite of the series so far， and I remember loving it as a kid， as well。 I appreciate Martin for discussing what it's like for Jessi and her family as one of very few Black families in Stoneybrook， and how not everyone has been welcoming to them and the discomfort that causes。 This book had a much more focused plot than most of the others， and even the couple of side-story babysitting jobs from other sitters still tied into it。 I'm not deaf so I can't speak to how w I think this is probably my favorite of the series so far， and I remember loving it as a kid， as well。 I appreciate Martin for discussing what it's like for Jessi and her family as one of very few Black families in Stoneybrook， and how not everyone has been welcoming to them and the discomfort that causes。 This book had a much more focused plot than most of the others， and even the couple of side-story babysitting jobs from other sitters still tied into it。 I'm not deaf so I can't speak to how well that was represented here， but it did feel respectful and I liked that while at first， some of the neighbor kids weren't polite to Matt， Jessi's new deaf babysitting charge， they were brought around to understanding him and it was cool to see all the kids get excited about learning sign language。 I liked Jessi's idea to bring Matt and his classmates to her ballet recital， too， pointing out that even though some of them wouldn't be able to hear any of the music， and others would only hear it a little， ballet is specifically a story told without words， so it's something that they could still enjoy as much as anyone else。 That kind of inclusion is so important for kids who are marked as "different" and who might feel left out of things other kids get to do。 Obviously， this book is fairly surface-level when it comes to issues of racism and marginalization， but for the time it was written， it was forward-thinking， and I think it's one that young kids could still really benefit from reading。 And I appreciated what a tighter story line it had and that we stayed with Jessi for most of the book。 。。。more
Lianna Kendig
，
（LL）This book does an amazing job tackling: acceptance， inclusion， and American Sign Language/life with a deaf child。
Sayo
，
As a kid my best friends sister had the whole BSC series on a book shelf in her room。 I thought she was so grown up。 And I envied this bookshelf。 And would often poke my head into that room just to look at it。And when I read BSC， I felt like such a grown up。And while I might have still been a little too young to understand some of the issues dealt with in these books， I do appreciated that Ann M。 Martin tackled age appropriate issues， some being deeper than others， but still important
Jenna Vahue
，
This was my first Jessi Babysitters Club book and it was so lovely。 She's a junior member of the club and I remember her being introduced in Hello Mallory！ She's a young Black girl and expresses very gently the racism her family experiences in the predominantly white town of Stoneybrook， CT。 I thought it was a very progressive and brave thing to feature in a children's series in the 80's。 Way to go， AMM （and her ghost-writing team）。 Jessi was a very sweet girl who just loves to dance。 This book This was my first Jessi Babysitters Club book and it was so lovely。 She's a junior member of the club and I remember her being introduced in Hello Mallory！ She's a young Black girl and expresses very gently the racism her family experiences in the predominantly white town of Stoneybrook， CT。 I thought it was a very progressive and brave thing to feature in a children's series in the 80's。 Way to go， AMM （and her ghost-writing team）。 Jessi was a very sweet girl who just loves to dance。 This book featured one of her recitals where Jessi gets the lead in the production at the same time where she babysits a Deaf boy and his Hearing sister。 I took three years of American Sign Language in high school and ASL is such a soft spot for me。 It was wonderful to see it portrayed in the book like the descriptions of signs， the oralism vs。 manual signing discussion， and difficulties the sister experienced with her brother's disability。 The way Jessi wanted to learn more about this family and include him in the neighborhood was so sweet。 The ending almost had me in tears and just shows the importance of kindness and how inclusion is vital to this world。 I'm excited for more Jessi books in my future reading！Thank you！ 。。。more
Christina
，
Read my recap at A Year with the BSC via Stoneybrook Forever: https://www。livethemovies。com/bsc-blo。。。 Read my recap at A Year with the BSC via Stoneybrook Forever: https://www。livethemovies。com/bsc-blo。。。 。。。more
Ryceejo
，
I LOVE sign language。 I wish I knew it， but I love the connections I make with the deaf and hearing impaired when I’m able to learn signs。 Not sure how I feel about the fact that Jessi， the youngest babysitter， has the most mature voice of all of them。 That goes for Mallory too。 The junior BSC members are the most level-headed of all。
Jessica
，
I have always heard about this series and never read it。 This book is okay。 The beginning was was not the most exciting because it kept introducing so many characters all at once and they were not too relevant to the plot of this specific part of the series。 It felt like the writer had so many ideas for protaganists and made sure we knew every one。 I guess that is to introduce the book as part of the series， but it was really dragging on。 The book moves better after the babysitting actually star I have always heard about this series and never read it。 This book is okay。 The beginning was was not the most exciting because it kept introducing so many characters all at once and they were not too relevant to the plot of this specific part of the series。 It felt like the writer had so many ideas for protaganists and made sure we knew every one。 I guess that is to introduce the book as part of the series， but it was really dragging on。 The book moves better after the babysitting actually starts after 30 or so pages。On the story， there are parts that could be better， and it was culturally insensitive at some parts but overall， it is an easy book to digest and shows kids different ways on how to embrace their differences and how to find acceptance。 I like how they were able to apply the methods one babysitter uses to another sucessfully even though all the kids are different。 On style， I am not a big fan of using parantheses as to show the narrator's thoughts。 If the book is in first person， everything in the book is the person's thoughts。 However， I do like how the writer defined things that might not be so obvious to a novice reader。 I am planning on giving this book to a young reader， and I think she will be happy reading it。 。。。more
sarah
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this was probably pretty progressive for the 80’s but it’s a little eh today。 the way they talk about the Deaf characters and community isn’t always the best and also it was uhhhhhhh more than a little gross how they made sure to mention numerous times how Jessi has to watch what she eats when she’s dancing in a show because ballerinas have to be “slender” or whatever， like a: she’s 11 and b: the audience is also like 11 and I’m guessing more than one little kid took that to heart in a bad way。
Leigh
，
I'm surprised I didn't remember more about this book， as it relates a lot to me。 I was nearly fluent in ASL and am hard of hearing I thought it would've hit me harder。 I only really recalled the ballet Coppelia from when I read this year's ago。 As I said it should've resonated more with me but it didn't。 I found it suspicious that Jessi picked up ASL so quickly， but maybe because she was baby sitting Matt who could only communicate that way she picked it up faster。 Or she was one of those who ju I'm surprised I didn't remember more about this book， as it relates a lot to me。 I was nearly fluent in ASL and am hard of hearing I thought it would've hit me harder。 I only really recalled the ballet Coppelia from when I read this year's ago。 As I said it should've resonated more with me but it didn't。 I found it suspicious that Jessi picked up ASL so quickly， but maybe because she was baby sitting Matt who could only communicate that way she picked it up faster。 Or she was one of those who just learns quickly， or maybe I'm just a slow learner。 Anyway Jessi is hired for a regular job taking care of Matt and his sister Haley。 Matt is deaf but communicates using sign language。 Also she is auditioning for her ballet school's production of Coppelia。 She hopes for any small role but instead score the lead。 The other dancers are jealous until it's revealed that one of the mean ones has a sister who is also deaf， that and Jessi is a great dancer who proves she earned her spot。 As always there's other things going on， sociopath and future serial killer Karen tries to sign a ghost story and fails miserably at it。 The other girls pick up some of the sign language and teach others as well， but it wasn't my favourite book in the series and I don't remember much about it even after just having listened to it。 My one gripe about the audio books is why do Mallory and Jessi the two youngest members have narrators who sound so much older than the other narrators？ 。。。more
Jamie （TheRebelliousReader）
，
4 stars。 Jessi’s first book as the main character and it was absolutely delightful。 Jessi is one of my favorite characters in the series。 She is such a likable character and I love how care free she is。 I applaud Martin for her efforts of trying to talk about prejudices against black people but it is extremely misguided and she ends up making some ridiculous comparisons。 She’s a white woman so honestly she did the best that she could especially at the time of this novel’s release。 A for effort I 4 stars。 Jessi’s first book as the main character and it was absolutely delightful。 Jessi is one of my favorite characters in the series。 She is such a likable character and I love how care free she is。 I applaud Martin for her efforts of trying to talk about prejudices against black people but it is extremely misguided and she ends up making some ridiculous comparisons。 She’s a white woman so honestly she did the best that she could especially at the time of this novel’s release。 A for effort I guess。I loved the disability rep。 Jessi sits for a little boy， Matt， who is deaf and she learns sign language and teaches it to other children to help them communicate with Matt better and it was beautiful to see。 I loved that the other sitters and children were so enthused about learning sign language。 This was a really fun read and there was so much to love about it。{Challenges completed:✔The Lost Challenges: The Best Snack Food From Every State Challenge （Book 51 out of 100）✔For Love of a Book: Hunt the Serial Killer Challenge✔For Love of a Book: Seinfeld Challenge} 。。。more
Scott
，
And It Opened Up My Eyes， I Saw the SignI am looking at my calendar and realizing that with the exception of one day， it has been nearly 5 weeks since I have read a page from any book。 The exception was when I read all of Perfume: The Story of a Murderer in one sitting， which required an iron will。 But other than that: nothing。 Like not even a comic book。 What the hell？？？When I first read Jessi’s Secret Language back in early April， I thought it was weak。 Bereft of conflict， it tells a milqu And It Opened Up My Eyes， I Saw the SignI am looking at my calendar and realizing that with the exception of one day， it has been nearly 5 weeks since I have read a page from any book。 The exception was when I read all of Perfume: The Story of a Murderer in one sitting， which required an iron will。 But other than that: nothing。 Like not even a comic book。 What the hell？？？When I first read Jessi’s Secret Language back in early April， I thought it was weak。 Bereft of conflict， it tells a milquetoast story about Jessi learning sign language for the benefit of a new babysitting charge who is hearing impaired。 All the neighborhood kids get excited about it and start learning sign language too so that little， ostracized Matt can fit in。 It’s all very sweet and heart-warming and dull。 It probably got some young girls to join their local sign language clubs， so no complaints there， but surely this could have been accomplished with a higher-quality story and not this yawnfest after-school special。But the more I reflect， the more I realize there is a connection here to some of the psychological effects of stay-at-home and my reading drought。Jessi is passionate about two things in this book: learning sign language and dancing。 （In the B-plot， Jessi is cast as the lead in her studio’s ballet performance。） Dance has always been the center of Jessi’s attention。 She does it because she has an intense personal love for and drive to succeed in it。 Tellingly， Jessi’s social life is separate from her dancing。 Other kids might make their studio their primary social outlet or even participate in dance strictly because they like their dance friends， but Jessi always comes home to Mallory， the Baby-sitters， and her family。 The dancing is the only point。Sign language is rather the opposite。 Although Jessi has an inclination towards learning languages and a degree of personal interest， the motor propelling that boat is how it allow’s Jessi to form a social connection with Matt and help others to do the same。 If Matt left the picture， it’s hard to say whether Jessi would continue studying sign language unless some other obvious reason presented itself。I’ve always considered my reading to be an interest like Jessi’s dance: self-motivating and driven by a passion for the act itself – even when all I’m reading is drecky 70s erotica and children’s books。 I also thought it was something I did to relax and escape。I was wrong on both counts。I’ve been attributing my inability to focus on a book （or to even try） to the exhaustion of being isolated and losing most of my social and professional outlets， and to the fact that the world just sucks in general。 If reading a book is such an escape， shouldn’t I be doing it even more？ I’ve certainly played a lot of 100-hour video games and watched a lot of TV series I’ve already seen before。It turns out， reading isn’t something I do to relax。 It’s something I do when I’m already relaxed。 When I’m reading a book – even a stupid one – I can’t shut off my brain。 When I’m reading interacts with the thoughts in my head in a way that watching Buffy for the 1，000th time doesn’t。 If those thoughts are about how people willfully ignore how science works or how this weekend opportunists burned down an iconic Chicago camera store and undermined the most important protests of my lifetime， then no amount of Dark Brotherhood vampire romance melodrama will push that aside… unless it’s on a screen for some reason。This has also taught me how social my reading is。 Even the act of it。 I used to get my best reading done in public – at a park or coffee shop or quiet bar。 I didn’t realize how often I went out specifically to read somewhere until I wasn’t going out at all anymore。 Also my book club went on hiatus for a while。 I lost the small social interactions at work where we’d discuss books or scan the staff holds shelf to spy on what our coworkers were requesting from our libraries。 I also have 6 Gail Carriger books on loan to various friends because I am forcing everyone to enjoy her like I do， but it’s been 3 months since any of that happened。 I miss bragging about how fun those are。For years now， it’s been trendy for unoriginal internet comedians to joke about fake social anxiety and staying home on weekends and eating 2 whole pizzas by yourself。 It used to annoy me because I was unoriginal about that stuff before it was cool。 Everyone likes to sit on the couch， Brenda！ In my real reality， quarantine has felt like a genuinely good experience in a lot of ways。 I like being alone， and I don’t mind every day being the same。 But my failure to read a book for over a month is， I think， more sinister than it seems。So I’m going to deal with it somehow。 I dunno how。 I do know that the world will start getting better， which will help。 The library I volunteer at is opening next week， so my Saturday mornings will be spent getting back in touch with that。 We have three book club meetings scheduled for this month。 But most importantly， understanding your habits is the only way to take control of them and re-prioritize。 So I’d like to thank Jessi and this mediocre novel for being the slow， time-release catalyst I needed。*************************************Homework: Don't let it get to you。<< #15: Little Miss Stoneybrook。。。 and Dawn#17: Mary Anne's Bad-Luck Mystery >> 。。。more
Nicki
，
childhood reread。 there were quite a few yikes moments reading this as an adult， but it WAS written by a white hearing woman in 1988 sooooooo。 yikes。 I really liked this one as a kid。 Jessi was one of my faves， I thought her family was adorable and her friendship with Mallory was so cute。 I took dance classes when I was little and had read a Sweet Valley Twins book where they also did Coppelia at their studio and was obsessed so this was another plus。 ALSO ALSO I had the super old Ursula Nordstr childhood reread。 there were quite a few yikes moments reading this as an adult， but it WAS written by a white hearing woman in 1988 sooooooo。 yikes。 I really liked this one as a kid。 Jessi was one of my faves， I thought her family was adorable and her friendship with Mallory was so cute。 I took dance classes when I was little and had read a Sweet Valley Twins book where they also did Coppelia at their studio and was obsessed so this was another plus。 ALSO ALSO I had the super old Ursula Nordstrom book this one's title was based on and was forever making up my own language with my friends and trying to get it to catch on。 ANYWAY WE'RE IN AN APOCALYPSE COMFORT READING TO COPE ETC 。。。more
Tina
，
This is the 16th book in the Baby-Sitters Club series。 I read most of the Baby-Sitters Club books when I was in Middle and high school， and I am now rereading them。 This one I did not read when I was younger， and I am glad to finally reading it。 I have three special needs kids， and my twin boys where non-verbal until this year （They are 6 years old now）。 So， As you can guess sign language is a big part of our live。 One of my twin still only has about 20 words， He as CP and talking is very hard f This is the 16th book in the Baby-Sitters Club series。 I read most of the Baby-Sitters Club books when I was in Middle and high school， and I am now rereading them。 This one I did not read when I was younger， and I am glad to finally reading it。 I have three special needs kids， and my twin boys where non-verbal until this year （They are 6 years old now）。 So， As you can guess sign language is a big part of our live。 One of my twin still only has about 20 words， He as CP and talking is very hard for him。 I love them a middle grade book talk about the different ways people are different。 I listen to this book audiobook。 。。。more
★Lucy ★
，
Otro de mis favoritos en esta serie :）
Katy Lovejoy
，
Babysitters club books are awesome and this is the best！
Vy
，
Full review coming soon
Julie
，
Best book of the series so far！
Emma Rose Ribbons
，
Jessi babysits sibilings， one of whom is a deaf boy and she's got to learn ASL to watch him。 This is a great book in the Baby-Sitters Club series even though Jessi learns ASL in an unrealistic amount of time。 I loved seeing the group again， they're all wonderful and I've missed them。 Jessi babysits sibilings， one of whom is a deaf boy and she's got to learn ASL to watch him。 This is a great book in the Baby-Sitters Club series even though Jessi learns ASL in an unrealistic amount of time。 I loved seeing the group again， they're all wonderful and I've missed them。 。。。more
Gina
，
This was a really good book。 I like the way that disability is brought into the story。
Devon
，
I'm gonna be real。。。I didn't really read many of the Jessi or Mallory books as a child because I thought they were baby-ish （even though they were older than me）， but Jessi is twice as mature as the other BSC members on most occasions so I don't understand why I thought that。 This book is interesting mostly for Jessi's voice/narration， although there's a little less of the other babysitters （that said， it's Jessi's first book， so that's expected）。 I'm gonna be real。。。I didn't really read many of the Jessi or Mallory books as a child because I thought they were baby-ish （even though they were older than me）， but Jessi is twice as mature as the other BSC members on most occasions so I don't understand why I thought that。 This book is interesting mostly for Jessi's voice/narration， although there's a little less of the other babysitters （that said， it's Jessi's first book， so that's expected）。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Jessi's Secret Language
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Jessi's Secret Language&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft