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Babysitting for Benjamin
By Valiska Gregory
Illustrated by Lynn Munsinger
The Story
When Frances and Ralph agree to babysit for Benjamin, they think they might get some company. Instead they get trouble. Try as they might to prepare for his visits, they are always caught by surprise when he bounds through the door yelling, "PLAY!"
Both children who are left with babysitters and those who tend younger siblings will enjoy this exuberant and funny story of one well-meaning couple's efforts to understand the needs of an energetic toddler.
Lynn Munsinger has illustrated many popular books for children including Hooway for Wodney Wat and One Hungry Monster.
The “real” Benjamin (named Sebastian) was only 5 months old when this photo was taken, but he grew to be 18 pounds!
The Story Behind the Story
I wrote Babysitting for Benjamin in part because one of the rules of civilized life at our house is that we always try to see things from someone else's point of view. Years ago when my daughter's l8 pound rabbit blissfully chewed through the vacuum cleaner cord, my children informed me that he was NOT Genghis Khan as I had indicated; he was just a rabbit and it was his job to chew things.
Then one day in the dentist's office, I watched a determined toddler cheerfully strewing magazines all over the waiting room. The woman sitting next to me leaned over and said in a loud whisper, "I'm glad that little mess maker doesn't live at my house, aren't you?" I'd been so fascinated with what the toddler was doing that I found myself defending him. I suggested that he was actually doing very important work. I explained, rather lamely, that he was practicing using his prehensile thumb. As we watched him drop one magazine after another, I told her that like a pocket scientist, he was also learning about the law of gravity. That incident, and the rabbit himself, provided the germ of the story.
The “real” Benjamin, named Sebastian, was as uncivilized as his counterpart in the story—until we all learned to see things from his point of view.