The Baby-sitters Club

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The Baby-sitters Club is a series of children's books, written by Ann M. Martin and published by Scholastic between 1986-2000, which sold over 175 million copies.

The series is about a group of middle school students living in the fictional town of Stoneybrook, Connecticut. They run a business called the Baby-sitters Club that helps parents find babysitters from the club available for jobs by calling during their club meetings. Meetings take place Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 5:30 to 6:00 p.m. The club runs financially on dues and fundraising, and the babysitters write diaries of their jobs to help each other. The members of the club are also best friends, although they go through many conflicts throughout the series.

The club starts out with four members (Kristy Thomas, Mary Anne Spier, Claudia Kishi, and Stacey McGill), eventually expanding to ten. All of the main characters are thirteen, with the exception of junior members Mallory Pike and Jessica Ramsey, who are two years younger. When the club was founded (in 1986), the four members were in the seventh grade, but ten books later (1988), they are promoted to the eighth grade. From there, they are frozen in time until the very end of the series (2000), in which they graduate from middle school.

The Baby-sitters Club series is currently out of print. However, it may be considered for reprinting in the future^{[citation needed]}.

Contents 1 Structure of the books 2 Main characters 2.1 Kristy Thomas 2.2 Claudia Kishi 2.3 Mary Anne Spier 2.4 Stacey McGill 2.5 Dawn Schafer 2.6 Mallory Pike 2.7 Jessi Ramsey 2.8 Logan Bruno 2.9 Shannon Kilbourne 2.10 Abby Stevenson 3 Stoneybrook 4 Books 4.1 Super Specials & Readers' Requests 4.2 Mysteries & Super Mysteries 4.3 Portrait Collections (1994-1997) 4.4 Baby-sitters Club: Friends Forever (1999-2000) 5 Spin-offs 5.1 Baby-Sitters Little Sister 5.2 The Kids in Ms. Coleman's Class 5.3 California Diaries 5.4 Graphic novels 6 TV show 7 Movie 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Structure of the books

With the exception of Super Specials and Super Mysteries, the books are written and narrated from one character's point of view. The books generally follow this format:

• Chapter 1: Introduction to self; Beginning of plot
• Chapter 2: Description of club and members
• Chapters 14-15: Conclusion

[edit] Main characters

[edit] Kristy Thomas

Kristin Amanda Thomas

• Club position: President, founder
• Appearance: Shoulder-length dark brown hair usually worn in pony-tail, brown eyes
• Favorite sitting charges: David Michael (brother); Karen, Andrew (step siblings), Emily Michelle (adopted sister); Jamie and Lucy Newton
• Birthday: August 20^{[citation needed]}
• On the BSC: "We're a great group. (I'm not bragging, I'm just being honest.) We're all different, but our differences work together to bring out the best in each of us... which, of course, helps make us good baby-sitters."

Kristy is known for her great ideas, as well as her bossiness and a big mouth that can occasionally get her into trouble. The idea for the Baby-sitters Club came to Kristy when her mother has having trouble finding a babysitter for her younger brother David Michael; as a solution, Kristy formed the club with herself, Claudia, Mary Anne, and Stacey as founding members. Something of a tomboy, Kristy is usually in her "uniform" of jeans and a t-shirt (in the winter, a turtleneck and, if needed, a sweater), sneakers, and sometimes a baseball cap, and she loves sports, she even coaching a softball team for little children, known as Kristy's Krushers, which includes many of the club's sitting charges.

When Kristy was six, her father walked out on her family, including her mother, Elizabeth, and three brothers, Charlie, Sam, and David Michael. Her mother later married Watson Brewer, a millionaire who resided on the up-scale end of Stoneybrook. Initially, Kristy loathed Watson, but gradually opened up, and accepted him. When Elizabeth and Watson married, the Thomases moved into his mansion, where they lived with Watson's two children from his previous marriage, Karen and Andrew Brewer. The family later adopts a two-year-old girl from Vietnam, whom they name Emily Michelle Brewer. Kristy's grandmother, Nannie moves in to help raise Emily Michelle and the rest of the family.

During the series, Kristy has little interest in boys and clothes but later finds herself attracted to Bart, a boy who also happens to coach a softball team, Bart's Bashers, in Stoneybrook. Later on, they break up due to the strong feelings Bart maintains for Kristy, which she is unable to reciprocate.

[edit] Claudia Kishi

Claudia Lynn Kishi

• Club position: Vice president
• Appearance: Long jet black hair, almond shaped brown eyes, creamy complexion
• Favorite sitting charges: Jamie and Lucy Newton; Myriah, Gabbie, and Laura Perkins
• Birthday: July 11^{[citation needed]}
• On the BSC: "One of the very nicest things about the Baby-Sitters Club is how it has made good friends out of all the members."

Claudia is Japanese-American and extremely creative in both her artistic endeavors and her funky and cool wardrobe. Both generally take up more of her attention than her schoolwork; she is particularly horrible at spelling. Her grades are so bad (with the exception of art), that she was briefly sent back to seventh grade. She stayed in the seventh grade until she brought up her grades, then she was allowed back into the eighth grade. Her parents are generally supportive of Claudia's artistic aspirations and creativity, despite her poor academic ability.

In constrast, Claudia comes from a scholarly, conservative family. Claudia's older sister Janine is a certified genius with an I.Q. of 196 and takes college courses even though she's only in high school and considered the hope of the Kishi family. Janine is generally "proper" and well-behaved, but she is caught lying to her parents in The Baby-sitters Club Mystery #6, The Mystery at Claudia's House. Claudia's parents are also very intelligent, often leaving Claudia to feel somewhat left out in the family due to her poor grades. Claudia has a grandmother named Mimi with whom she is very close, often feeling that Mimi is the only one in her family who really understands her. Mimi suffers a stroke in book #7,Claudia and Mean Janine and passes away not much longer in book #26, Claudia and the Sad Good-bye. Claudia likewise develops a close relationship with her mother's younger eccentric sister, nicknamed Peaches. Claudia later becomes the godmother of Peaches' daughter, named Lynn after Claudia.

Because Claudia is the only member with a private phone line, her room is the club’s official headquarters. Her room is stocked with junk food and Nancy Drew books, both which Claudia loves but keeps hidden because her parents disapprove. At each meeting, she offers candy to the BSC (Baby-sitters Club) and gets other snacks for Dawn and Stacey; since neither girl eats junk food. She nearly quit the BSC when she befriended an artistic student, Ashley Wyeth, who believed that Claudia should "devote her life to art" (book #12, Claudia and the New Girl) and also considered quitting the club in book #19, Claudia and the Bad Joke, when a prankster charge causes her to break her leg.

Claudia has known Kristy and Mary Anne since the three of them were babies; Kristy and Mary Anne lived next door to one another and across the street from Claudia until Kristy's mother remarried and her family moved in with her stepfather. Mary Anne's father later married Dawn's mother and Mary Anne moves away as well. Claudia finds a best friend in Stacey, another BSC club member. Though she has been friends with Kristy and Mary Anne since childhood, she felt that they were each other's best friends rather than hers. Both Claudia and Stacey share a common interest in fashion, though Stacey's style is considered more sophisticated to Claudia's artistically distinct.

[edit] Mary Anne Spier

Mary Anne Spier

• Club position: Secretary
• Appearance: Long brown hair worn in braided pigtails for the first 4 books (she cuts it short in Mary-Anne's Makeover), brown eyes, short for her age, wears reading glasses
• Favorite sitting charges: Myriah, Gabbie, and Laura Perkins; Jenny and Andrea Prezzioso
• Birthday: September 22^{[citation needed]}

Mary Anne is the BSC secretary due to her exceptional organization skills and neat handwriting. She and Kristy initially looked similar until Mary Anne cut her hair and began wearing a little makeup in book #60, Mary Anne's Makeover. She also vowed never to get her ears pierced due to being traumatized by almost having her ears pierced by a fellow camper at Camp Mohawk. Author Ann M. Martin said that she based the character of Mary Anne on herself.^[1] Mary Anne and Kristy have been best friends since childhood and lived next to one another until Kristy's mother remarries. During a brief falling out with the rest of the club early in the series, Mary Anne befriends Dawn Schafer and the girls become close friends to the extent that Mary Anne also considers Dawn her best friend. Mary Anne often lacks self-confidence; at her thirteenth birthday party, she was so shaken by the surprise and terrified at being the center of so much attention that she fled her party. Mary Anne has a gray striped cat named Tigger that is notably "catnapped" in book #25, Mary Anne and the Search for Tigger. He is later safely returned.

Known for her shyness, sensitivity, and good listening skills, Mary Anne was the first club member to have a steady boyfriend, Logan Bruno, who becomes an associate member of the club. They break up for a while in book #41 Mary Anne versus Logan but get back together later in the series. She gets in trouble over him in book #79 Mary Anne Breaks the Rules, when she invites Logan over during a sitting job and is caught. She and Logan break up permanently in Mary Anne's Big Breakup due to incompatible differences and Logan's possessiveness. Mary Anne is heartbroken.

Mary Anne's mother died when Mary Anne was still very little. Heartbroken and unsure of how to deal with a baby girl alone, her father, Richard, had her grandparents take care of Mary Anne. However, he missed Mary Anne terribly and had to go through legal loopholes to get Mary Anne back. As a result of having Mary Anne back under his care, Richard became very strict and kept careful watch over her. Up to the middle of seventh grade, she was required to wear pigtails, a sweater, and a corduroy skirt. She could only use the phone for ten minutes, and she wasn't allowed to trade lunches with Kristy or Claudia. All this changed when Mary Anne finally stood up to her father in book #4, Mary Anne Saves the Day. Richard lightened up but continued to remain firm on certain issues. When Richard got remarried to Sharon Schafer (his high school sweetheart and mother of Dawn), he finally realized that Mary Anne was growing up. He realized this when one of the BSC clients called their house and told Richard that Mary Anne saved their 3 year old daughter's life.

After Richard and Sharon marry, Mary Anne and her father move in with Dawn's family and their farmhouse home. The house and everything inside is later destroyed in a fire in BSC #131, The Fire at Mary Anne's House. She and her family moved back into the rebuilt house a year later.

[edit] Stacey McGill

Anastasia Elizabeth McGill (known as "Stacey")

• Club position: Treasurer
• Appearance: Honey-blond hair, sometimes permed, blue eyes, slender
• Birthday: April 3^{[citation needed]}
• Favorite sitting charge: Charlotte Johanssen (nicknames Charlotte as her "almost sister"), Henry and Grace Walker (in New York City, not BSC charges)

A native New Yorker, Stacey moved to Stoneybrook in the seventh grade when her father's company transferred him there. She quickly became friends with Claudia because of their love for fashion and boys. They are known to be the best dressers at Stoneybrook Middle School (Stacey is the more sophisticated dresser, while Claudia is more funky). Stacey dots her I's with hearts. One of her most notable traits is that Stacey has diabetes, and has been hospitalized several times as a result. She discovered this when she wets the bed at a slumber party at her friend Laine Cumming's house. Stacey's position as the club's treasurer is because she is gifted in math and science, has a logical mind and is in the SMS Mathlete Club.

The McGills move back to New York City in book #13: Goodbye, Stacey, Goodbye because Mr. McGill's company transfers him again. Stacey becomes an honorary member of the BSC, and misses Stoneybrook as well as the many boys she left behind, especially since she has trouble dating in a big city like New York. Her parents fight and finally divorce in book #28 Welcome Back, Stacey!, and Stacey is stuck with the choice of whether to move back to Stoneybrook with her mom or stay in New York City with her father. She decides to move back to Stoneybrook with her mom, to much happiness of the other BSC members. When she returns she is greeted with a "Welcome Home Party" which many of her favorite charges attended.

Stacey dates several, often older, boys throughout the series, including Robert, a boy on the Stoneybrook Middle School basketball team, in book #70 Stacey and the Cheerleaders. They later break up after Robert begins seeing a girl named Andi Gentile behind Stacey's back. She also briefly dates Kristy's fifteen year old brother, Sam.

[edit] Dawn Schafer

Dawn Read Schafer

• Club position: Honorary Member, previous Alternate Officer
• Appearance: Light blond hair, blue eyes.
• Birthday: February 5^{[citation needed]}
• Favorite sitting charges: Buddy, Suzi and Marnie Barrett; Nina and Eleanor Marshall

Dawn originally lived in Palo City, California, a suburb of Anaheim, with her family, until her parents' divorce moved Dawn and her younger brother Jeff across the country to Stoneybrook, CT, where her mother, Sharon, grew up. Jeff had a lot of trouble adjusting to the move (although he did make and stay friends with the Pike triplets throughout the series) and soon returned to California to live with their father and stepmother, Carol. Dawn joins Stoneybrook Middle School in the middle of the seventh grade, when the BSC members were having a fight. She met Mary Anne and they instantly bonded. Kristy, as Mary Anne's best friend, is initially jealous, but gets over it and invites Dawn to become the fifth member of the club once the fight between the club members end.

Dawn is an environmentalist, which causes problems in the club in book #57, Dawn Saves the Planet. Dawn is mostly a vegetarian, although she eats fish, and on rare occasion, eats non-red meat. She mainly eats healthy food, and is a strong opponent of guns and violence. She hardly ever takes the candy Claudia offers. Dawn loves ghost stories, and enjoys taping movies from television. She has her own unique style which the club nicknames California Casual because of the very western desert clothing she often wears and has several piercings in her ears.

Dawn's mother, Sharon, was Mary Anne's father Richard's girlfriend in high school, which they found out in book #4, Mary Anne Saves The Day. They later married (in book #30, Mary Anne and the Great Romance) and lived in a farmhouse on Burnt Hill Road. Tension briefly develops between Dawn and Mary Anne, since they become stepsisters and live in the same house, though it is soon resolved. Later into the series, she decides to return to California for six months because she feels homesick for her dad and brother Jeff. The move is eventually permanent and Dawn becomes an honorary member of the club; she does often visit Stoneybrook, however and remains an important part of the books throughout the series. Dawn's life after she moves back to California is detailed in the California Diaries' series written by Ann M. Martin.

[edit] Mallory Pike

• Club position: Junior Member, Honorary Member #69-74 & 126-end
• Appearance: Curly reddish brown hair, wears clear braces and glasses.
• Birthday: May 2^{[citation needed]}
• Favorite sitting charge: Her 7 brothers and sisters; James, Mathew, and Johnny Hobart (until book #59), when she realized they weren't "angels" as she said to her boyfriend Ben, their brother

At eleven, Mallory is the oldest of eight children: Claire, age 5; Margo, age 7; Nicholas "Nicky," age 8; Vanessa, age 9; and the identical triplets, Adam, Byron, and Jordan, age 10. They all have distinct personalities and problems. Mallory often refers to them as "stair step children" because they are all one after another in ages. For example, Claire is known for her silliness (her mantra is 'silly-billy-goo-goo'), Vanessa is an aspiring poet who will often speak in rhyme (which her sisters and brothers find annoying), Nicky wants to fit in more with the triplets, who often refuse to play with him, and Margo is on a "bossy" stage and throws up easily. The Pike family is one of the Baby-Sitters Club’s most frequent clients, because of all the children. Mallory is very close with her sister Vanessa. Her family owns a hamster named Frodo, named after Frodo Baggins from the The Lord of the Rings^{[citation needed]}. They used to have a cat, mentioned by Mary Anne in Kristy's Great Idea.

When Stacey moves back to New York, the club considers Mallory as a potential replacement, though they are initially reluctant to let Mallory in to the club, and force her to undergo various difficult tests beforehand. She eventually becomes a junior member, which is due to the restrictions such as curfew and supervision during sitting jobs. Mallory plans to become a writer and illustrator of children’s books and is often insecure about her appearance. She loves reading horse stories, especially those by Marguerite Henry. Mallory dated Ben Hobart for a while, but their relationship didn't last too long.

Mallory briefly taken out of the club by her parents when she gets sick with mononucleosis and is kept her home from school, fearing she has been meeting up with boys instead of attending club meetings. However she returns later in the series. After having a hard time at Stoneybrook Middle School with being teased by older students, Mallory decides to go away to a Massachusetts boarding school named Riverbend in book #126, The All-New Mallory Pike. She becomes an honorary member, a title she also held when she couldn't attend meetings or babysit because she was sick with mononucleosis.

[edit] Jessi Ramsey

Jessica Davis Ramsey (known as "Jessi")

• Club position: Junior member
• Appearance: curly black hair, brown eyes, long eyelashes, tall and slender. Wears glasses for reading.
• Birthday: June 30^{[citation needed]}
• Favorite sitting charge: Her brother and sister: Becca and Squirt; Haley and Matt Braddock

Jessi, an African-American, moved to Stoneybrook from Oakely, New Jersey at the beginning of the sixth grade, coincidentally into Stacey's old house. She has an eight-year-old sister called Rebecca or "Becca," and a baby brother named John Phillip Ramsey Jr., better known as "Squirt." When Jessi and her family first moved to Stoneybrook, many people were racist toward them because they were black, but this improved toward the end of the first book featuring Jessi. In book #36 Jessi's Babysitter Jessi's Aunt Cecelia moves in to Jessi's house. Jessi calls her "Aunt Dictator" and at first hates her, but at the end of the book they become friends and she is part of the family for the rest of the series.

Jessi is incredibly talented at ballet, and when she grows up she wants to become a professional ballet dancer. She has been doing ballet since she was four, and was admitted into a special ballet school in Stamford. She has had the lead role in several productions at that school. In Jessi's Big Break, she had an opportunity to join the Dance New York programme and study ballet under David Brailsford for 3 1/2 weeks. Toward the end of the story, she was also given a chance to join the Dance New York programme full time, but she decided to accept it when she was a little older.

Like her best friend, Mallory, Jessi loves reading, especially horse stories, and feels her parents treat her like a baby. However, they did allow her to pierce her ears.

[edit] Logan Bruno

• Club position: Associate member

Logan moved from Louisville, Kentucky before eighth grade. He participates in many sports, including baseball and track, and works as a busboy at the Rosebud Café. He was Mary Anne's steady boyfriend for a while. In addition he was an associate member of the club (a member who does not come to meetings, but takes jobs when no regular member is available.) Logan lives with his mother Euphorina, father Lyman, sister Kerry, and brother Hunter.

When Mary Anne first set her eyes on Logan she was convinced that he resembled Cam Geary, her favorite celebrity. He is admired by Cokie Mason, who goes on several dates with Logan during a brief time where Mary Anne and Logan are broken up. Logan's address in the book series is 689 Burnt Hill Road, Stoneybrook, CT 068000. Fans requested two books about Logan^{[citation needed]}.

In Everything Changes, Logan is the first among the four members to drop out of the club.

[edit] Shannon Kilbourne

Shannon Louisa Kilbourne

• Appearance: Wavy dark blond hair, piercing blue eyes, high cheekbones
• Club position: Associate member, Alternate Officer #68-81

Shannon is an overachiever who is involved in many extracurricular activities, and is the only member who doesn't attend Stoneybrook Middle School; she instead goes to Stoneybrook Day School, a private school. She has two sisters, Tiffany and Maria, and is Kristy's first friend in her new neighborhood, although the two did not initially get along (They play many cruel tricks on each other). After the death of Kristy's beloved collie Louie, Shannon gave Kristy one of her dog Astrid’s puppies, which Kristy's brother David Michael named after Shannon.

[edit] Abby Stevenson

Abigail Avigail Stevenson (known as "Abby")

• Club position: Alternate Officer: #90-98, #100-end; President: #99
• Appearance: Long, curly brown hair, brown eyes
• Birthday: October 15^{[citation needed]}
• Favorite sitting charge: Lou McNally (in book 116)

Shortly after Dawn moves back to California to live with her father, Abby moves to Stoneybrook from Long Island with her mother and Anna (who turns down the invitation to join the club in the same book). Her father died in a car accident when she was nine years old, which was part of the jeson for the move. Abby still misses him greatly, and does not like to talk about him. Abby and her family move into house on McLelland Road and spend the first night in the neighborhood sleeping over at Kristy's house due to some problems.

She has a wild sense of humor, which often makes the BSC's other members laugh really hard. She is a practicing Jew and suffers from asthma and allergies to kitty litter, animal hair, milk, tomatoes, and shellfish, among other things. She jokes that "life makes her sneeze". Despite looking alike, in constrast, Anna is reserved and quiet compared to her messy and outgoing sister and tends to be in relatively good health, though she ends up having scoliosis, which they find out in book #104 Abby's Twin. Anna is also a talented violinist, which is the primary reason why she chooses not to join the club.

Kristy's first impression of Abby was that she was odd and didn't like her very much. Later on in the book, Kristy and the Dirty Diapers she accepts her and adds her as a member, along as co-captain of Kristy's Krushers. Abby's love for sports (especially soccer) and her bold, upfront personality is her trademark. She clashes sometimes with the equally bold Kristy, who has similar personality traits. She's one of the only members who doesn't want to date a boy. She was accused of cheating in a math test in book #96 Abby's Lucky Thirteen, when she and her sister Anna were also preparing for their Bat Mitzvah. Abby loves Elvis Presley, and in Super Special #14 BSC in the USA, chooses Memphis as the place she'd like to go. She also enjoys Aretha Franklin.

[edit] Stoneybrook

Stoneybrook is a fictional small, old-fashioned town in the state of Connecticut in The Baby-Sitters Club series. It is the hometown of many of the characters and the Baby-sitters Little Sister series as well.

The town is assumed to be near Stamford, Connecticut. Several adults in the town commute to Stamford, and Jessi Ramsey takes her ballet classes there. They also often go shopping there.

Early in the series, new BSC clients move to town, such as Ben, James, Mathew, and Johnny Hobart, Buddy, Suzi, and Marnie Barrett, and Myriah, Gabbie, and Laura Perkins.

Stoneybrook's public schools include Stoneybrook Elementary, Stoneybrook Middle School, and Stoneybrook High. Private schools include Stoneybrook Academy (which Karen Brewer and several other charges attended) and Stoneybrook Day School (where Karen's neighbor Amanda and Max Delaney and associate member Shannon Kilbourne attended school).

Karen Brewer's father and Kristy Thomas' stepfather Watson Brewer owns a mansion in an upscale subdivision of Stoneybrook. The families of Hannie Papadakis, Amanda and Max Delaney, and Shannon Kilbourne, among others, also live there.

Karen Brewer's mother and stepfather Seth reside in a regular middle-class neighborhood, of which the family of Nancy Dawes also resides in. The majority of the members of the Babysitter's Club also live in a middle-class neighbourhood. Mallory and Stacey live behind each other (their backyards touch). Bradford Court, where Claudia lives (and at the beginning of the series, Mary Anne and Kristy too) is within walking distance of almost all of their houses and within SMS (Stoney Brook Middle School). Mary Anne and Dawn live on Burnt Hill Road^{[citation needed]}.

Others have moved away. Corrie Addison and her ten-year -old brother Sean used to live in Stoneybrook. They now live in Seattle^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Books

• Main article: List of The Baby-sitters Club books

[edit] Super Specials & Readers' Requests

• Super Specials: Super Specials were an extended version of the regular series, with several members of the BSC (plus at times, their friends and/or sitting charges) narrating (chapter-by-chapter changes of narrators). Super Specials centered on a larger-scale plot, usually with at least three subplots. For example, in #7: Snowbound, some members of the BSC are baby-sitting when a snowstorm hits Stoneybrook and the larger area, and the others are spread out. Dawn is stuck at the airport waiting for Jeff with her mother, and Kristy is stuck at home with Bart. The members narrate their experiences and usually, the next chapter would bring on an entirely different plot or an extension of the previous chapter, only with a different narrator.

• Readers' Requests: Those were special books featuring associate members Logan and Shannon, and their personal lives away from the BSC.

[edit] Mysteries & Super Mysteries

• Mysteries: These resemble the style of the regular books (single narrator), only the plot of the book mainly focuses on solving a mystery, with a small subplot.

• Super Mysteries: those resembled the style of Super Specials (multiple narrators), only the plot of the book was mainly focused on solving a mystery (or two), with a few small subplots.

[edit] Portrait Collections (1994-1997)

• Portrait Collections: These are autobiographies of the BSC members (Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, Stacey, Dawn, and Abby). Mallory and Jessi were not included because the autobiographies were an 8th grade project only.

[edit] Baby-sitters Club: Friends Forever (1999-2000)

• Baby-sitters Club Friends Forever: These books are an extension of the original series, which focused more on the original four members (Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, and Stacey). They were set following the fire at Mary Anne's house, which drastically impacted the lives of the BSC members, and concluded with a final Super Special detailing the girls' graduation from Stoneybrook Middle School. The series contained twelve novels and two Super Specials, and was considered a spin-off.

[edit] Spin-offs

[edit] Baby-Sitters Little Sister

The Baby-Sitters Little Sister series centered on Karen, the 7-year-old stepsister of Baby-Sitters Club president Kristy, and was geared towards younger readers. One hundred and twenty-two Little Sister books and six Little Sister Super Special books were published. The series ran from 1988 to 2000.

[edit] The Kids in Ms. Coleman's Class

The Kids in Ms. Coleman's Class series was a spin-off of the Baby-Sitters Little Sister series and covered Karen's second-grade classmates at Stoneybrook Academy, and their adventures in Ms. Coleman's classroom. Twelve of these were published. The series ran from 1995 to 1998. The titles are ''Teacher's Pet, Author Day, Class Play, Second Grade Baby, The Snow War, Twin Trouble, Science Fair, Summer School, Halloween Parade, Holiday Time, Spelling Bee, and Baby Animal Zoo.

[edit] California Diaries

The California Diaries series centered on Dawn and her friends after her return to California, and targeted a slightly older audience, with a darker feel. Fifteen books were published focusing on the characters of Dawn, Ducky, Amalia, Maggie, and Sunny. Subjects dealt with ranged from anorexia to racism, along with the girls' personal problems and family disputes.

[edit] Graphic novels

In 2006, Graphix, a division of Scholastic, released a graphic novel version of the first Baby-Sitter's Club book, Kristy's Great Idea. The novel is a contemporary yet faithful adaptation illustrated by Raina Telgemeier, an Eisner Award-nominated cartoonist. The series continued with the release of The Truth About Stacey and Mary Anne Saves the Day, and concluded with Claudia and Mean Janine. Currently, no other graphic novels in the series are set to be published. Kristy's Great Idea was the first title published by Graphix.

[edit] TV show

• Main article at The Baby-Sitters Club (TV series)

In 1990, The Baby-sitters Club spawned a 13-episode TV series, which aired at various times on HBO, Disney Channel, and Nickelodeon, and was later released to video.

[edit] Movie

• Main article at The Baby-Sitters Club (film)

A movie based on the Baby-Sitters Club books was released in 1995 which starred Schuyler Fisk, Rachael Leigh Cook, Larisa Oleynik, Bre Blair, Tricia Joe, Zelda Harris, and Stacy Linn Ramsower.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Scholastic site