The Baby-Sitters Club

'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. Many of the books were ghostwritten, including 43 by Peter Lerangis [1]. However, Ann Martin wrote the first 35 books [2].

This 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, in which parents call during their club meetings (which take place Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 5:30-6:00 p.m.) and schedule a babysitter for a certain day/time. 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 Jessi 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.

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: Explanation of the BSC; General information on the other members
Chapter 3-4; 6-7; 10-12: Continuation of the main plot
Chapters 5, 9, & 13: Sitting experiences of members

Titles

Main characters

Kristin "Kristy" Amanda Thomas

Club position: President, founder

First appearance: #1, Kristy’s Great Idea

Birthday: August 20th

Appearance: Long brown hair, brown eyes

Favorite sitting charges: Karen, Andrew, David Michael, and Emily Michelle (her step-siblings and siblings); Jamie and Lucy Newton; Jackie Rodowsky

Kristy is known for her great ideas (namely, The Baby-sitters Club), as well as her bossiness and a big mouth that can occasionally get her into trouble. Somewhat of a tomboy, Kristy is usually in her "uniform" of a 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, even coaching a softball team for younger children, known as Kristy's Krushers.

When Kristy was five, 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. The family later adopts a two-year-old girl from Vietnam, whom they name Emily Michelle Thomas Brewer. Kristy's grandmother, Nannie, moves in to help raise Emily Michelle.

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

Another of Kristy's great ideas was the Kid-Kit, a cardboard box filled with toys, games, stickers, puzzles, books, and other amusements that can be taken along on sitting jobs. Each baby-sitter has her own Kid-Kit, and is free to personalize it as she chooses. (Claudia's contains art supplies, while Jessi's and Mal's have horse books.) The Kid-Kits are especially useful with difficult charges, or during periods of rain or snow when the kids could be stuck inside all day.

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."

Claudia Lynn Kishi

Club position: Vice president

First appearance: #1, Kristy’s Great Idea

Birthday: July 2nd

Appearance: Japanese-American, black hair, dark almond-shaped eyes, smooth skin

Fashion Plate: "I just adore dressing up in wild clothes. Take today's clothes for instance. I'm wearing a tie-dye shirt (I made it, of course), a pair of white skin-tight trousers, and some funky jewelry I picked up in a thrift store. I'm also wearing pink sunglasses. I also have long hair which I love to style."

Favorite sitting charges: Jamie Newton and the Perkins

Claudia is extremely creative in both her artistic endeavors and her funky wardrobe, which generally take up more of her attention than her schoolwork; she is particularly bad at spelling. Her grades are so bad (with the exception of art) that she is briefly sent back to seventh grade. She stays in the seventh grade until she brings up her grades, then she is allowed back into the eighth grade. She comes from a scholarly, conservative family. Her older sister Janine is a certified genius and takes college courses even though she's only in high school. Claudia is the only member with a private phone line, so her room is the club’s official meeting place. Her room is stocked with hidden junk food and Nancy Drew books, which Claudia loves, but keeps hidden because her parents disapprove. Her best friend is Stacey, another BSC club member. Claudia has a grandmother named Mimi who she is very close to. She feels that Mimi is the only one in her family who really understands her. Mimi suffers a stroke and eventually dies.
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."

Mary Anne Spier

Club position: Secretary

First appearance: #1, Kristy’s Great Idea

Birthday: September 22nd

Appearance: 2nd shortest girl in the class, straight dark brown hair, brown eyes, pale skin

Favorite sitting charge(s): Myriah and Gabbie Perkins

She is best friends with Kristy (her next-door neighbor, until Kristy moved to Watson's) and Dawn (who became her stepsister when Mary Anne's father married Sharon, Dawn's mother). She is the BSC secretary because of her organization skills and neat handwriting. She has long brown hair and brown eyes and wears reading glasses. She and Kristy initially looked similar because they were quite short and had straight long dark brown hair and brown eyes (Mary Anne cut her hair in book #60, and in book #30, mentioned that she was now growing one inch taller than Kristy). 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.[3]

Known for her shyness, sensitivity, and good listening skills, Mary Anne was the first club member to have a steady boyfriend, Logan Bruno. They break up for a while in 'Mary Anne VS. Logan' but get back together later in the series.

Mary Anne has a gray cat named Tigger that is "catnapped." He is later returned.

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.

Her mother died when Mary Anne was a baby. Heartbroken and unsure of how to deal with a baby girl alone, 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 achieving having Mary Anne back under his care, Richard became very strict and kept careful watch over Mary Anne. Up to seventh grade, Mary Anne was required to wear braids and 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 Mary Anne Saves the Day. Richard lightened up, but continued to remain firm on certain issues. When Richard remarried to Sharon Schafer (his high school sweetheart), he finally realized that Mary Anne was growing up and was no longer a little girl in braids.

Anastasia "Stacey" Elizabeth McGill

Club position: Treasurer

First appearance: #1, Kristy’s Great Idea

Birthday: April 3

Appearance: Permed honey blond hair, blue eyes, medium height

Favorite sitting charge: Charlotte Johanssen (her "almost sister")

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.) The McGills moved back to New York City in #13: Goodbye, Stacey, Goodbye because Mr. McGill's company transferred again. Stacey becomes a honorary member of the BSC, and misses Stoneybrook. Her parents fight and finally divorce in #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, much to the happiness of the other BSC members.

Stacey is gifted in math, has a logical mind and is in the Math Club at SMS.

Stacey has diabetes, and has been hospitalized several times as a result.

Stacey is the most sophisticated member of the BSC which leads to her quiting the BSC in #83: Stacey vs. the BSC when Stacey decides that she is too mature for baby-sitting. Stacey later rejoins the club in #87: Stacey and the Bad Girls after getting into trouble with some of her new friends.

Dawn Read Schafer

Club position: Alternate Officer, Treasurer #14-28 & #84-88, Honorary Member #89-end

First appearance: #4, Mary Anne Saves The Day

Birthday: February 5

Appearance: Tall, with long, straight, pale blond hair, light blue eyes, tanned skin

Favorite sitting charges: The Barretts

Dawn originally lived in Palo City, California 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. Dawn, who refers to herself as a "Bi-Coastal Girl" looks the part of a typical Californian girl with long, pale blond hair and light, bright blue eyes. She is an environmentalist, which causes problems in the club in "Dawn Saves the Planet", an advocate of health food (she only eats fish, and very occasionally, meat), and a strong opponent of guns and violence. Dawn joined 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. This caused some jealousy from Kristy, which eventually stopped. She loves ghost stories, and enjoys taping movies from television (her favorite is The Parent Trap). Later into the series, she decides to return to California because she feels homesick for her dad and brother Jeff. She never moves back to Stoneybrook, but appears regularly in books.

Mallory Pike

Club position: Junior Member, Honorary Member #69-74 & 126-end

First appearance: #3, The Truth About Stacey (as client); joins the club in #14 Hello, Mallory

Birthday: May 2

Appearance: frizzy red hair, glasses and clear braces

Favorite Sitting Charges: Her 7 brothers and sisters

Mallory is the oldest of eight children: Claire, age 5; Margo, age 7; Nicholas "Nicky," age 8; Vanessa, age 9; and the triplets, Adam, Byron, and Jordan, age 10. They all have distinct personalities and problems. 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, and Nicky wants to fit in more with the triplets, who often refuse to play with him. The Pike family is one of the Baby-Sitters Club’s most frequent clients. Though the club's members are initially reluctant to let Mallory in to the club, and force her to undergo various difficult tests beforehand, she becomes a junior member at the age of 11. Mallory, who plans to become a writer and illustrator of children’s books, has red hair and wears clear braces and glasses, and is often insecure about her appearance. She loves reading horse stories, especially those by Marguerite Henry.
After having a hard time at Stoneybrook Middle School with being teased by older students, Mallory decides to go away to an exclusive Massachusetts boarding school in book #126, "The All-New Mallory Pike." She is then bestowed the title "Honorary Member," a title she also held when she couldn't attend meetings or sit because of mono.

Jessica "Jessi" Davis Ramsey

Club position: Junior member

First appearance: #14, Hello, Mallory

Birthday: June 30

Appearance: African American, brown hair, "long, long legs," dimples

Favorite sitting charges: Matt and Haley Braddock

Jessi moved to Stoneybrook from Oakeley New Jersey at the beginning of the sixth grade. 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, some people were racist towards them because they were black, but this got better towards 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. Like her best friend, Mallory, Jessi loves reading, especially horse stories, and feels her parents treat her like a baby.

Logan Bruno

Club position: Associate member

First appearance: #10, Logan Likes Mary Anne!

Birthday: January 10

Favorite sitting charges: the Rodowsky boys (Shea, Jackie, and Archie) because life is never dull with the "Walking Disaster" (Jackie) around!

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 is Mary Anne's boyfriend. 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, father Lyman, sister Kerry, and brother Hunter.

Admired by Cokie Mason, who goes on several dates with Logan during a brief time where Mary Anne and Logan are broken up.

Shannon Louisa Kilbourne

Club position: Associate member, Alternate Officer #68-82

Appearance: Blue eyes, thick, curly blonde hair, high cheekbones

First appearance: #11, Kristy and the Snobs

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 do not initially get along. 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 her.

Abigail "Abby" Stevenson

Club position: Alternate Officer: #90-98; President: #99; Alternate Officer: #100-end

First appearance: #89, Kristy and the Dirty Diapers

Birthday: October 15

Appearance: Long, curly dark hair and brown eyes. Wears contact lenses.

Abby's love for sports (especially soccer) and her bold, upfront personality is her vice. She clashes often with Kristy, who has similar personality traits. She also has a wild sense of humor, which often shocks the BSC's other members. She is Jewish, and suffers from asthma and allergies to kitty litter, animal hair, milk, and shellfish, among other things.

Shortly after Dawn moves back to California to live with her father, Abby moves to Stoneybrook from Long Island with her mother and her twin sister, 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 reason for the move. Abby still misses him greatly, and does not like to talk about him.

Books

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.

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.

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.

Baby-sitters Club: Friends Forever (1999-2000)

Baby-sitters Club Friends Forever: These books are an extension of the original series, which focus more on the original four members (Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, and Stacey), and are set following the fire at Mary Anne's house, which drastically impacted the lives of the BSC members. This series was considered a spinoff and was short-lived.

Spin-offs

Baby-sitters Little Sister

The Baby-sitters Little Sister series, which ran from 1988 to 1996, is geared toward younger readers, with a focus on Karen, the 7-year-old step-sister of Baby-Sitters Club president Kristy; it also included Super Special books. One hundred and twenty-two Little Sister books and six Little Sister Super Special books were published.

California Diaries

The California Diaries series is about Dawn and her friends after her return to California. These are thought to have targeted a slightly older audience, with a darker feel. There are fifteen books that center around the characters of Dawn, Ducky, Amalia, Maggie, and Sunny. The subjects dealt with range from anorexia to racism, along with the girls' personal problems and family disputes.

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 written by Raina Telgemeier, an Eisner Award nominee. The series continues with the release of The Truth About Stacey and Mary Anne Saves the Day.

Other BSC-related books

Another small series written by Ann M. Martin is loosely related to the original Baby-sitters Club series: The Kids in Ms. Colman’s Class. This serial covers Karen's second-grade classmates at Stoneybrook Academy, and their adventures in Ms. Coleman's classroom.

TV show

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.

Zach Braff was briefly on the show in an episode entitled "Dawn Saves the Trees."

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

Movie

A movie based on the Baby-Sitters Club books was released in 1995 which starred then-virtually unknown actresses such as Rachel Leigh Cook, Larisa Oleynik and Marla Sokoloff.

Main article at The Baby-Sitters Club (film)

Trivia

Lisa Simpson became a babysitter after reading a few "Baby-Sitter Twins" books (an obvious spoof of The Baby-sitters Club and Sweet Valley Twins series) on The Simpsons episode My Sister, My Sitter
The Perkins family that moves in next door to Mary Anne once Kristy moves out is based on the family of Beth Perkins, Ann M. Martin's best friend growing up (and also the inspiration for Kristy.) All three daughters of the Perkins family are represented in the series (Gabbie, Myriah and Laura Beth, although Laura is only a baby in the series) A child named Gabbie Perkins also appears in the Ann M. Martin book Missing Since Monday, although that child is about 4 years old, while the Gabbie Perkins in The Baby-sitters Club is said to be 2 1/2.

External links

Scholastic site