Well, the time has arrived. This one was honestly one that was never initially planned to do, but to ignore that its success would be pretty disrespectful, so my membership has passed and it's time to talk about the Baby-Sitters Club.
Goosebumps is my vernacular. It's what I'm most well known for, and when it comes to Scholastic, it's what I think of first and foremost. Then Animorphs because I was a fan of that as well. But before R.L. Stine dominated sales for Scholastic, there was Ann Mathews Martin, or Ann M. Martin. A graduate of Smiths college with a senior thesis in literature in the classroom. She also served as a teacher for fourth and fifth grade students, which helped inspire her writing. Her first book, Bummer Summer, earned her a Children's Choice award in 1985. One year later, the franchise she'd be best known for would begin.
To call The Baby-Sitters Club a success is an understatement. In the main series alone there are 130+ books, multiple spinoffs like Mysteries and Little Sister. Its initial run went from 1986-2000, which the more I think of it, 2000 really felt like the end of an era with Scholastic. It sold 176 million copies, spawned several movies and series, and is still going today, the series recently revived in graphic novel format. So, yeah. Casts a big shadow.
So, welcome to yet another side-blog, Club-Read. Now, don't expect this to be a regular series, even with the massive amount of content at my feet. I can buy Goosebumps books with less concern, these not so much. Though I'll still cover as much as I can over time. And, of course, it all comes down to my own enjoyment to see how far I really go here. But expect my same level of "I thought it was funny at least" comedy as I hopefully don't desecrate a beloved American novella series. So, let's start at the beginning. Let's see how this all began with Kristy's Great Idea.
We open the book with our protagonist, the titular Kristy Thomas, telling us about how the Baby-Sitters club came to be. We cut back to a hot afternoon in seventh grade, and Kristy, so excited to be out of a sweltering classroom, gets excited and yells out in glee when the bell rings, to which her teacher tells her to learn up on the word "decorum". She meets up with her friend Mary Anne Spier, who we learn is an only child whose mother passed away not long after she was born. She lives with her father, who forces strict rules upon her. Mid-conversation, Kristy remembers she has to baby-sit her younger brother David Michael, with some help from their older brothers Charlie and Sam. Oh, and their collie, the wonderfully named Louie.
The girls are also baby-sitters pre-club, as we learn of their other friend, Claudia Kishi. She's more mature than the others and while her father is strict too, he's far more lenient than Mary Anne's. The girls take David Michael to the brook for a bit before they have to go home. We learn that Mary Anne and Kristy communicate with flashlights since strict dad means no phone time for Mary Anne. So, Kristy can freaking do code with flashlights but doesn't know the meaning of the word decorum. Still impressive. Kristy's mom comes home with pizza, which is a preemptive reward for the kids helping out in an inopportune time, in this case having to watch David Michael. But with everyone busy, it's there that Kristy gets an idea, that apparently is really great.
That great idea being the Baby-Sitters Club. It would allow for clients to be able to set up baby-sitting gigs much easier. After relaying through flashlight to Mary Anne, Kristy's mom comes into her room to tell her that she's dating a man named Watson, who Kristy doesn't quite care for. Nor does she want to baby-sit Watson's kids Andrew and Karen. The next day, both Kristy and Mary Anne have babysitting jobs. Mary Anne for two of the eight kids of the Pike family and Kristy babysitting David Michael and Jamie Newton.
After that, the two head to Claudia's to get her thoughts on Kristy's concept. They meet her, seeing that she's got a face full of Day-Glo makeup. We learn some of her family too. Her parents are conservative, yet aren't forceful on Claudia's clothing options, though they won't buy them for her. Her grandmother is named Mimi and she has an older sister named Janine that has a 196 IQ. Kristy brings up the club idea to which Claudia is on board, so long as they give a shot to another girl, Stacey McGill, who recently moved from New York, and the other girls are a bit concerned won't be as good a fit as Claudia believes.
They meet with Stacey the next day, and despite how different she is given her past in New York, they hit it off well and she's added to the club. But when the subject of food comes along, Stacey mentions she's on a diet, which concerns Kristy and Mary Anne, but that discussion gets cut quick. The next day they begin the next step for their business: Advertising, ultimately deciding on the block-style logo that the books use. And, that I actually really like so far about this book. Using that similar insignia on the cover as well as in the books themselves. And, props to the book, they actually show both the logo and the initial flyer.
So, with four members, they then set up ranks. Kristy is president given it's her idea. Claudia is vice-president since it's her room they use to hang out and conduct business. Mary Anne is secretary while Stacey is treasurer. Claudia takes out some gummi bears, which makes Stacey leave the room for about twenty minutes. But is even more secretive about what's going on. Kristy returns home as Watson shows up before his date with Kristy's mom. He brings Chinese food, but since Kristy still doesn't like him, especially finding it odd he'd ditch his kids on visitation to go out with her mother, she declines. Then she makes it worse by digging into Watson, claiming that because he's not with his kids right now that he probably doesn't know them at all.
Kristy calls him a terrible father and storms off, but does feel guilty soon after as Watson isn't as bad a father as she made out. She writes a note apologizing to her mother about her lack of decorum. And, I really like this. Maybe not so much the bluntness of her actions to Watson, but it's still believable. It sets the question of "is Watson as bad as Kristy makes him out to be?", or is this more her own inability to accept any change from the status quo, as well as how she herself has handled the divorce, given her own father has missed holidays and visits. It's a believable and real conflict that does affect children of broken homes and, most importantly, adds dimension to Kristy's character.
The girls get their ad in the paper and head to Claudia's, eagerly awaiting phone calls. And wait. And wait. Aaand wait. They do get a call to watch David Michael, and to help her out with breaking the ice, Kristy gives the job to Stacey. They get another call rom a Mrs. McKeever, which leads to Kristy watching her kids Buffy and Pinky, as well as bunch of wrong numbers for a Jim Bartolini. That's just a prank call from Kristy's brother Sam. The girls also get a job watching Watson's kids, but given Kristy's feelings, it's Mary Anne who takes that job. So, prank calls aside, a successful day one. Claudia later gets to babysit for Mrs. Newton and her son Jessie, who Kristy usually babysits, so it bugs her a bit.
Kristy arrives at the McKeever resident to babysit Buffy and Pinky. The house seems odd, almost as if no children live in the house. And Kristy soon gets confirmation on that as Buffy and Pinky aren't children, they're dogs. Oh god, I'm having PTSD of My Hairiest Adventure! Nah, but for real, this wasn't exactly what Kristy had hoped would come about of her first Baby-Sitters Club gig. She lets the dogs outside, but they get away from her and cause trouble in the neighbor's yard. But Kristy manages to get things under control.
Claudia's night went no better as she had to babysit not just one kid, but four. And these kids are particularly more whiny and bratty, but she manages to get them in line and calmed down, so rocky start but better ending. Stacey's goes well too, but she becomes quickly smitten with Kristy's brother Sam. He has a Twinkie, but she again declines. It's becoming pretty obvious this isn't just a diet, but we still have a bit left to go in this book.
That leaves Mary Anne, which is the one Kristy definitely wants to know about given it involves Watson's kids. Three year old Andrew and five year old Karen. And Boo Boo, their giant cat. And there's Mrs. Porter, who is an eccentric old lady who lives next door, who the kids think is a witch named Morbidda Destiny. Okay, that's a baller name right there. Just getting a real mid-90s family sitcom vibe so far. We learn that Karen and Andrew's mother is getting remarried. The cat gets in her garden and Mrs. Porter angrily chases it off, though the kids think it just means the cat was cursed. But, witchy woman aside, easier night than expected.
The girls get some more bookings and check their money. When the idea of a pizza party fund is suggested, Stacey runs off again. Kristy returns home where she sees Watson's there. Watson's been there a lot more lately. Her mother also asks her kids to wear something formal as we have a new bombshell that while everyone else is cool with, Kristy's not happy about. Her mother and Watson are engaged. No blow up like the last time, but Kristy's hoping these plans fall through sooner rather than later.
Things get worse. David Michael gets sick. And Mary Anne's dad won't let her use the money for a pizza party since he'd rather her save the money for college. Claudia's out too due to her grades slipping. So those pizza plans just went up in smoke. Kristy calls Stacey, but is told she's in New York. But when she gets a call from Mary Anne who saw Stacey, some things begin to piece together that maybe Stacey's got a reason not to go to the party.
And worst of all for Kristy, she has to watch Watson's kids due to his ex-wife breaking her ankle. But, things go well and she gets along well with the two siblings and learns that they too have their concerns about all the recent relationships with their parents. Watson arrives and well, it's a nice simple moment. More so of Kristy's own barriers breaking a bit with her feelings on Watson. She discusses the situation with her mother and it's still not great since there's still the visitation issues with Karen and Andrew plus the possibility of moving, but for now it's all a toss up.
In fact, some things get positive again, particularly Mary Anne's dad being more lenient and Claudia's grades rising. So the pizza party plans have resumed. But the good times roll to a halt when Kristy brings up the Stacey issue. Claudia takes up Stacey's side and argues with Kristy. They get a call for another job, which Kristy takes before leaving with Mary Anne. Later, Kristy learns that Watson and her mother are now fully engaged, with the wedding planned months from now. So we can put a pin on that story beat for now. But, Kristy's finally fine with this and is starting to get along with Watson, so we end this beat on a positive note.
At the next meeting, the girls apologize to one another over the blow-up, so things seem back on track. And Stacey finally opens on why she's been avoiding food. It's not on account of anorexia which everyone assumed, but diabetes. And the girls are okay with this and are obviously willing to help her out. She says that she was having fainting spells on account of her diet, so her mother brought her to Stoneybrook in hopes it would give her more peace and quiet. And so the book ends with everyone on good terms and Kristy is happy about how her great idea was a success.
So, my first foray into the Baby-Sitters club. And I come out with a positive feeling to it. Like I've said before, the first book of a series is the one with the most weight on its shoulders. It has to establish the world and its characters, the story we'll be following as well as the deeper conflicts, while still being its own story. And this book does a good enough job in doing so. We get enough time with these characters to understand their characteristics well. And if you went into this wanting baby-sitting stories, you get a bunch, most light enough to bring you through a chapter. So pacing is solid.
I like our foursome of characters. They each feel unique, having their own motivations and issues. The main focus is on Kristy as she's the narrator and the main character of the series at least at this point. She feels like a normal kid but has her issues. She can be blunt and even hurtful at times, but a lot of that is her own struggles which come from her father being gone and her own concerns on what will happen when her mom remarries. It makes the conflict with Watson worth getting invested in. We learn that Watson is a nice man and he is a good father to his kids, and he comes off as genuine in his love for Kristy's mom and his intent in trying to get Kristy to like him.
And while Kristy's reaction to Watson is harsh at first, like I said earlier, it's believable. Fears and concerns that a lot of broken home kids have. And while the conflict does feel like it wraps up a bit too easy and a little too super wholesome, I think it still feels genuine and from a good place, so props to the book on that. I also like the Stacey conflict. I'll admit the concern of it being anorexia was how I thought this was going, but the diabetes twist works too, and her desire to keep it a secret makes sense from the eyes of a kid who doesn't feel normal for being diagnosed with an illness. And again, while the conflict wraps up super quick, I like how its handled. It makes these four characters feel like good friends. Ones who fight, but are ones who know how to calm down when things get heated.
In the end, I liked this book. It flows well for 157 pages and is an easy read from start to finish. As a pilot book it does a great job in setting everything up to entice readers to continue on, particularly putting a pin on things like the impending wedding of Kristy's mom and Watson. And, admittedly, I kind of want to know where that goes. So congrats Ann M. Martin, you hooked me. We'll definitely be coming back to this series in the future. But, for now, good first foot forward. Kristy's Great Idea gets an A-.
RELATABLE REFERENCES
G.I. Joe
Sesame Street
Day-Glo
Peanut M&Ms
Jell-O
Fudgesicle
My Little Pony
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Where the Wild Things Are
Twinkies
Toys R Us
Spaghettios
Gatorade
Pop Tarts
Little Toot
The Snowy Day
The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle
The Little Engine that Could
Monopoly
Kleenex
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