The Stoney So Far...: The Baby-Sitters Club #1-10

In September of 2021 I had an idea. A great idea? That I'm not so sure about. But an idea? Oh for sure it was that. Having already finished a year plus of book blogs based around kids horror from the 80s and 90s, I felt the interest to detour. To cover something that is so far removed from the norm that it was honestly a risk. I decided to start covering The Baby-Sitters Club. My reasoning was straightforward. I had covered two of the most successful Scholastic book series of the era. Goosebumps would be the main central focus given the nature of the blogs being more horror focused. Animorphs, while is stagnated way too much, still was a topic I felt the need to cover given the books were a part of my childhood. The BSC however, this was new territory for me. No horror, no real action. Just straightforward stories about a group of girls who baby-sit. I honestly thought when I was about to cover the first book, Kristy's Great Idea, that this was going to be a disaster waiting to happen and that at the most, it would be a one and done. My interest in this would wane immediately.

I'm sort of happy to report that wasn't what happened. I liked the first book, its characters, how it presents plots that work for kids and how they humanize these characters. How each of the girls felt relatable to people in one way. The tomboy, the shy wallflower, the creative girl who is bad at school, the one with diabetes. The first book, while bogged down with the task of building the world of Stoneybrook, Connecticut, still does a good job at selling the books. So I finished the first book, satisfied with what I read and covered the second, which I also enjoyed. And then I took a break. And another. Aaaand another. Aaaaaaaaand another. Because, even though I liked what I read, the books were never a priority blog for me. Until July of this year as I finally finished the eighth, ninth and tenth book in the series, rounding us up to ten. Now suddenly the series has gotten more priority from me. At least to do this recap of the series so far. Hey, I do it for Goosebumps, and I do intend to do it for Animorphs, so let's do a stop-off point blog to talk about what works about the first ten Baby-Sitters Club books, while also doing a ranking. So let's see what there is to talk about with the Stoney So Far...

Before K.A. Applegate wrote Animorphs, before R.L. Stine wrote Goosebumps, there was Ann Matthews Martin. A former teacher and later author, Martin began her career in 1983, with her standalone book Bummer Summer proving to be a success, earning her a Children's Choice Award. By the mid-1980s, luck would come her way when an editor at Scholastic suggested that a book series about baby-sitting, given the success of the book Katie's Babysitting Job. Martin, who had babysat for years, would take to the opportunity and would create The Baby-Sitters Club. A book series about a group of preteen friends who would start a baby-sitting club, while also being stories about their lives outside of baby-sitting and the world within. The series was initially intended for ten books, which would focus around a single year of the girls' lives and adventures in baby-sitting. But, that ten books would balloon to 131 books for just the main series alone. To say the idea of a book series on baby-sitting was a success was an understatement.

The story takes place within the fictional town of Stoneybrook, Connecticut as friends, Kristy Thomas, Mary Anne Spier, Claudia Kishi and Stacey McGill, decide to form their own baby-sitting business, given their experience and familiarity with their neighbors. Meanwhile, each of the girls have their own lives and issues to deal with. Tomboy Kristy has to deal with her mother marrying a man named Watson Brewer, her initial concerns with Watson as well as his kids Andrew and the agent of chaos, Karen. Claudia, the most artistic and fashionable of the group, often deals with her own issues with poor grades, as well as dealing with her genius sister Janine, who often makes Claudia feel dumber than she actually is. Stacey, who had moved to Stoneybrook from New York, lives with diabetes, to which the books never shy around, making it clear that while things like her diet differ from the others, she's perfectly normal. She's also, at least initially, the more boy crazy of the group. Mary Anne starts the series as the most shy of the group, constantly fearing getting in trouble with her father. But she soon begins to gain her own confidence and her father's trust. This tying into the addition of the final initial member of the group, Dawn Schafer, whose mother just so happened to have been with Mr. Spier at one time.

The books structure themselves as such: General plot focusing on one of the club members, mixed in with chapters of the girls doing baby-sitting jobs for many of the families around their area. These include the Prezziosos, the Pikes, the Johannsens, the Perkinses and more. So while the books give focus on the baby-sitting and focus on the main characters, the series also makes sure to familiarize the reader with the many families of Stoneybrook, which in turns fleshes out the town and does a strong job in worldbuilding. Plots generally feature a particular conflict that ultimately resolves itself by book's end. Though also does a lot of worldbuilding for later events. Things like the Thomas/Brewer wedding, Mary Anne and Dawn, Claudia, her issues with Janine and the declining health of their grandmother Mimi, and even Louie, the Thomas dog, who is getting on in years. Spoiler I guess for book eleven but yeah, get ready to deal with what you think we're about to deal with. Not to mention stuff like very concerning crushes, mystery phone calls, an almost kidnapping, the club at each other's throats and, of course The Baby-Sitting Agency, a short-lived rival club that offered worse baby-sitting jobs, but supplanted that with BALLOON ADVERTISING. ADS ON BALLOONS!

So, what are my thoughts? Well, going into the series blind as possible, I came out really enjoying them. So much so that I did away with my initial concerns with covering them and went further in. Granted, being an adult reading them there are things that do take me out of it, and some stuff that I do feel I get more concerned over, namely the almost kidnapping and the general plot of Boy-Crazy Stacey. But otherwise, it does everything else well. All ten books in the series give two books to each girl, evening it out pretty well. Don't expect that in the future, given there's both a case of some characters leaving and more characters being added to the club. I think the first half benefitted most of the girls better than their seconds. A definite feeling of shifting from more development to more slice of life and simpler stories to move the plot forward. I think my only issue with the series is a wish that we got more development stuff, especially around the latter end. Though I know we're due for more big events, and the more simpler stuff has still been pretty good. Save for maybe one or so books.

And now to do my ranking of the first ten books in the series. Overall, none that I hated, though a couple I found to be middling at best. The series for the first ten book remained consistently solid, which made them easy reading, even if I did take forever to get to the first ten. But that aside, let's rank them. Also, the ranking may differ from the letter grades initially given, just a heads up.

#10. The Ghost at Dawn's House (#09): I like Dawn. I do. I think she's a solid fifth member of the group and serves as a good friend for Mary Anne, even if Kristy was initially more that role. But I will say neither of her books were my favorite, with this one being the weakest of the initial ten. It's not a bad book mind, and the mystery surrounding the hidden passageway is actually interesting. And the sprinkling of Stoneybrook lore we do get in the book is nice. That being said, it's a whole book of going in the passage, finding food, thinking there's a ghost, only for there not to be in the end and the payoff being kind of just there. It's also the book where the baby-sitting stuff does feel like padding for a book that really needs it. 

#09. Dawn and the Impossible Three (#05): I do think this book is decent and Dawn is a good lead. And you feel for her in the plot, having to more or less be the surrogate mother for the Barrett kids while Mrs. Barrett is really out of it. Although, title aside, the three really aren't that impossible. Frustrating, but never to the point where Dawn is about to snap. But if you've read my blogs, you know why this is so low. And that's Dawn almost causing a kidnapping by not paying attention to Buddy. Granted, it doesn't turn out to be as bad as it could have been, but does feel like a bad case of one act of neglect almost leading to something horrific. I think honestly, that's also a reason The Ghost at Dawn's House ranks how it does because I really was hoping she had a stronger follow up to this one. Overall, like I said, it's a decent book, but suffers from one scene that made me go "Well that's a shame". 

#08.  Boy-Crazy Stacey (#08): What I like about this book is the feeling of summertime it exudes. From the trips to the beach trips, the carnivals, the sunburns and so much more. If Ann M. Martin set out to make a book that feels like Summer, she nailed it. The plot itself is okay, but I will again say that its rating for me dipped because of the very creepy feeling I got from it. Not so much Stacey's crush on Scott, which is believable for a teen to have. It's just him giving her pet names like "Love" and stuff like that which really made me feel weird about it. I get the intent is harmless, but a college-aged man saying that stuff to a thirteen year old in hindsight feels really skeezy in ways I know Ann M. Martin didn't intend. Though later editions age him down to make it less creepy, so at least I know I'm not the only one having that issue.

#07. Kristy and the Big Day (#06): The big book finally bringing us to the wedding of Kristy's mom and Watson. And while it's a good book that definitely offers a lot of baby-sitting as the girls have to take care of a massive group of kids, I just feel like it misses something to really make it feel more special for what is a big moment in the series. Like you'd think we'd get more heavy focus on the wedding and the changes, or even some of the POV of Mrs. Thomas or Watson, but we really don't get that much of it. I get it, the focus should be on the baby-sitting hence the name of the series, but I do really feel like it's heavier on that end and less on the character and worldbuilding stuff that I much prefer. It does have Karen getting her first public ban. Likely first of many. That's a fun plus.

#06. Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls (#02): What this book does well is set up Claudia well in her first focus. Her issues with her conservative family and her major issues with Janine often flaunting her genius at her. There's also a really decent mystery that surround the phantom caller, but given the tone of the series, for as concerning as it is for a thief to be around town, you know that this series isn't going to go to any extreme. That you aren't having four girls deal with a thief in harrowing, Home Alone-esque fashion, especially given it would be like four years until that movie came out. And once they set up Alan Gray early, it becomes super obvious. But for Claudia's debut as well as the first book to carry the concept of the series, it does what it needs to.

#05. Kristy's Great Idea (#01): This is the first book in the series. And like all first books, it has to do a lot of heavy lifting. Setting up the characters, the world and the general vibe of the series. And this does it well. From setting up the club, to the early issues the girls have with the club, to it all working out in the end. But why it's up here has to do with Kristy. I think Kristy as arguably the main character (though that's debatable if there even is a main character) is a solid choice. And her conflict is understandable. Her issues with decorum, her lashing out, her frustration over her mom remarrying, her initial pure hatred of Watson, believing him to be a bad father to Andrew and Karen. Only to in the end understand that he's not that bad and her defenses finally coming down at the end when she realizes that him marrying her mother isn't as bad as it could be. It's a strong dive into the convictions of Kristy and does a strong job in setting things up. Granted, I wish the wedding we got was more interesting but still.

#04. Logan Likes Mary Anne (#10): Mary Anne gets two really good books within the first ten. And while this one is more around the awkwardness of her around new boy baby-sitter Logan, I do like them as an item. And I like how the book has to balance the issue of a boy in a group of girls and how everyone wants this to work, but in a way that avoids the awkwardness. And while you could argue the conflict over Mary Anne's birthday party feels overblown, to add a conflict in a book with so little, I like how it's handled. Mary Anne's anxiety, her feeling of embarrassment, her concern that her actions screwed everything up, and even how the others try to just give her space, feeling they screwed up. It's that feeling of realism that the books do very well. So for a book that adds a new character, a new romance and some good character development, it's one of the stronger showings. Also Mary Anne gets a cat. 

#03. Mary Anne to the Rescue (#04): Mary Anne gets one of the stronger first books in the series. It's not perfect, namely in that the conflict with the club breaking up does feel a bit forced. But it also means we get more time to spend with Mary Anne and understand her issues with her father and fear of a lack of independence. This book also introduces Dawn and she fits into the series quite well. Even if, like I said in the review, she does feel a bit too much like Kristy in a lot of ways, especially when it comes to her friendship with Mary Anne. Mary Anne is the focus and the book does a strong job in doing a few things. Setting up that she's more mature than her father thought after helping Jenny Prezzioso, which builds her independence. But she's also immature, especially when trying to use Dawn as a way to make Kristy jealous. The book having her fumble like that makes her feel more human which in turn makes her a great character to follow. Knowing that Ann M. Martin based Mary Anne around herself when she was young makes so much more sense, especially with this book.

#02. The Truth About Stacey (#03): You could say that this book perhaps stretches itself too thin. That it's too plot heavy, both in main and subplot. But I enjoy both plots so well that I really don't have an issue with that. I like the stuff with Stacey, how the book deals with her concerns over her diabetes and how she lost friends over it at one point. Her returning to New York and eventually managing to reconnect and mend those issues are something I like. As do I like that Stacey ultimately rejects her parents' idea to bring her to what isn't ultimately named a faith healer, but let's be honest, that's what it comes off as. It also shows that she's someone who has her issues with her diabetes handled quite well and wants to make sure it's handled professionally and not by a would-be Peter Popoff. Then there's the Baby-Sitting Agency. The big corporation that's out to kill the Baby-Sitters Club. The characters feel like rivals, they do a strong job almost killing the club, and most importantly, they advertise with balloons. The double agents stuff feels a bit much though, but given the intent of the agency, it works. But what's important to the plot is that the book shows the difference between a big agency that barely does their job well compared to the smaller club that is more professional and intimate with their clients. The mom and pop you can trust over the big corporation. Which for a book from 1986 is a pretty based way to cover it.

#01. Claudia and Mean Janine (#07): Claudia is my favorite of the group. And I think what cemented it was this book. Because the conflict in it makes me appreciate her character more. Not just that this book continues her issues with Janine, but it also compounds her issues when Mimi has a stroke. Claudia fears it was her argument with Janine that did it, and it continues her conflicts with Janine which put Claudia in the wrong, namely the scene where when Janine never mentions Mimi initially in their conversation, she's about ready to deck Janine. It shows how much her grandmother's stroke weighs on Claudia and how she poorly handles the situation because she puts the blame on herself. That's great character stuff. More importantly the book shines a light on Janine as to her own concerns. How she feels alienated given her studies and her lack of really knowing how to handle situations like Mimi's stroke. The book gives both characters a chance to grow. And if you know me well, I like character growth in these types of stories. It does sadly set up what's to come with Mimi, which is still a while away, but I don't think I'm ready for the inevitable goodbye. 

If these were the only ten Baby-Sitters Club books to exist, then I think the series would have been solid as it is. It would have left readers wanting more, namely with some of the things that haven't happened yet or the books have been building towards. But Scholastic and Martin clearly knew that they had a hit on their hands and continued on until 2000. And I can honestly see why the series managed to endure for about 15 years and why it still exists to this day. Even with some of the stuff within being dated, the general messages that the series gives still work and are enticing. It's a series that also knows how to provide for those who are in this for baby-sitting stuff and those who want more story-driven adventures with the girls. Not every book balances that out perfectly, but you can see the ambition grow as the series does. Which leaves me optimistic for the books to come.

And that's pretty much a wrap on the first ten Baby-Sitters Club books. The next ten books promise us quite a bit of stuff. From sick dogs, to snobby neighbors to big status quo changes and new additions to the club. Not to mention a special edition because it's Scholastic. Of course there's special editions. And hopefully it doesn't take me four years this time to finally cover them all. Don't hold me to that, but I do hope to be more punctual.