Product Description

The first of the new Collector's Club Editions features a new logo, bright new cover, and fill-in pages to personalize as Kristy comes up with the idea for the Baby-sitter's Club with friends Claudia, Stacey, and Mary Anne.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #79388 in Books
• Published on: 1995-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 153 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6 Seventh-grader Kristy Thomas organizes her friends into a baby-sitters club. In the course of the operation of the club, Kristy comes to terms with her mother's engagement, Stacey confides to her new friends that she has diabetes, Claudia learns to tolerate and even appreciate her gifted older sister, and Mary Anne makes some compromises with her over-protective father. All of the elements of concern to pre-teen girls (wearing the ``in'' clothes, keeping friendships stable, coping with family stresses, and trying to grow up) are here, tied to the almost universal experience of baby-sitting. Characters are not drawn with great depth, but the action is on target. A pleasant offering that will find a ready audience. Candy Colborn, Cottonwood Creek Elementary School, Englewood, Colo.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

What is wrong with you people???
You are complaining that the books are too "nice". There's no sex, drugs, drinking, etc. They're 13!!!! And I was 8 when I started reading the BSC. Why on earth would any responsible author write a series for young girls and fill it with stuff like that. This is FICTION (yeah, look it up). An escape from reality. You want sex, drugs, drinking, turn on the TV or something. The BSC was a GREAT series. I read it for years, well into my early teens, and I recommend it to any young girl. The was the series that spawned my love of reading.

YO!
Hey, Um, you, who was talking about how you hate these books now, some people may agree with you or agree with me, but Ann Martin can't write about Claudia ,or whoever, having sex!
I mean, yeah, some stuff doens't seem real, but these were the late 80's early 90's, M.A has a boyfriend in the later stuff, I mean, but sex?
That would ruin the meaning of these books, they are supposed to be FUN, HAPPY, and some kids around 9 read these books too, I don't think they're parents would be happy having their 9yr old reading about a 13yr old having sex!!
So, Don't blame Martin, you can write your own books about people having sex, ok?

Great when I was younger, but...
This is the first book in a 131 book series. It is about Kristy Thomas and how she starts the baby-sitters club along with Mary-Anne Spier, Claudia Kishi, and Stacey Mcgill. It begins when Kristy watches her mom make call after call to find a baby-sitter for Kristy's little brother when Kristy and both her older brothers are busy. So she starts the club and they all get into a big fight(over what I can't tell you about; you'll just have to read it for yourself). In the end they all make-up and continue on with the club. Yeah, it's a simple plot, and is probably only going to gather 8-11 year olds these days, but read on to see what I have to say about this and other books in the series that may interest older crowds. I started reading them when I was eight and I thought they were just terrific. However, as previous reviewers have mentioned, these books are a little outdated. I do think that the other reviewers only read so many of the old ones and none of Ann M. Martin's other books related to this series, because some of the issues the reviewer's wished would have been delt with were; just not in the first 30 or so books. For example, one of the later books deal with the death of a friend due to a drunk driver. And Mary-anne's house is burned to the ground in the last book. But if older readers are looking for something to suit their age better, I would suggest reading the California Diaries books, which are about Dawn Schafer's life and the lives of her friends in diary form after she moves back to California. These books deal with such issues as Anorexia, drugs and alcohol, the death of a mother due to cancer and racial prejudice against hispanics. These books, begun writing in 1996 or '97 are a little more up to date. Also try reading Ann M. Martin's more recent books "A Corner of the Universe"(2001 Newberry Medal Winner), or "Here Today"(2004). Don't completley pass on these books, just wait it out to the later more up-dated books. Because after all, Ann M. Martin has never written a truly horribly done book, so why not see what other GREAT books she's written. Over all, I'd give this book a B- for older girls, or an A+ for younger ones.