After the announcement that Ann M. Martin’s beloved The Babysitter’s Club series would be available in e-book format, the interweb has been buzzing about the BSC, which has made it a good week on The Twitter for me. The BSC remains one of my all-time favourite middle grade series. As a kid, I devoured these books and even read The Babysitter’s Little Sister series about Karen, even though I was really too advanced to be reading that series at that point. I just wanted more of that cozy, relatable, addictive world. I strive to capture even a little of Martin’s magic in my own books. Along with Judy Blume, she is a major writerly inspiration.
What’s not to like? Girls being independent! Girls helping each other out! Girls expressing their individuality! Girls being entrepreneurs! In this rather bleak and unfriendly girl-hating climate that leads to tragedies like Amanda Todd’s death and the proliferation of Todd Akin’s ignorant theories, we could all use a little more BSC in our lives.
As a certified fan, I own the movie (a faithful adaptation in my humble opinion), the board game (well, one of a few boardgames) and just about died with happiness when Raina Telgemeier was hired to adapt the series into graphic novel form.
In celebration, here are some of my favourite BSC links, guaranteed to make you laugh and distract you from whatever it is you SHOULD be doing right now:
Texts from The Babysitter’s Club
Ann M. Martin Picks her Top Ten Babysitter’s Books
12 Facts About the Babysitter’s Club That Will Blow Your Mind
The Babysitter’s Club: Where Are They Now?
The Babysitter’s Club: Which Babysitter Are You?
BSC forever!
I didn’t know Raina Tegelmeier adapted the BSC into graphic novel form! That’s zoo cool! I reallyl liked the BSC when I was a kid and I love Raina’s work!
I know! I was skeptical about the adaptation until I realized it was her, then I felt like the series was in good hands!
I’m going to spend the next hour following those links. I love BSC! Here’s another link for you: http://www.whatclaudiawore.com/
I can’t believe I forgot whatclaudiawore…I love that blog!
Two years ago my daughter discovered BSC and read the first 5 books, and then she discovered the graphic version by Raina and devoured those.