Long before debates about whether we are Charlottes, Mirandas, Carries, or Samanthas, we were asking ourselves different questions: Am I a Kristy or a Mary Anne? Am I a Claudia or a Stacey?
If you’re a child of the late 1980s-early 2000s, you probably know exactly what I’m talking about: The Baby-Sitters Club. The book series that convinced millions of adolescent girls (and some non-girls, too) that we could become little babysitting tycoons overnight. Even if you never read the books, it’s likely that you rented the VHS tapes of the short-lived television series from your public library (I sure did), or saw the 1995 movie starring a pre-She’s All That Rachel Leigh Cook (you betcha!).
For more than a decade, Ann M. Martin and a bevy of ghostwriters created the world of Stoneybrook, Connecticut and invited us there to befriend the most ambitious middle schoolers I can imagine. We solved mysteries, traveled extensively (we’ll get to that in future posts), and experienced heartbreak with them. They taught us about responsibility, grief, loss, illness, racism, and so much more.
And now, they’re getting me through a pandemic.
While browsing my library’s digital collection, searching desperately for something to ease my isolation-induced boredom, I discovered that the library has almost the entire BSC catalog. And so, laughing to myself about how FuNnY aNd CrAzY it would be to re-read some of the books, I borrowed a couple. And then I borrowed a couple more. And then I started texting my friends about the funny or ridiculous things happening in the novels. And then my friend Marta suggested I should blog about it, so I spent $18 on a domain that references the theme song to a 13-episode television series from 30 years. Coronabrain makes us do strange things, amiright?
So, here we are. I’m looking forward to blogging my way through the series, sharing the things that held up well, the things that didn’t hold up at all, and the insights of a 30-something re-reading these childhood favorites for the first time in 20+ years.
Say Hello to Your Friends 