Books at the Box Office: Baby-sitters Club

I’m sure I didn’t read BSC as widely as I think I did as a child, but even as a 20-something year old I have such fond memories of those characters, and I am working on collecting the OG books. And yes, I love the graphic novel adaptations and recommend them all the time at the library where I work–though they already fly of the shelves.
Also fun fact: the only talk I went to while working the 2019 National Book Festival was the Ann Martin talk, and I cried, and then I met her in a bathroom, because of course I did haha.

Everyone screamed in joy when Netflix announced they were adapting the stories, but this isn’t the first rodeo. There was a movie made back in 1995, which isn’t really the whole series but meshes a few of the books together, which is interesting. But, I’m going to feature the first book in the series: Kristy’s Great Idea, because that’s where it all begins.

When Kristy Thomas has the great idea to form a baby-sitters club–a chance to earn money and spend time with her friends, all while doing something they each love to do–she has no idea how much the club will change everything.

Crank calls, uncontrollable toddlers, wild pets, untruthful clients . . . running a business is hard work! Kristy and her co-founders, Mary Anne, Claudia, and Stacey, are sure they can handle anything. But only if they stick together . . .

The best friends you’ll ever have–with classic BSC covers and a letter from Ann M. Martin!

Such a good series.Seriously. These girls are classics, and they deal with all the issues. I was actually surprised, rereading the books, to realize some of the hard stuff they deal with. Bullying, potential parental kidnappings, Stacey’s diabetes, mean girls, friendship, divorce and marriage and step-siblings, all that jazz.

Now, the movie, the 1995 version that is:

Let’s talk the cast. Schuyler Fisk plays Kristy, Bre Blair by Stacey, Rachel Leigh Cook is Mary Anne, Larisa Oleynik is Dawn, Tricia Joe is Claudia, there’s also Mallory, Jessi, and Rosie in this movie, but they don’t really meet them in the first BSC book.  Lowkey didn’t realize Larisa, who we all loved in 10 Things is in this until just now, but I love it. This is a prime example of a movie taking characters and their situations and reworking them in a way that works, as opposed to the shit-show that was the OG Series of Unfortunate Events movie in the early 2000s.Sorry, Meryl.

Melanie Mayron, the director of this adaptation, also directed several episodes of shows you know, like Jane the Virgin, Pretty Little Liars, and the 1995 Freaky Friday.

If you’re exited about the Netflix adaptation, visit that site here.I’m anxiously anticipating a release date,but you can meet the cast here.

You can stream the 1995 Baby-sitters Club movie on Amazon Prime with a free Showtime trial or watch it on Hulu.