The Baby-sitters Club

The Baby Sitters Club Logo

"These stories about children who discovered loved of reading when they read The Baby-sitters Club are the ones that have had the greatest impact on me as a writer. I'm very excited about introducing the series to a new generation of readers."

- Ann M. Martin

At-A-Glance

WHAT IS IT?

A pioneering book series launched in 1986 about a group of friends in middle school who run a business called The Baby-sitters Club. 

 

WHO'S IT FOR? 

Readers ages 7 and up

About Ann M. Martin

Ann M. Martin is the creator of The Baby-sitters Club, which has more than 190 million books in print, making it one of the most popular series in the history of publishing. Her novels include A Corner of the Universe (a Newbery Honor Book), Belle TealHere TodayA Dog’s LifeOn Christmas Eve, and the Main Street and Family Tree series, as well as the much-loved collaborations P.S. Longer Letter Later and Snail Mail No More with Paula Danziger. Ann lives in upstate New York.

Background

The Baby-sitters Club® is one of the most successful children’s book series in publishing history with more than 190 million books in print. Ann M. Martin spent the latter part of the 1980s and most of the 1990s working on the series, which was supposed to debut in 1986 and end in 1987, and to consist of only four titles. More than 30 years later, with four additional related spin-offs, approximately 250 titles, the BSC spawned a feature film and more recently a critically-acclaimed original Netflix series, and prompted kids around the world to start their own baby-sitters clubs. The popularity of The Baby-sitters Club and Little Sister books continues with the full-color graphic novel adaptations, all of which have hit national bestseller lists.

 

The Baby-sitters Club became the first children’s book series to appear on the USA Today bestseller list.

 

The New York Times Magazine hailed Ann M. Martin as a, “genius in communicating with girls when and after they slip behind the glass curtain of preadolescence…Martin gets children to read.” The Baby-sitters Club also was named one of the “Books of the Century” by the New York Times Book Review in 1998.

 

“Adventures in baby-sitting…must-read literature for preteen girls.”– Time magazine

 

“Martin’s message—that you can build something cool with your pals—is timeless.”– People

 

“Girls can’t get enough of The Baby-sitters Club…aren’t these the kinds of role models we want for our daughters…we all need friends like that.”– Parents magazine

 

“Ann Martin rules the paperback roost.”– Publishers Weekly

In The News

“One of the most intriguing business ideas of the 1980s didn't come out of Silicon Valley. It sprang from the head of a fictional seventh-grade girl named Kristy Thomas, herself sprung from the (not-so-fictional) mind of young-adult novelist Ann M. Martin.”—The Wall Street Journal 

 

The Baby-sitters Club author Ann M. Martin reveals surprising original plan for iconic series in rare interview —People.com (Exclusive)

 

...the bubbly innocence of The Baby-sitters club occupies the most significant, sentimental place in my heart. I’m convinced it was The Baby-Sitters Club that made a lifelong, avid reader of me at a tender age.”—Vogue

 

“‘The Baby-Sitters Club’ was my Star Wars…Gently and unshowily, the books presented progressive values, from the can-do feminism of the club members to the structures of their home lives, which included single parents, divorced parents and blended families.’”—The New York Times

 

“Rarely do we see the nuance of joy – the struggle to achieve it, the idea that someone else might be left out of it – portrayed so expertly, let alone told in stories about children.”—USA Today

 

“[The Baby-sitters Club] offers a little bit of hope, showing how the next generation can be better advocates, better friends, better caregivers, and better at accepting care.”—Glamour

 

“The Baby-sitters Club defies and exceeds expectations.”—The New York Times (on the Netflix original series) 

 

It’s an entire ethic, impressively built on the tenet that we are, each of us, becoming a better and more responsible person every day. How the books and now this series are able to do this without seeming saccharine, preachy or otherwise Disneyfied is part of why “The Baby-Sitters Club” is such a watchable treat.”—Washington Post



“Ann M. Martin had this incredible way of making you feel like you knew her characters as your own self and friends, and the graphic novels do the same thing.” —Romper

 

“The entire 'Baby-sitters Club' series offered me a community and a tight-knit group of friends when I was at my loneliest, and the lessons they taught me on life, loyalty, and responsibility guide me to this day." --author Qian Julie Wang on —TODAY

 

“Here's what I love most: while social media, screen time, bullying, and other upsetting things seem like the hallmarks of modern kids' experiences, Stacey, Mary Anne, and their co-club members' wholesome experiences are still relatable to this generation.”—PopSugar

 

“The series struck paydirt by ‘showing what girls can do when they put their minds to it. I think that includes progressivism, entrepreneurship, the strong bonds of friendship and navigating the troubled waters of adolescence.’”—Parade.com

 

“These characters have been ‘fully-realized’ and ‘like friends’ to so many kids growing up.”—Variety

 

“Ann M. Martin's best-selling books…touched multiple generations.”—Entertainment Weekly

Downloads

Explore
  • Logo, Author and Adapter Photos
  • Graphic Novels
  • Chapter Books
  • Original Book Covers
  • Baby-sitters Little Sister
  • E-Book Covers

Press Contacts

Charisse Meloto
(212) 389-3785

cmeloto@scholastic.com