The Babysitter's Club Series

[Teamo19]

Do any of you remember this series? I loved this series when I was in middle school and never got to read the whole series as it has over two hundred books. I started collecting them and almost have the first hundred. I cannot wait to share this series with my daughter as she grows older. Each book collectively is about a different babysitter, making it hard to lose interest. The very first book brings in Kristy, a twelve year old know it all, who decides she needs money and needs a solution!

[LivreAmour217]

These books bring back some fond memories! You know, they have recently republished them (well, at least some of them). I just saw the first book on Amazon for Kindle and paperback. I might have to download this one and talk a walk down memory lane!

[offorsobianco]

I love this series! My biggest regret has always been never buying any of the books! I also really liked the movie, I thought they really kept it close to the books which was nice.
But anyway, that's awesome that OP has been collecting them! Thie series is definitely worth the investment.

[MonsterAttiude]

I remember this series. My cousin and I use to compete who has the latest book. Lol. I would have like my daughters to read them.

[mazza27]

I remember watching the show and having some of the books. Gosh brings back memories

[ashen0521]

My goodness, I haven't heard of that series in a long while. I am pretty sure I still have some in the attic at my moms house that my younger sisters will probably be reading here soon.

[ncreads]

I've only read about four from this series as they were passed down from my mother and I remember loving them when I was in middle school. My friends and I even tried to make our own baby sitters club! It didn't work as we weren't very organized. I'd love to get more of the series to read and pass to my some day daughter.

[zeldas_lullaby]

I loved the series, but it had some faults that drove me crazy.

Mary Anne's boyfriend, Logan Bruno, was from Louisville, KY. So am I. Here in Louisville, we do not go around pronouncing Mary Anne like Myree Eye-un. We say "Mary Anne." We also do not all live on horse farms. I don't know anyone who does, actually. (This is not intended to offend anyone who does speak Southern or live on a horse farm. It just drove me nuts that Ann Martin categorized all Louisvillians without ever even visiting, apparently; like when people assume that all of our radio stations play country and all we do with our lives is go to the Derby.)

I assume she took some flak for that, because Dawn was from Palo City, not Palo Alto. (Way to camouflage it.)

I always skipped chapter 2. It just summarized the characters for the one reader out there who decided to start on book 38 instead of book 1. It got old in a hurry.

I absolutely hated how politically correct the books were. I'm not saying I wanted the babysitters to be trash-talking vandals, but it was obvious that Ann M Martin was too afraid of offending anyone. The books were so squeaky clean that you could wash a car with them.

They never aged. Every year, they started a new school year in the same grade at the same age. I wanted them to grow up with me. They didn't.

The repetitive behaviours of the kids they babysat for really got old. "Claire-silly-billy-goo-goo!" was cute for the first five books. Then it just got old. And since no one ever aged, no one ever changed. They were static.

I hate it when a series (book or TV) ends with tragedy. Was it really necessary to burn down Mary Anne and Dawn's old farmhouse, with its secret passage? Geez.

[Ihyra]

My local library had the whole series, at first I read the blurb...put it back on the shelf because it didn't seem interesting...
However, there came a time when I couldn't find a book that I had not read apart from "Babysitter's".
Forgive me, but I didn't find it even a bit appealing...the language and especially the style used was pathetic not to mention the fact that; two or three chapters into the story and one would know exactly what the ending would be!
P.S. I was nine...

[Crysd]

Oh, these books do bring back memories. While they may not have been literary gold, they did help me develop an interest in reading at a young age.

[gatorgirl_823]

I LOVED this series when I was a little girl. I read them and discussed them with my cousin who also read them via letter (we were pen-pals). I have such fond memories of these books, such a great and diverse group of characters.

[Chelseafoshee]

The Babysitter's Club Series was one of my favorites growing up! As a teacher now, I realize how important it is for children to follow characters throughout several books. It allows for a deeper interest level in reading as well as increasing comprehension skills. I agree that I always had to skip the 2nd chapter, which was a bit of a drag, but it is nice that it was there for a reminder for those who did not read the series as avidly as I did! I think the author did a great job of creating a new reality for the reader, particularly younger girls, to escape into.

[Ealasaid]

I loved this series when I was growing up. I related mostly to Mary Anne because she was a quieter, bookish one. Last summer, I was at at rummage sale and the owner was selling a whole bunch of these books. I should have picked one up just for nostalgia purposes.

I have never been a fashionista, but one thing that always stood out to me when I read the books was how crazy the girls tended to dress. Especially the babysitters who were considered more "stylish". I realize these books were written in the 1980's, but I definitely think that the author took great liberties with what was considered fashionable.

-- 05 May 2015, 15:23 --

I hate it when a series (book or TV) ends with tragedy. Was it really necessary to burn down Mary Anne and Dawn's old farmhouse, with its secret passage? Geez.

Oh my gosh, that actually happened? I never read the end of the series, because I grew out of the books and stopped reading them. WHY would she have had that awesome farmhouse burn down?

[BookAddict1211]

I loved this series in school. I probably read almost all of them. At least every one that the school library carried. Thus was before I understood the public library..

[Mjelmer]

I loved this series when I was in middle school. I remember getting together with my friends and making babysitting kits! Brings back great memories!