Ohhhh, the Baby-Sitters Club. There is not a book series that defines my childhood quite like this one does.
I devoured those books as a kid; I’d pick one up when we went into Wal-mart and be half finished with it by the time we got to the checkout line. I read the mysteries, the super specials, the autobiographies (loved those!) and everything in between. (Maybe as recently as…two summers ago when I got really bored one day and wanted to revisit my youth.)
No one loves the BSC — or remembers the most obscure details — quite like my best friend Beth. When we were 13, we wrote a scathing pretend letter to Ann M. Martin, ripping apart each character and the overall premise of the books. (Janine Kishi got a particularly bad verbal beating.) I can honestly say I have very few times in my life when I’ve ever laughed that hard. We were hyperventilating and unable to breathe — she peed — as we had this totally cathartic experience of saying “fuck you” to the books we had loved as children. Freshman year of high school, she went as Kristy Thomas (turtleneck, sweater, jeans, sneakers, ponytail, baseball cap, clipboard) and got a bunch of her friends to go as the other members. Two summers ago, on our white water rafting road trip, we had an hour-long conversation in the car about the BSC and discussed some of the topics you’ll see below. I gave her a BSC board game I bought on eBay that year for her birthday.
I still get texts from her from time to time that say things like, “Why the fuck was Shannon Kilbourne the only normal one and yet appeared in like one book every twenty or so?!” When she’s down, I’m going to be the first one to say, “Listen…remember when Stacey and Robert broke up? You know you’re gonna get through this…” Our love/hate relationship with the BSC is one of the defining things about our friendship.
I know Beth and I aren’t the only ones who loved these books but can look back now and wonder why. Why, ladies, were we all obsessed with such a ridiculous series about such a ridiculous group of people? I know I wrote at least one letter to Ann M. Martin when I was a kid, and there was that legendary letter at the age of 13, but today, I’m writing her another one, woman to woman, writer to writer.
I’m sorry, Ann, but there are some things I just have to know…
1. Why were there so many broken homes in Stoneybrook, Connecticut? Seriously, how does such a small, sweet town have such an out of control divorce rate? OK and maybe the real question is — Why doesn’t Kristy Thomas try and do something about it? This seems like the exact situation when she’d put on her Krushers cap and get to work.
2. Why did you subject us to Karen Brewer? Karen Brewer with her two sets of glasses and “gigundo” attitude problem was quite possibly the worst character ever created. And I have to think you knew she was a brat and a pain in the ass, so I’m not sure why she got her own spin-off series.
3. Be honest — did you create Dawn’s mother Sharon to be read as a total pothead? She’s from California. She puts her car keys in the linen closet and her high heel in the freezer. That’s not absentminded. That’s fucking high. (But you’d think if she were a pothead then at least Richard Spier would get a contact buzz at some point and loosen up.)
4. How much cutting and pasting was involved with chapter two? Every once in a while, did you throw something crazy and outlandish in there just to fuck with your editors/us because you knew no one was reading it very carefully?
5. Did Scholastic force you to introduce Jessi (the black one) and Abby (the Jew) in an effort to be more diverse? Or was that your idea?
6. Did it drive you crazy writing in Claudia’s Engrish? I mean, you’re a writer. I have to imagine that either drove you crazy or was the highlight of your day.
7. Two-part question: a. Was Mary-Anne inspired by a real person? and b. Did the real person actually cry that easily? I’ve had a lot of girl friends come and go due to Greek life and I’ve never met anyone who cried at a commercial with a kitten. Not even like a sad kitten. Just a kitten.
8. Why did Stacey and Claudia hang out with people like Mallory Pike? Who didn’t “luv” Stacey and Claudia? They were sooo cool and had such fun and slutty potential. They would be girls I’d like to party with, except Stacey had diabetes so she couldn’t drink. I just don’t think people who wear cool outfits like black and white checkered high tops and purple suspenders would hang out with uber-nerd Mallory Pike. When you’re trying to make out with 15-year-old Sam Thomas, you can’t hang out with sixth grader gingers!
9. Did Laine get into coke? I just always thought she did. She was scary but super cool. I love when she comes to Stoneybrook and tells Stacey what’s up.
10. Where did you come up with some of these words and expressions? I’m thinking things like pocketbook (it’s a purse), bureau (it’s a dresser), raid the refrigerator (what they did at every sleepover)…no one ever says things like this.
If you could just let me know, Ann, I’d appreciate it. And I really need to know about #2. I’m reading Karen Brewer’s Wikapedia entry and getting pissed off all over again and giving you a Look.
I know I’m not the only one who loved these books! For some hilarious BSC reading, check out…
- Mallory Pike’s Letter to Ann M. Martin
- What Claudia Wore
- The Baby-Sitters Club Revisited (this one will suck you in and totally have you searching your mom’s garage for your old books)
- The Frenemy’s The Baby-Sitters Club: Where Are They Now?
- blog.stoneybrookite.org: the best friends you’ll never have
- Incredulous Kristy (this one had me LOLing)
Also, I know have the theme song from that awful VHS series stuck in my head.
Did you love the BSC? What would you add to this list of questions for Ann M. Martin?
{ 90 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh man, I always skipped Chapter 2 for that exact reason!
God, this is hilarious. I’m trying not to crack up at work. My favorite part:
“When you’re trying to make out with 15-year-old Sam Thomas, you can’t hang out with sixth grader gingers!”
I loved those books SO hard and they’re SO ridiculous.
Oh man! I love BSC. Did you ever see this one – BSC + Meets American Psycho?
http://crushable.com/other-stuff/baby-sitters-club-by-bret-easton-ellis-chapter-1/
Libby´s last post ..The Suck-It-Elitism Peanut Butter- Honey- and Banana Sandwich
I love that you wrote this!
Okay, so me and my friends did this thing when we were in elementary school that we called “The Game.” It consisted pretty much entirely of describing our outfits a la The Baby-Sitter’s Club. I was very inspired by Claudia (who wasn’t?). Then, we would pretend to go out with our imaginary boyfriends.
OH ALSO, me and my sister created a spin-off to the BSC that we called the Brother-Sister Club. We rode around on our bikes pretending to be part of a big family of eight or nine kids singing, “Say hello to your friends, brother-sister club, say hello to the peeeeople who care.”
Ahhh, this is bringing back so many memories!
AND ALSO… THE BSC MOVIE!!! I had to have watched that thing five times.
People in CT do say words like that! I grew up there. hahahahaha. And Stacy and Claudia were definitely the party girls. Why did they have such loser friends?
angela´s last post ..Torture begins in 3…2…1…
I’m from New England and can attest to the fact that I did indeed grow up calling a purse a pocketbook, a dresser a bureau, and we did actually like the word “raid” a lot. We also use “wicked” in front of other adjectives to beef them up. As in, “wow, that is WICKED cool”. Yes, we’re dorks. ;)
Brittney´s last post ..Thanks Boeing
Yes! Same here, Brittney! I’m from the Boston area so I am guilty of using those same words. I guess Ann was trying to be regionally-correct with her terms.
I loved this post, Rachel! Totally brought me back to my childhood and as an (kind of) adult, I completely have those same questions now.
Another New England girl here! We use pocketbook, dresser, bureau, raid, wicked, etc… It’s all Yankee slang!
MelissaNibbles´s last post ..Guest Post- Loser Woes
Oh my goodness. I totally wanted to BE Ann M. Martin. I tried mimic her style when I started writing (I was maybe 8, thank god). And I’m glad I’m not the only one who revisited my childhood a few summers ago… hahaha.
So fun to read this post. I couldn’t get enough of them when I was younger either.
“Babysitters Club…Say ‘Hello” to your friends.”
You’ve got the song stuck in my head now too. :-)
and now in mine!
Why, oh why, did I have to stumble upon this post just before planning to buckle down and work? Because now I am going to spend the rest of my morning reading these links. :)
I’d like to know if I’m the only one who actually tried to start their own BSC with her friends? (Rather unsuccessfully, unfortunately. Because we were like…nine.)
shelby @ eatdrinkrun´s last post ..It’s like riding a bike
I definitely tried to start my own BSC with my friend, Meghan, when we were 11. I think the most exciting part was making the fliers with the big blocks on them. I’m not sure we ever distributed them, though….
That’s it – I have to seek out every single book on eBay, now! I only read the few that the tiny White Horse books stocked, and yup, total girl-crush on Claudia. Was there really a character called Austin Bentley or did I make that up?
Becca´s last post ..Finding Inspiration
YES! Austin Bentley, wasn’t that her boyfriend very early on in the series? Or not her boyfriend, but the guy she always seemed to go to the “dance” with whenever a date was needed!?
OMG this is awesome. I still have all the books in my parents basement. I LOVED them. I remember always wanting to “raid” the refrigeration! Hahahah.
Jessica @ How Sweet´s last post ..A Perfect Day
Next time I’m at Half-Priced Books, I’m definitely getting an old copy of one of these books. I loved them as a kiddo and would love to revisit to evaluate your questions to the author. Fun post!
Smash @ Appreciate The Now´s last post ..Then Dont Take Me To A Waffle House!
Awesome post, so true! People on the East Coast really do say “pocketbook” and “bureau” though–I grew up with those words. Don’t know about “raiding the refrigerator.” I wonder where that phrase originated, even if I’ve never heard someone actually say it.
I won’t lie, before I knew what diabetes really was, I wanted to have it so I could be like Stacey.
So thanks Ann M. Martin for making me inappropriate as a child.
Me too! I was so jealous of her because it seemed so special.
Paige´s last post ..Welcome
Haha Stacey was my favourite one and it was how I learned what diabetes was! I can remember reading the exact book where she was diagnosed and how she couldn’t eat chocolate(the horror to my younger self!). Also inappropriate…
I really liked Stacey too! Remember those parts where they showed the girls’ “real” handwriting? Well, Stacey wrote her “a’s” all fancy liked the typed version, not the handwriting version (know what I mean?). And I copied her. And I still write my a’s like that, many many years later. :)
I used to do that, too! I dotted my i’s with little hearts for at least a year because Stacey did it.
Definitely copied Kristy’s, Stacey’s, and even Mary-Ann’s handwriting for many years. I’d do a different page of notes in each of their handwritings, it’s a good thing a teacher never saw because she probably would have accused me of having someone else take my notes!
omg i felt the same way! lol, she was my fave, and i had no clue…just seemed neat for some reason?! and totally copied the handwriting of lots of the girls, too. man i am cracking up over here.
Wow, it’s been so long since I’ve read these books that I barely remember them. One book that stands out in my mind, though, is the one where a competing club of older babysitters shows up in town, but The Babysitters Club members are able to prove themselves as more awesome since they have Kid Kits and all…despite the fact that the competing babysitters could perform tracheotomies or something.
Paige´s last post ..Welcome
OH MY GOD. I made a Claudia reference the other day and NOBODY UNDERSTOOD.
Remember her random candy stashes?? She was always pulling candy bars out of her underwear drawer and other ridiculous places.
I still find myself making random Claudia references. I remember being in elementary and my shirt was super wrinkled. After my mom’s insistence that I iron it, I stubbornly told her that “wrinkles add character.” She told me that if “slob” was the character I was going for, it was spot on.
Summer´s last post ..99 problems but 10k ain’t one
I’m a teacher and have my 5th grade girls reading these books now. I am trying to get them to love them as much as I did but think they’re having a hard time getting into them. I remember ordering them from Scholastic Book Clubs and going through them in an hour. I’m a bit older than you so I remember when the series came out but no longer read it by the time the movie came out. I’m thinking of borrowing from my class library though to rekindle the love.
Oh and I do use the words pocketbook and bureau. I’m from Philadelphia, so maybe it’s an East Coast thing?
I will never forgive my 10th grade self for weeding my BSC and Sweet Valley High collections. I kept the first five (original edition) BSC books, but donated everything else to the library booksale. I thought I was too mature for that shit. WRONG.
Diane´s last post ..frivolouswhim-Happy birthday to the late Margaret Mitchell-
hahahahahha thank you for making my entire day with this entry. that is all.
marie´s last post ..Yoga by the Fireplace alternative title- Seriously- I need friends
One thing I actually thought about perhaps too recently (like maybe when I was watching the BSC movie on Netflix a month ago thus causing me to watch episodes of the TV show on YouTube… maybe it was then) was how I felt like everyone in the BSC seemed SO OLD. But they were in middle school! I was hardly capable of caring for all of Mallory’s family let alone running a business in middle school. Totally unrealistic. And I agree with your Stacey/Claudia comment – I IDOLIZED them. They would never hang out with someone who wore baseball hats daily.
I think one of my favorite BSC books to read (and this shows how anal I was even as a child) was this reference book that basically was an encyclopedia to everything BSC. It even included a map of Stoneybrook. I studied the shit out of that thing.
THE C COMPLETE GUIDE TO STONEYBROOK! And then there was also a baby-sitters manual, too, I’m pretty sure! Have ‘em both! A-mazing!
oh i loved the baby-sitters club books. i may have gotten the final one for christmas the year it came out, and may have read it that same day.
i’m also quite tempted to pick up the prequel. sorry i’m not sorry ;)
Oh my god. This is the highlight of my day. Also, chapter 2 totally blew. Waste!
I forgot about Shannon Kilbourne! She drank coffee when she was 13! I remember thinking that was so mature. And that my mom would just get mad if I ever took any of her coffee.
This is so funny! My college roommates and I did that, too. At once point senior year, we got really obsessed with the series and took turns reading some of the books and then watched the movie. We decided who we all were, and the one who was Mary Anne was very offended. I was Abby then, but now they’re all saying I’m Stacey (minus the diabetes) because they think I’m boy-crazy.
I never got that into BSC. I was more into Thoroughbred and The Saddle Club (what can I say? I was obsessed with horses).
Devon´s last post ..In A Perfect Running World…
ob.sessed. with. you. can you please visit nyc so i can meet you in person?!
Sarah´s last post ..In The Mood for Plein Sud!
LOL — I am dyinggggg to come back to NYC! I definitely think a round of drinks (or six) is necessary!
YES LADY!
Sarah´s last post ..In The Mood for Plein Sud!
I was a HUGE BSC reader. But, my heart really belonged to the Sweet Valley High twins. Talk about ridiculous. lol. I also adored the Boxcar Children when I was younger. I have a lot of fond memories of long summers spent with these books. :)
Jasmine @ Eat Move Write´s last post ..I Lost 200 Pounds & Now I Make Lasagna Like This
I LOVED the Boxcar children! I wanted so badly to keep my milk in a rock “fridge”!
Summer´s last post ..99 problems but 10k ain’t one
AH! I wanted to live in a box car when I was little and I always remember the part about the milk being kept there! It’s the most vivid memory I have of the books.
LOVE BSC!! Did you see the movie? Classic, truly classic.
DID I see the movie!? Ummm I watched it as recently as 2008. SO good.
I <3 the BSC. When I was in elementary school, my group of friends would pretend to be the characters and act out our own stories in the school yard. I was Kristy because, well, I was a tomboy brunette with a ponytail…
I had tons of the books…don't know what ever happened to them. I seem to remember even having one from their summer vacation where you could take their letters to each other out of envelopes and there were things like friendship bracelets and stuff in there. I also had the board game.
And, I watched the movie on TV the last time it was on (like within the last 6 months…it may've not even been on…I may've watched it on Netflix…maybe…) in a fit of nostalgia.
I don't think I have a question for Ann Martin, but I just want to say that just because Dawn's mom is from California, it doesn't make her a pot head. That other stuff might mean so, but really, why does the entire country have to think we're pot obsessed over here? I live in San Francisco, and sure, there is medical marijuana and there was a prop (that failed) on the ballot to legalize it….but, really, it's not like people are toking on every street corner. The announcers at the world series and the anchors from the cable news stations on election night were irking the hell out of me talking about how you couldn't walk down the street here without getting a contact high. What street would that be, as I've apparently never walked down it!
(That mini-rant had a lot more to do with national news coverage recently than your comment on Dawn's mom being a pothead, btw. You're right. She probably was.)
haha i LOVE this! not only did i love the books, but my sister and i were fairly obsessed with the movie… it happened to be on TV recently and i may or may not have watched it, twice…
Lauren at KeepItSweet´s last post ..My Favorite Pumpkin Bread
OMG, I devoured all those books! I’d get invited to friends’ houses, things would be awkward, and then I’d end up reading their whole BSC collection. Sadly for me, I identified with Mary Ann (except for the crying thing–I cried at everything EXCEPT sad kittens) and hoped that, since the nerd was the only one with a steady boyfriend, I’d somehow score a cute guy too…
I think it would be a great game to see who can recite all of Chapter 2 material faster–and I can’t wait to get to reading those awesome BSC links.
Laura Georgina´s last post ..Camera Fun- Diwali Lights
Okay, now I have the BSC theme stuck in my head. Not cool!
When I moved a few years ago I started going through my old journals. When my parents divorced, my brother and I moved from NC to MD with our mom. I was super nerdy and read all. The. Time. Well, I’m still super nerdy and read all the time, but that’s neither here nor there. So I’m going through the journal encompassing “the move”, and find that I compared my first impressions of some of the girls at my new school to BSC characters. “As in, Rebekah wears whatever she wants and looks great, just like Claudia!” Ugh.
nicole´s last post ..david
But did you call yourself “Nicole Two-Two”???
UM, yes. Obsessed. I had the board game and made kid kits to bring to babysitting gigs. Oh yes I did.
My question would be about Mary Ann’s boyfriend, Logan (who looked just like Cam Geary, apparently). Logan had a “dreamy” Kentucky accent. I didn’t think anything of it at the time but really, Ann M. Martin? Kentucky? Really?
Yes. BSC and Sweet Valley Twins were my childhood. You’re definitely right about the autobiographies- they were the absolute best! Who in their right mind would let an 11 year old babysit their child? I wanted to BE Dawn. And Stacey, but without the diabetes. It annoyed me that she got trapped in her car on a snowy night and would have died if her mom hadn’t thought to pack broccoli. I was always rooting for her to bitch-slap those girls who laughed at her for peeing the bed at the NYC sleepover.
Happy Founder’s Day! :)
jenna´s last post ..The Art of Relaxation
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.
Can we do Sweet Valley next???
Oooh I’d have to brush up on those!! I was more of a Sweet Valley Twins girl than Sweet Valley High. Sweet Valley High kinda scared me…the print was smaller and shit got real intense sometimes!
The Twins and their shared Fiat.
I’m late to this thread, but Sweet Valley High actually caused me a lot of trauma at some points! Drugs, sex, domestic abuse, drunk driving, creepy murderers that always went after Jessica…
I also appreciated Ann M. Martin’s ability to call a spade a spade…in this case, I mean a black girl. I always read Sweet Valley Twins, and it took me forever to realize Maria Slater was black. I don’t have a book in front of me, but I believe Francine Pascal always described her as having skin the color of a cafe au lait, or coffee tinted with cream, or mocha. Or some other Starbucks-inspired description. Ann M. Martin? “Jessie is black.” Boom. End of story.
Summer´s last post ..99 problems but 10k ain’t one
TRUE STORY!
Truth. It took me about three books of SVT to realize….ahhh. Ok. Maria is a sista.
I take these out from the library and read them now. It bring me great pleasure.
Heather, I remember when you were re-reading these books and posting about them!
Summer´s last post ..99 problems but 10k ain’t one
Wow, I’m wishing I hadn’t given all my BSC books to my little cousin a few years back, I need to brush up a little! I always skipped chapter 2 also, I’m glad to hear that we could all start our own club “we skip chapter two, every.time.”
So, I’m not black, but Jessi was my favorite character because we were both in ballet and I may or may not still spell my nickname “Jessi” because of her. Also, if we want to get into my confused childhood of connecting with young black fictional characters, Addy was my favorite American Girl and yes, I have the doll and all the clothes. (none of the furniture though….my parents aren’t made of money!) oh wait…I did have the bed come to think of it, I think I saved up my babysitting money for that one….and now we are full circle.
Over and out.
Jess-The Semi Abnormal Gal´s last post ..Project Tasteless- Pretend Postpartum Potatoes
Wow. Hello blast from the past. I was OBSESSED with BSC!
a) Always skipped chapter 2, what was the point?!? No other series I have ever read did that…
b) My friend and I once wrote a script of one of the books where they get in a big fight and we use to act it out on her front porch until my dad said we had to stop because we were being too mean to each other, even though we were acting? I still don’t get it.
c) We would also play BSC using the board game and had an appointment book.
d) My “Kid Kit” sucked, the kids I babysat never wanted to play with my stuff…
Too much, I could go on for days. I’m actually meeting up with the previously mentioned friend, we’re totally reminiscing…
LOL @ Kid Kit!
I adored the BSC when I was in elementary/middle school. I had so many of their books. I was sad when I heard the series ended……I still have the movie on VHS (I’m old) and I had the companion book….I read those books so much, the covers fell off. Those books were like my best friends…..My favorites were Stacey (cuz she was from NYC) and Mary Anne (because I was really shy like her).
I started watching “The Secret World of Alex Mack” on Nickeledeon because the girl that played Alex Mack played Dawn in the movie. And I became a Rachel Leigh Cook fan after the movie too…Anyway , the BSC movie was on tv a couple of years ago and I said almost every line word for word lol….
I love Sweet Valley High too. I used to watch the tv show everyday after school in 8th grade.
I forgot to mention that I also owned the movie soundtrack, I still listen to it today. That album had some hot tracks on it lol….
I used to try to hide candy in my room like Claudia. Only, I didn’t know that I shouldn’t hide half-open candy bars and got ants in my room.
Lee´s last post ..Farmer’s Market
At least once a week when I am getting ready for work: what would Claudia wear? This is a recent development for me since I finally have the job that allows me to exercise creative license with just about everything I do. It’s an incredible feeling to not take myself so seriously. This episode of Claudia Kishi: Style Icon was basically ripped from the pages of a chapter 2 description. I converted a royal purple mini dress into a tunic over a pair of skinny black pants. I matched it up with a teal, goldenrod, and tan boyfriend cardigan and cinched it at the middle with a braided belt. AND, my favorite part: cowboy boots with slouchy teal socks. My co-worker knew what was up when I came upstairs, “It’s a Claudia kind of day, isn’t it?”
My love for the BSC runs deep. For my 23rd birthday, my grad school bff who worked at Scholastic gifted me a hardcover of “Boy Crazy Stacey,” my favorite book in the series –I teared up when she gave it to me, it was so thoughtful, not to mention that the book really does hold up over time. I should also share that I was the playwright responsible for the dramatic reenactment of “Mary Anne Saves the Day” in fourth grade. I cast myself as Claudia and I can, to this day, recite the fight scene that spanned the third and fourth chapters. Oh, and I just bought the movie soundtrack last week at a thrift store. It’s such a pick-me-up, I highly recommend it.
I just spit water at “dramatic reenactment of ‘Mary Anne Saves the Day’”…Beth and I SO NEED TO DO THIS ASAP AND PROBABLY PUT IT ON YOUTUBE.
You are awesome.
EPIC POST!!!!!!! I never heard anyone say pocketbook until I moved to the South. Thanks for the laughs!!
Fact: For years…anytime I was really thirsty and tired I was convinced I had diabetes . Because of BSC.
THANKS ANN M MARTIN.
and and and i used to hide candy in my room to be more like Claudia. I don’t know why I admitted that.
ME, TOO!! I started getting thirsty in 4th grade and SWORE that I had diabetes!!!!
Did you invade my brain? I was just thinking about the BSC this morning because I suddenly realized that perhaps Mallory’s family was super religious and that’s why they had eight kids?
Side story: I grew up in Connecticut, and when I was about eight years old, I wrote an entire notebook of BSC meeting crap and “found” it one day in my room, thereby tricking my friends into thinking that the BSC was REAL and Claudia had lived in the house before my family moved in. It was great.
Brilliant!
You totally need to check out http://community.livejournal.com/bsc_snark
You will LOL for hours.
ok, i often think this after reading A LOT of your posts…but seriously, BEST. POST. EVER. i die w/ these links, and cant wait for t-giving to raid the basement at home.
you are hysterical! and all of this, so true.
I feel so dated because I remember when the very first BSC book was published. Before it was the BSC. I remember my mom teaching me my very first lesson in health…always eat dessert (in that these were not “good” books but it was as important to read them as it is to eat chocolate or drink alcohol). I wanted to be Stacy. I wanted to bang Kristy. I like to think I got my way on both fronts. AWESOME post (as always) Rachel.
Aj´s last post ..Monday Fun Day- Training!
Wait, I’m re-reading comments. There was a MOVIE? A TV show?
I’m either so very old, or lived under a rock. Given my obsession with BSC, I’m thinking the former.
Seriously, a movie? Is it on Netflix streaming?
Aj´s last post ..Monday Fun Day- Training!
Oh yes…you’re missing out! http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/The-Baby-Sitters-Club/60030105?strackid=253abb34bfc4f5f5_0_srl&strkid=631317921_0_0&trkid=438381
I pretty much love this!!! I will never forget my dissapointment when my parents got me the Claudia doll just because she was the only one with dark hair (well minus Jessie) but still. Claudia was the dumb one. Not cool!!
sbg´s last post ..Photocopy Romance
OMG the dolls!!!! Yes!! I think I had Kristy and Stacy!
This post had me LOL(Stacey and Claudia’s slutty potential)!! This series was one of my favorites. Sweet Valley High was the other one. Now I wish I kept them to read them all over again!
a few years ago i found a shizload of the old vhs series for a buck each. i own about a dozen of them.
before i was married my roommate and i would get plastered on pink wine and watch them. my husband hates fun so now they just sit in a closet.
and now i have an urge to watch them.
kalin´s last post ..Rules
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have every.single.book. from #1 to the last one. Every mystery. Every autobio. Every special series. The Logan books. ALLLLLLL of them.
I loved these books and still read them every now and them from my stash. I started reading them in 3rd grade and would read about 3-4 books a day. INSANE.
This post brought back soooo many memories. The questions you wrote were the same ones I asked myself. Once, a few friends and I had an Ann M. Martin bash fest and critiqued every character just as you mentioned here.
LOVE THIS POST!
I came across this article today, and instantly thought of your BSC post. Thought you’d enjoy it!
http://thehairpin.com/2011/01/the-baby-sitters-club-where-are-they-now/
Kari´s last post ..Thundersnow and Being Thankful
Oh my gosh I can’t believe I never came across this post before. I am sitting at my desk at work laughing SO hard. I was a huge BSC fan and totally wrote to Ann M. Martin back in the day. I got a headshot and generic letter back from her. I most definitely still have it somewhere I’m sure.
This is genius.
This is the best thing ever! I just laughed so hard…I completely forgot about the BSC but was quickly back up to speed….I loved those big super specials. I have played that board game, also!
I am pretty sure that I moved to California because I loved Dawn so much.
SERIOUSLY LOLing at work right now!! I was a little young when the BSC books were popular, but I did get into the “Karen” spin-off book series (I had the whole collection AND the cardboard stand for them–can you tell I was super cool?). I thought it was awesome how she had two of everything (I was like 7 at the time, so I just wanted MORE toys, clothes, etc). And I really wanted an older sister…but mostly now I think I have some easy reading material to catch up on!
And thanks for having such an incredible blog! I love poking around here and reading articles from before I was a dedicated follower!