I borrowed this from my 11 year old daughter, as I'd not read it in about 33 years. It was fun remembering all the things about the babysitters that I'd forgotten. I'm looking forward to reading the others in the series.

I do wish the author wouldn't encourage kids to defy their parents, though. A couple times the statement is made that Mary Anne, "stood up to her Dad". Mary Anne's dad is a good man who feels protective toward his daughter---not an abusive bully to be stood up to. I also take issue with Claudia, the "more mature" one, being so dishonest about the rules in her home. Sends the wrong message to kids when these behaviors are lauded. But, taking off the parenting hat, this was a fun read! ( )

This book was really cute. I never read this series when it came out even though I was the target age range at the time. I was too busy scaring myself by reading Mary Downing Hahn's books. 1986 me probably wouldn't have liked this book if I read it at that time, anyway. I may continue the series if I need a quick palate cleanser book, but I don't feel compelled to continue. ( )

The Babysitter's Club is a tween friendly novel series about a group of friends who decide to start their own babysitting service to earn money. The series revolves around the main club members; Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, Stacey and later, Dawn, their families, clients and the wider community of Stoneybrook, Connecticut. Each novel is narrated by a different character and tackles a wide range of concerns throughout the series including; friendship, relationship and family conflict, peer pressure, health conditions and growing up.

#1: KRISTY'S GREAT IDEA

In Kristy's Great Idea, Kristy observes her mother ringing everyone she knows in order to find a last minute babysitter and comes up with the idea of having a dedicated phone number with multiple sitters at the other end, all ready and waiting to be booked. It doesn't take much to convince her best friends; Mary Anne and Claudia into joining up and soon the Babysitter's Club is born. All three have been friends their whole lives and have lots of experience babysitting the neighbour kids. When Kristy asks if they know anyone else who might want to join, Claudia suggests new girl, Stacey who just moved from New York. Upon meeting her, they all agree she's in and that's that.

I loved this books as a kid. Like with Animal Ark by Lucy Daniels, I know I never read all of them but I read a hell of a lot. The first book in the series is a fun introduction to the club and the girls that are part of it. Kristy, the brash but kind, impulsive and hyper tomboy; Mary Anne, the shy, quiet, over protected dreamer; Claudia, the creative, fashion obsessed, free spirit and Stacey, the posh stylish New York transplant.

The drama is very relatable and although when I first read this it wasn't relevant - I hope I've just found some new tricks for dealing with my lovely niece and nephews. Kristy was a bit immature when it came to accepting her mum's boyfriend, but I liked that she realised she was being over the top and at least felt guilty if not willing to compromise.

As for the club, I loved the four of them taking up their positions as president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. And I was amused by the idea of them logging their babysitting jobs so they could learn from each other. 4 stars. ( )

Mentioned in a blog post at https://booksbeyondbinaries.blog/2020/07/20/chapter-books-whats-good/ (July 20th release)

Read this when I was a kid and loved it. Found it for a dollar at a store and decided to read it again for nostalgia. Fun to revisit. ( )