Title: The Baby-Sitters Club: Kristy’s Great Idea, A Graphic Novel by Raina Telgemeier, ISBN: 0439802415 New York, Scholastic, 2006, $16.99, pp. 192
Genre: Graphic Novel / Fiction / Adventure. Grades 4-8
Characters: Mary Anne Spier, the developer of The Babysitters Club is a strong-willed young lady who is learning how to live in a broken home with new family members walking in. Kristy is Mary Anne’s best friend from a very strict home. Her older sister is a genius who outshines Kristy regularly. Claudia is growing up much faster than the other girls. She has her own style, wears make up (or at least tries) and dyes her hair to match her personality. Stacey is a new girl who moves to town from New York. She tries to hide her diabetes from the other girls in the group, but she soon realizes that true friends do not judge.
Plot: When different parents are unable to find a babysitter for the afternoon, and Mary Anne’s friends are being called for the same jobs, she decides it is time to create a business called “The Baby-Sitters Club.” Three friends come together to form the group so that families can reach all the girls at one time and no family will be left without a sitter. A new student from New York, Stacy moves to town completing the foursome. Suspicions start to arise when Stacy lies to the group and makes things up for not eating. Mary Ann has her own problems though, as she does not like her mother’s new fiancée and she does everything possible to end the romance. Before long the girls work out their problems and The Baby-Sitters Club becomes a successful adventure.
Touchy Areas: There are no touchy areas in this novel.
Related Titles: Kristy‘s Great Idea (1995) by Ann M. Martin; Kristy‘s Worst Idea (1996) by Ann M. Martin
Movies: The Baby Sitters Club (1995); Adventures In Babysitting (1987)
Music: Babysitting Blues by Albert Collins; Circle of Friends by Point of Grace
Photos: The Baby Sitters Club (http://www.epinions.com/images/opti/b0/d9/kifmNetworkDisney_ChannelThe_Babysitters_Club-resized200.jpg)
Related Websites: Information about being a babysitter and creating various clubs (www.WorldKids.net/babysit);
The American Red Cross’s information about being certified in babysitting (http://www.redcross.org/services/hss/courses/babyindex.html)
Art: “The Cradle” by Berthe Morisot
Poem: "The Stolen Child" by W. B. Yeats
Classic Work: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Evaluation: One of the first books I ever read was the original The Baby Sitters Club and after that I read nearly all of them. Although this graphic novel of the beginning of the group is in the unfinished form, I still believe this is a great novel to get students reading. The story has no touchy areas and is safe even for early elementary students. Simple language, interesting images, and a sweet ending make this a charming graphic novel to be loved by any girl. I rate this book an 8 out of 10.
Reviewed by: Tonya K. Schauwecker, University of Toledo.