Alternatively titled: Everything I need to know, I learned in Stoneybrook.
Second Alternative Title: I'm a Dork.
Growing up, I was obsessed with these books. I have every single book from the series, including my recently acquired collection of California Diaries and the Friends Forever Series. As an adolescent, I wanted to be Claudia (didn't we all?), but was really more of a Mary-Anne/Stacey hybrid with a dash of Dawn thrown in.
How, you might ask (or maybe not), can a series of books for little girls change the way you look at the world? How could it not? After reading every single book in a series, you are bound to be influenced in some way, especially as a child/adolescent. I have been heavily influenced by Twilight, and not only am I an adult now, but I have only be reading those books for the last few months. The BSC books were a part of my life for so long, I knew the characters better than some of my friends and family.
My sister and I used to share a room
(not by necessity, but by choice. I know...we were weird) and I remember begging her to read out loud to me from her Baby-Sitters books (I think this was either before I could read or before my parents thought I was grown up enough to read BSC). I also remember that she preferred to read to me from her Scary Stories to Tell in The Dark books. Needless to say, I didn't always sleep very well when I shared a room with my sister, and eventually we grew tired of the arrangement and I moved back into my old room.
The first chapter book I ever read was Karen's Roller Skates.
And while in later years I found Karen to be incredibly annoying, I will always have a soft place in my heart for that book-especially when I think of the surge of pride I felt when I ran in to my parent's room to tell them I had just finished reading my first chapter book all by myself (sounds like I was having a Karen moment myself).
I first started reading the BSC books myself during their heyday. Every girl was reading them and I felt like I was part of the "in" crowd. As I grew up, they waned in popularity, but I remained loyal. My friends and I kept reading. I finally dropped off around the Friends Forever series. The last book I remember reading was The Fire at Mary-Anne's House. I remember reading one California Diary when I was young and I didn't like it--especially the handwriting throughout the whole book. They seemed so much more grown up than the BSC--and I think that scared me. So I never explored those two series until many years later.
Growing up, I was obsessed with these books. I have every single book from the series, including my recently acquired collection of California Diaries and the Friends Forever Series. As an adolescent, I wanted to be Claudia (didn't we all?), but was really more of a Mary-Anne/Stacey hybrid with a dash of Dawn thrown in.
How, you might ask (or maybe not), can a series of books for little girls change the way you look at the world? How could it not? After reading every single book in a series, you are bound to be influenced in some way, especially as a child/adolescent. I have been heavily influenced by Twilight, and not only am I an adult now, but I have only be reading those books for the last few months. The BSC books were a part of my life for so long, I knew the characters better than some of my friends and family.
My sister and I used to share a room
(not by necessity, but by choice. I know...we were weird) and I remember begging her to read out loud to me from her Baby-Sitters books (I think this was either before I could read or before my parents thought I was grown up enough to read BSC). I also remember that she preferred to read to me from her Scary Stories to Tell in The Dark books. Needless to say, I didn't always sleep very well when I shared a room with my sister, and eventually we grew tired of the arrangement and I moved back into my old room. The first chapter book I ever read was Karen's Roller Skates.
And while in later years I found Karen to be incredibly annoying, I will always have a soft place in my heart for that book-especially when I think of the surge of pride I felt when I ran in to my parent's room to tell them I had just finished reading my first chapter book all by myself (sounds like I was having a Karen moment myself).I first started reading the BSC books myself during their heyday. Every girl was reading them and I felt like I was part of the "in" crowd. As I grew up, they waned in popularity, but I remained loyal. My friends and I kept reading. I finally dropped off around the Friends Forever series. The last book I remember reading was The Fire at Mary-Anne's House. I remember reading one California Diary when I was young and I didn't like it--especially the handwriting throughout the whole book. They seemed so much more grown up than the BSC--and I think that scared me. So I never explored those two series until many years later.
I have to thank my parents, who first of all, took me to the book store every month so that I could pick up the latest copies. My mom was the one who made me keep buying them towards the end--she kept saying "Don't you want a complete set?" They also never made me get rid of my books.
From what I understand, having your parents insist on getting rid of your BSC books is a pretty common, and very traumatic occurrence in BSC fandom.
From what I understand, having your parents insist on getting rid of your BSC books is a pretty common, and very traumatic occurrence in BSC fandom. And yes, there is a BSC fandom. There are a lot of people out there who enjoy re-reading these books. For me, they are like a warm blanket of that I can curl up in. I know what's going to happen, and I'm okay with that. Is it Hemingway? No. But I think we all enjoy reading books because of the way they take us away to a different place and tell us a story different from our own. Who's to say that place has to be unfamiliar, or that you can't revisit a character's story?
Even though it is kind of ridiculous that the girls are frozen at age 13 in the eighth grade, there is also something comforting about the fact that the girls never grow up. We can imagine what they might have become, but it's not in the BSC canon; therefore we never have to learn about the BSC breaking up, or one of the Baby-Sitters becoming Homecoming Queen while another becomes a nerd. And it would have been unnatural if they had grown up and continued with the club, because that's not how high school works (not that the BSC has ever been noted for it's realistic nature).
Even though it is kind of ridiculous that the girls are frozen at age 13 in the eighth grade, there is also something comforting about the fact that the girls never grow up. We can imagine what they might have become, but it's not in the BSC canon; therefore we never have to learn about the BSC breaking up, or one of the Baby-Sitters becoming Homecoming Queen while another becomes a nerd. And it would have been unnatural if they had grown up and continued with the club, because that's not how high school works (not that the BSC has ever been noted for it's realistic nature).
So, as I was saying, every woman I have ever met fell into at least one of the following categories: Kristy, Claudia, Mary-Anne, Stacey, Dawn, Mallory or Jessi. They may not fit all of the characteristics, but I can't tell you how many times I have met somebody and thought "She is such a Jessi" or thought something somebody did was "such a Mallory thing to do." The more I get to know someone, it is likely that they will become a hybrid of two or even three Baby-Sitters. So here is a list of some of my friends and even some famous people who fit each category perfectly.
Kristy-Tomboy, take charge/bossy egomaniac.
Famous Kristys: 
Hillary Clinton, 
Rosie O'Donnell
Hillary Clinton, Rosie O'Donnell Claudia-Fashion Forward, Hospitable Host, messy, junk-food lover, creative, not the best speller.
My Best Friend Meredith is SUCH a Claudia. 
She always wears the best clothes and puts together the most amazing outfits--however, I would look ridiculous in the same outfit. Over the years, my friend Rachel and I have always joked about how it was time to go over to "Claudia's house" because her home became like our headquarters. I'm not really sure why, but that is where we always wound up. Meredith has also taken to making jewelry lately. She is most definitely the Claudia Kishi to my Stacey McGill.
She always wears the best clothes and puts together the most amazing outfits--however, I would look ridiculous in the same outfit. Over the years, my friend Rachel and I have always joked about how it was time to go over to "Claudia's house" because her home became like our headquarters. I'm not really sure why, but that is where we always wound up. Meredith has also taken to making jewelry lately. She is most definitely the Claudia Kishi to my Stacey McGill.Mary-Anne-Sensitive, sweet, doormat, has a temper, cries at the drop of a hat, crushes on male actors, loves cats!
I'm a bit of a Mary-Anne myself--I am quite sensitive, get crushes on male actors and can sometimes be a doormat. I also like kittens!
I'm a bit of a Mary-Anne myself--I am quite sensitive, get crushes on male actors and can sometimes be a doormat. I also like kittens!
Famous Mary-Annes: Ann M Martin,
Katie Holmes
Stacey-Boy-crazy, Fashion-conscious, has diabetes (but really any life threatening disease works), good with numbers, and a teensy bit spoiled and selfish. I would say that I am mostly a Stacey because I would consider myself to be fashion-conscious, a little boy crazy, and I've had a life threatening disease. I would never claim to be good with numbers, though, and I don't think I'm too spoiled.
Al Gore,
Elisabeth Hasselbeck,
Sheryl Crow
Jessi-Obsessed with dance, likes horses, knows sign language, from New Jersey, Black (I'm not racist, but unfortunately they never developed Jessi's character enough..this actually became one of the only traits people could name about Jessi).
Maybe we all have a different frame of reference, but I bet everyone has their own version of the "Baby-Sitters Club" that helps them to understand people. I'm glad that I had these books growing up. I am glad that I can still read them and return to a simpler time, when I could go to the book store, pick up a new book, and escape to a new adventure in Stoneybrook.
Stacey-Boy-crazy, Fashion-conscious, has diabetes (but really any life threatening disease works), good with numbers, and a teensy bit spoiled and selfish. I would say that I am mostly a Stacey because I would consider myself to be fashion-conscious, a little boy crazy, and I've had a life threatening disease. I would never claim to be good with numbers, though, and I don't think I'm too spoiled. Famous Staceys: Stacey is such a character that all I can think about is characters in other books and movies that remind me of her. Elle Woods from Legally Blonde comes to mind, along with Shelby from Steel Magnolias
("Drink your juice!") and 
Rosalie from Twilight.
("Drink your juice!") and Rosalie from Twilight.Dawn-Individualistic, opinionated, California Casual, environmentalist. I hate myself for the fact that in some situations, I act like Dawn--i.e., get stuck on my soap box and won't get off of it until someone agrees with me or at least understands my point.
Famous Dawns:
Al Gore,Elisabeth Hasselbeck,Sheryl CrowMallory-bookworm, likes horses, nerdy, lots of siblings, frizzy red hair.
Famous Mallorys (take into consideration that Mallory had a lot of growing up to do since she was only 11): Sarah Jessica Parker, Julianne Moore, Cynthia Nixon
Jessi-Obsessed with dance, likes horses, knows sign language, from New Jersey, Black (I'm not racist, but unfortunately they never developed Jessi's character enough..this actually became one of the only traits people could name about Jessi).Famous Jessis: I have no doubt that Jessi could have grown up to be someone like Beyonce or Brandy. 
Maybe we all have a different frame of reference, but I bet everyone has their own version of the "Baby-Sitters Club" that helps them to understand people. I'm glad that I had these books growing up. I am glad that I can still read them and return to a simpler time, when I could go to the book store, pick up a new book, and escape to a new adventure in Stoneybrook.Happy Reading!
Love,
Elle Bunny
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