The Baby-Sitters Club

The tradition of reading a book or a story to a child as a means to help them sleep and to promote a love for books is an American tradition that my Haitian immigrant family never adopted. That’s not to say reading and education weren’t heavily promoted throughout my grade school and high school years. It absolutely was. My mother constantly encouraged me to read, but her being a Haitian immigrant, she had a so-so grasp on the English language at best and speaking it was enough of a task without also having to read it aloud to her child.

Instead, I took reading into my own hands. Reading wasn’t necessarily forced on me, but it was something I enjoyed from a young age. One of my absolute favorite book series was The Baby-Sitters Club by Ann M. Martin. These were classic books that focused on the friendship of a group of preteen girls while they managed their babysitting business. Reading this series in my youth is a treasured memory. Each book is written in first-person narrative in the perspective of a different girl. We get to know and understand their unique individual personalities while also continuing to see the love and bond they have with each other. I was completely obsessed with each book, and I could relate to the characters in different ways.

The Baby-Sitters Club has something for everyone, thus making characters girls and even boys can relate to. Personally, I connected to the character of Kristy the most because she was being raised by a strong mother with an absentee father. The movie version of the books focuses a little more on her relationship with her biological father. I can remember so clearly my life mirroring that of Kristy’s. There was a time when Kristy’s father promised to meet her at an amusement park and he didn’t show up, without calling, without a word, he just disappeared. While that was happening to her, my father was also breaking the same types of promises to me. In that moment, I felt her disappointment. Although she’s a fictional character that storyline made me feel less alone. For this particular reason I felt a special connection to Kristy.

Though I had a special place in my heart for Kristy, Martin did an incredible job of sucking me into their world and making me fall in love with each character. As a teacher who’s job it is to promote a love of books and encourage reading, I think this is an excellent series for older children. There are so many books and series available for younger children who are not yet reading on their own. While those books are an excellent foundation for creating a love of books, I think The Baby-Sitters Club is a great series to engage kids in reading as they get older and begin reading their first chapter books. The characters are realistic, likeable, and relatable, making this a series something children will become invested in. They won’t just read one book but continue to read so many more books enhancing their love of reading.

As a future mother, I definitely plan to share this series with my daughter and other young girls in my family. What I love about the series is that it encourages entrepreneurship in young girls. Throughout the books we get to see the struggles that they face, not only in their personal lives but in their business as well. We get to see the passion they have for taking care of children and all the new ideas they come up with to improve their business. We also get to see the other side of business, which is the hardships and struggles that they face as young girls dealing with adults that may not take them seriously. We get an inside look at how they manage their money, organize their business, and how they resolve conflicts within the group or issues that may be outside of their control. The heart of these books is love and friendship, but the business and entrepreneurial aspect that is intertwined in these stories cannot be overlooked. Through themes of love, friendship, perseverance, and hard work, these books implement the idea that you’re never too young to follow your dreams and ultimately conveys an unbelievable message of girl power that can and will resonate through the ages.