The Baby-Sitters Club


The Baby-Sitters Club is a series of novels written by Ann M. Martin and published by Scholastic between 1986 and 2000. Collectively, the series has sold more than 190 million copies. Martin has authored an estimated 60–80 novels in the series, while subsequent titles have been written by ghostwriters such as Peter Lerangis.
The Baby-Sitters Club is about a group of friends living in the fictional, suburban town of Stoneybrook, Connecticut, who run a local babysitting service called the "Baby-Sitters Club". The original four members are Kristy Thomas, Mary Anne Spier, Claudia Kishi, and Stacey McGill, but the number of members varies throughout the series. The novels are told in first person and deal with issues such as illness, divorce, and moving house.
As the series progresses, Dawn Schafer, Mallory Pike and Jessi Ramsey, Logan Bruno, Shannon Kilbourne, and Abby Stevenson join the Baby-Sitters Club.

History of the series

The Baby-Sitters Club series originated when Jean Feiwel, an editor at Scholastic, saw the popularity of a novel called Katie's Babysitting Job by Martha Tolles and realized there was a market for novels about babysitting. She contacted Ann M. Martin, who took the general idea of a babysitter's club and created the characters, plots, and settings for the series. It was initially planned as a 10-book series; however, the first 10 novels were only moderately successful. Scholastic ordered 100 more, followed by 20 more as the series grew in popularity. By the time the 11th novel was published, the first printing was up to 100,000 copies. When publishing ceased in 2000, there had been 213 novels published in the series. Of these, Martin estimates she wrote from 60 to 80.

Structure of the novels

With the exception of Super Specials and Super Mysteries, the novels are written and narrated from one character's point of view. The novels generally follow this format:
  • Chapter 1: Introduction to character; beginning of plot.
  • Chapter 2: Description of the club and its members, along with the character's family.
  • Chapters 3–15: Continuation of plot and conclusion, usually accompanied with a subplot.

    Main characters

Kristin "Kristy" Amanda Thomas

  • Club Role: President
  • Appearance: Shortest girl in eighth grade, white, brown hair, brown eyes; usual clothing is ripped jeans or normal jeans, a sweater, hoodie, turtleneck or sport shirt, sneakers, and a baseball hat.
  • Birthday: August 20
  • Age: 12 and 13
Kristy Thomas is the founder and president of the Baby-Sitters Club. She is depicted as assertive, energetic, and athletic, often taking leadership roles among her peers. The idea for the BSC originates from her own experience, when her mother struggled to find a babysitter for Kristy's younger brother, which inspired her to create a coordinated babysitting service. Kristy lives with her large, blended family and is known for her interest in sports, particularly softball, which she coaches. She is commonly described as a tomboy and typically wears casual clothing.
Kristy is played by Avriel Hillman in the HBO series, Sophie Grace in the Netflix series, and Schuyler Fisk in the film adaptation.

Claudia Lynn Kishi

  • Club Position: Vice President
  • Appearance: Asian, long black hair, dark brown eyes, wild and unpredictable outfits.
  • Birthday: July 11
  • Age: 12
Claudia is Japanese American. She is extremely creative in both her artwork and wardrobe. She is the vice president because she has her own phone in her room, and she takes after-hours calls. She always has snacks, junk food, and candy hidden around her room for the meetings. She is described as creative, talented, sophisticated, and trendy. Claudia loves to draw, paint, sculpt, make jewelry, and sketch. She loves to read Nancy Drew mystery books. Claudia hides her Nancy Drew mysteries and her candy around her room because her parents do not approve of them. Despite her diet, she maintains a slender figure and clear skin. Claudia's mother is the head librarian at Stoneybrook Public Library and her father is a banker. Her older sister Janine is a real-life genius with an IQ of 196. In Claudia and Mean Janine, Claudia's grandma, Mimi had a serious stroke which causes Claudia to take better care of her and be around her more often. Claudia has an aunt, Peaches, whose husband is named Russ, and a cousin named Lynn. Claudia feels that no one in her family understands her, except for her beloved grandmother, Mimi, who died in Claudia and the Sad Goodbye.
Claudia is played by Jeni F. Winslow in the HBO series, Momona Tamada in the Netflix series, and Tricia Joe in the film adaptation.

Mary Anne Spier

  • Club Position: Secretary
  • Appearance: White ; mixed in the 2020 Netflix series. Has long brown hair worn in childish braids until Mary Anne Saves the Day; she cuts it short in Mary Anne's Makeover, brown eyes; usual clothing is a blouse and a skirt until her makeover, where she starts to wear modern clothing.
  • Birthday: September 22
  • Age: 12
Mary Anne is the secretary of the club due to her exceptional organizational skills and neat handwriting. Her hobbies include sewing, knitting, watching classic movies, and reading. She and her best friend, Kristy, initially looked similar until Mary Anne cut her hair and began wearing a little makeup in Mary Anne's Makeover. She also vowed never to get her ears pierced due to being traumatized by almost having her ears pierced by a fellow camper at Camp Mohawk. Mary Anne and Kristy have been best friends since childhood and were neighbors until Kristy's mother married Watson Brewer and Kristy had to move to Watson's new neighborhood. Mary Anne's mother died from cancer when she was a baby, and her father Richard was very overprotective until he married Sharon Schafer and loosened up. She is very sensitive, and shy, is a good listener, and does not like being the center of attention. In Logan Likes Mary Anne! Mary Anne starts going out with Logan Bruno, and she is the first member who has a steady boyfriend. Mary Anne has a stepsister named Dawn, a stepbrother named Jeff, and a kitten named Tigger. In Mary Anne and the Secret in the Attic it is revealed that she lived with her grandparents before her dad raised her on his own.
It was revealed that Ann M. Martin based the character of Mary Anne on herself. Mary Anne is played by Meghan Lahey in the HBO series, Malia Baker in the Netflix series, and Rachael Leigh Cook in the film adaptation.

Anastasia "Stacey" Elizabeth McGill

  • Club Position: Treasurer
  • Appearance: White, blonde hair that she often gets permed, blue eyes; usual clothing is sophisticated and polished, often wears jeans.
  • Birthday: April 3
  • Age: 12 and 13
A native New Yorker, Stacey moves to Stoneybrook in the seventh grade, around the time she is diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. She quickly becomes friends with Claudia because of their shared love for both fashion and boys. They are considered to be the best-dressed students at Stoneybrook Middle School. Stacey has Type 1 diabetes and has been hospitalized several times as a result; in Kristy's Great Idea, she tries to hide this from the others, since her classmates in New York teased her because of it, but she eventually tells her new friends. Because she excels in math, she is the club's treasurer. Her talent in math inspired her to join the Stoneybrook Middle School Mathlete Club. Stacey leaves Stoneybrook when her father is transferred back to New York City but returns after her parents' divorce. She later leaves the club for a short time after she starts dating Robert Brewster and chooses him over the club. However, she later returns to the club after she has an unpleasant experience with some girls who pretended to be her friends; this makes her realize who her real friends are. Stacey is best friends with Claudia.
Stacey is played by Jessica Prunell in the HBO series, Shay Rudolph in the Netflix series, and Bre Blair in the film adaptation.

Dawn Reed Schafer

  • Club Position: Official Alternate Officer
  • Appearance: White, long light blonde hair, light blue eyes, in the Netflix series she is Latina and has brown hair and brown eyes.
  • Birthday: February 5
  • Age: 12
Dawn grew up in California, until her parents' divorce. Dawn moved with her younger brother Jeff and her mother across the country to Stoneybrook, Connecticut, where her mother, Sharon, grew up. Jeff had a lot of trouble adjusting to the move and soon returned to California to live with their father. Dawn is a vegetarian, addicted to healthy food, likes ghost stories, and is also into environmentalism. She joins Stoneybrook Middle School in the middle of the seventh grade when the club members are having a fight. She meets Mary Anne and they instantly bond. Her mother and Mary Anne's father marry; they dated while they were in high school, and once reunited, they discover that they still love each other. Dawn and Mary Anne become stepsisters as a result. Kristy, Mary Anne's best friend, is initially jealous, but gets over it and invites Dawn to become the fifth member of the club once the fight between the club members ends. Dawn temporarily moves back to California in Dawn's Big Move, but returns to Stoneybrook in Kristy and Mr. Mom. However, in Farewell, Dawn, she moves back to California permanently.
Dawn is played by Melissa Chasse in the HBO series, Xochitl Gomez and Kyndra Sanchez in the Netflix series, and Larisa Oleynik in the film adaptation.

Mallory Pike

  • Club Position: Junior Officer, then Honorary Member
  • Appearance: White, curly reddish brown hair, blue eyes, clear braces, and glasses.
  • Birthday: May 2
  • Age: 10
Mallory's first appearance was in The Truth About Stacey as a sitting charge. The members used to babysit Mallory along with her seven younger siblings. However, when she became 11, she joined the club as a Junior Officer after Stacey's departure.
Mallory feels that her parents treat her like a baby, and although she was allowed to get her ears pierced in Mallory and the Trouble with Twins, she still feels self-conscious about her glasses and braces. She loves drawing, writing, and reading; her dream is to become a children's book author and illustrator. Her family has a pet hamster named Frodo; they later adopt Pow, who was the Barretts' dog. Mallory was given the opportunity to teach eighth-grade students as part of a school event. However, after she accidentally broke a piece of chalk during a lesson, the eighth-grade students began calling her "Spaz Girl" and so did the other students from other grades in the school. This resulted in Mallory transferring to a boarding school, where she stayed until the end of the series.
Mallory is played by Meghan Andrews in the HBO series, Vivian Watson in the Netflix series, and Stacy Linn Ramsower in the film adaptation.