My 9-year-old daughter came across the TV adaptation of Ann M. Martin’s The Baby-Sitter’s Club on Netflix. The two of us spent the entire Saturday afternoon eating popcorn and watching all 10 episodes. After finishing the series, my daughter was desperate to find out if and when the next season would be released.
I suggested she read the books while we wait for the next season, and she squealed, “There are books?!” The next day we picked up a copy of the original and the graphic novel version of Kristy’s Great Idea from the library. She was hooked.
Watching my kid devour these books brought back memories of when I read The Baby-Sitter’s Club for the first time. The characters’ personalities, coming of age stories and tales of friendship were so relatable. It was really nice to see Netflix stayed true to the books while updating the characters and setting to reflect today’s audience and celebrate diversity.
Here are a few books to try after reading The Baby-Sitters Club and watching the Netflix reboot!
Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs
series by Sharon Draper
Ann M. Martin created several Babysitters Club spin-offs. One of my favorites were the mystery books in which each babysitter encountered a mystery to solve while on the job. If you liked the BSC Mysteries, discover how Ziggy and his friends form their new club and hold secret meetings to solve mysteries.
Mallory
series by Laurie B. Friedman
From moving to a new house to making friends and going away to camp, the Mallory series offers fun (and sometimes funny) tween stories that many readers can relate to.
Real Friends
by Shannon Hale
In this graphic novel, Shannon learns about cliques and bullies and discovers that sometimes childhood friends grow apart… and that’s okay.
Cupcake Diaries
series by Coco Simon
After her best friend joins the Popular Girls Club, Katie finds new friends. Together they use their love and talent for baking to form the Cupcake Club.
President of the Whole Fifth Grade
by Sherri Winston
Brianna dreams of starting her own cupcake business and having her own cooking show. Inspired by her celebrity chef idol, Brianna decides to run for fifth-grade class president and is sure this is the path toward becoming a legendary entrepreneur.