Club Series Novels Books Members Baby Sitters Small Students

Many "pre-teen" (not yet teenagers; 9-12 years old) American girls enjoy reading a series of novels called The Baby-Sitters Club. The books are about a small group of "middle school" (junior high) students who have a small business where they provide babysitting services to the parents of young children in their town. Most of the stories are about the club members' babysitting experiences, their personal lives, and what happens during their club meetings. In the original books, there are only four members of the club, but the membership "expands" (grows) to 10 in later novels.

Ann Martin wrote the first 35 novels and some later novels in the series. Many, many others have been "ghostwritten" (written without giving credit or acknowledgement to the actual author). There are 132 novels in the regular series, and many other "spin-offs" (related books or other types of entertainment). For example, there are some books that present more information about the club members' personal lives outside of the club. Other books focus on the club members' younger "siblings" (brothers and sisters) or the other students whom the club members go to school with. The publisher, Scholastic, sold 170 million copies of the novels between 1986 and 2000, and a "prequel" (a story that shows what happens before the first book in a series) was written for the series in 2010. The novel series was made into a 13-episode TV series in 1990 and a movie in 1995.

The books seem to "strike a chord with" (relate emotionally to) many young girls, not only because it is about babysitting, but also because it covers many topics that are important to them, such as friendships, boys, fashion, and family.