11) The Baby-Sitters Club: Kristy's Great Idea

Bibliography: Martin, Ann M. (writer) & Telgemeier, Raina (artist); The Baby-Sitters Club: Kristy’s Great Idea; Scholastic Graphix; 2006; 186 pages; ISBN 0-439-80241-5.

Plot: Seventh grader, Kristy Thomas, comes up with a great idea for her and her friends in September.  Since she and her best friend Mary-Anne and Claudia, love to baby-sit she thinks they should start a club where parents can call one number and reach four great baby-sitters.  Claudia suggests they include Stacey McGill who has just moved to town from New York.  The four girls meet three days a week in Claudia’s room to discuss past baby-sitting jobs and wait for parents to call to hire them.  Just as the girls are very different, the girls also go through some changes and grow their friendship further.

Review:  Many parents grew up reading The Baby-Sitters Club series.  With the help of Raina Telgemeier, the books have been reborn in graphic novels.  The stories are the same and a great new way to reach the new generation.  The art work is extremely realistic.  Tweens of the new generation will not feel like they are out of date by reading the new graphic novel series

Genre: Graphic Novel/Realistic Fiction

Interest Level: age 9-12

Related Books: Baby-Sitting is a Dangerous Job by W.D. Roberts; Calvin Coconut: The Zippy Fix by G. Salisbury; Kung Fooey by G. Salisbury

Characters:
Kristy Thomas is the narrator and the one who came up with the idea for the club.
Mary-Anne Spier is Kristy's best friend and the secretary of the club.
Claudia Kishi is the vice president of the club and hosts the phone number and meeting space for the club.
Stacey McGill is the new girl in town.  She is the treasurer of the club.

Awards: 

The Baby-Sitters Club is one of the most popular series with more than 175 million books in print.

Author Information: http://www.scholastic.com/annmartin/about/