Kristy's Great Idea (The Baby-Sitters Club Series #1)

by Ann M. Martin

Overview

The hit series returns to charm and inspire another generation of baby-sitters! The first three classic BSC books are back, along with a brand-new prequel, The Summer Before.

It all began with a great idea ... and the inspiring original story of the Baby-sitters Club is back! Kristy Thomas's brilliant business plan gets off to a great start with the help of Claudia Kishi (vice-president), Mary Anne Spier (secretary), and Stacey McGill (treasurer).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545174756
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	04/01/2010
Series:	Baby-Sitters Club Series
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	183,075
Product dimensions:	5.34(w) x 7.62(h) x 0.45(d)
Lexile:	610L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Ann M. Martin's The Baby-Sitters Club series sold over 176 million copies and inspired a generation of young readers. Her novels include the Main Street series, BELLE TEAL, the Newbery Honor book A CORNER OF THE UNIVERSE, HERE TODAY, A DOG'S LIFE, and ON CHRISTMAS EVE, as well as the much-loved collaborations P.S, LONGER LETTER LATER and SNAIL MAIL NO MORE with Paula Danziger, and THE DOLL PEOPLE and THE MEANEST DOLL IN THE WORLD, written with Laura Godwin and illustrated by Brian Selznick. She lives in upstate New York.

Table of Contents

Editorial Reviews

When her mother must make multiple phone calls to find a babysitter for Kristy's little brother, Kristy gets the great idea to form a baby-sitters club. Parents can make just one phone call to find a sitter. The club is composed of Kristy, her best friend Mary Anne, Claudia who lives across the street, and Stacey who is a new girl in town. Kristy learns to accept her mother's boyfriend, and Stacey divulges that she is a diabetic. The girls learn to work with one another, trust one another, and accept each other's individual personality. They share with one another their babysitting experiences, which add to the fun of this book. Martin does a fine job creating individual characters and realistic scenes. She has a keen sense of the world of seventh graders who straddle the line between childhood and being young adults. The story is as fresh today as it was when first published in 1986. There are minor changes to include today's technology and jargon. The series was a popular and publishing success. This is the beginning of the series, and Reviewer: Sharon Salluzzo

Children's Literature - Sharon Salluzzo

The Baby-Sitters Club brigade is here in their first graphic novel! Girls can hang out with Mary Anne, Kristy, Stacey, and Claudia as they cope with cranky toddlers, unruly dogs, scary neighbors, strict parents, and fashion emergencies. A winning rebirth of a classic series.

Telgemeier offers a spirited graphic novel adaptation of the debut title in Martin's The Baby-sitters Club series, the story of the four founding members of this fledgling club. The graphic-style black-and-white panels engagingly spotlight the camaraderie, as well as the minor spats, among the quartet of seventh-graders-outspoken tomboy Kristy, earnest, shy Mary Anne, artistic and free-spirited Claudia and the somewhat secretive newcomer to town, Stacey-as they team up to launch a baby-sitting service. Various sitting jobs provide the story's livelier moments: Kristy arrives at one stint to discover that her charges are rambunctious pooches rather than kids, and Mary Anne attempts to rescue a family's cat from the yard of an alleged witch. Telgemeier also portrays the tale's quieter moments, as Kristy gradually and credibly comes to accept her divorced mother's new fianc and his children, and Stacey reveals that her mysterious behavior is due to the fact that she has diabetes. The artist adds abundant energy to the pages and, largely through amusingly exaggerated facial expressions, ably captures each character's personality. This will likely hook reluctant readers on this affable group of girls and may well spur a new generation of youngsters to move on to the original series. A second adaptation, The Truth About Stacey, is due in the fall. Ages 9-12. (Apr.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

The first of the "Baby-sitter's Club" series is now in graphic novel format. Following Kristy's lead, her three friends Mary Ann, Claudia, and Stacy, promise to accept all babysitting jobs and pool their resources. Each of the girls has problems to work through. For Kristy, it is her mother's engagement to Watson; Mary Ann wants more freedom from her over-protective father; Stacey does not know how to reveal she has diabetes; and Claudia feels she is in the shadow of her older sister, an A+ student. Together the foursome puts up with cranky kids; scary, large dogs; and a crabby, elderly neighbor in typical preteen fashion. There are emergency meetings, giggling about boys, and discussions of fashion, fights, and disagreements—or in other words, real life experiences of today's teens. This new format is faithful to the novel, and the black-and-white graphics bring the novel's characters to life. Each personality is clearly delineated and each girl has a distinct look. Fans who wolfed down the originals will readily accept this new format and probably beg for more, as it is certainly easy to breeze through this 186-page story in one sitting. 2006, Scholastic, Ages 8 to 12.
—Beverley Fahey

Children's Literature

Kristy Thomas is a typically impatient adolescent seventh grader who cannot seem to find enough time to work all the babysitting jobs she would like in order to make extra money. Her great idea is to enlist her two best friends, Mary Anne and Claudia, in a babysitting club that would enable them to schedule jobs to keep each of them busy. In addition, Claudia suggests that they invite a new girl, Stacey, to help them. The girls face a number of challenging jobs, including watching boisterous cousins and pet-sitting unruly dogs as well as handling their own personal trials, but the support of the club helps each to cope, find her own way, and learn from one another. Telgemeier's art is the ideal method to lend currency to her graphic novel adaptation of an old favorite,. Martin's Baby-Sitters Club (Grey Castle, 1986). The graphic work lends the book freshness and appeal, and the art is fluid and clean in style. It is not easy to transform a 150-page book into a graphic novel, but this art portrays motion in such a way that the story line is often told without text and within just a few short frames. The characters are endearing, very expressive, and filled with energy. The level is spot-on, and the adaptation is unique and original. It is a truly fun read that will be a welcome addition to any young adult collection. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P M J S G (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Graphic Novel Format). 2006, Graphix/Scholastic, 192p., Ages 11 to 18.
—Ava Ehde

VOYA

Gr 4-6 Seventh-grader Kristy Thomas organizes her friends into a baby-sitters club. In the course of the operation of the club, Kristy comes to terms with her mother's engagement, Stacey confides to her new friends that she has diabetes, Claudia learns to tolerate and even appreciate her gifted older sister, and Mary Anne makes some compromises with her over-protective father. All of the elements of concern to pre-teen girls (wearing the ``in'' clothes, keeping friendships stable, coping with family stresses, and trying to grow up) are here, tied to the almost universal experience of baby-sitting. Characters are not drawn with great depth, but the action is on target. A pleasant offering that will find a ready audience. Candy Colborn, Cottonwood Creek Elementary School, Englewood, Colo.

School Library Journal