The 'Baby-Sitters Club’ is coming to Netflix! 🎉
They're probably buried under my brother's old hockey gear, but somewhere in the dark recesses of my parents' backyard tool shed is a cardboard box filled with dog-eared paperback copies of every Baby-Sitter's Club book published in the '90s.
They inspired a generation of girls to become babysitters, but the impact didn't end with the flyers we painstakingly printed out (using far too much colored ink, my dad would add). Ann M. Martin's diverse, supportive and entrepreneurial cast of girls stayed with us while we grew into the women they might have been.
And soon, all those well-loved books buried in basements and garages will have a new meaning as a rebooted Baby-Sitters Club is coming to Netflix in July.
Nexflix has ordered 10 episodes and we'll get to relive our childhood July 3.
The Baby-Sitters Club Official Teaser
"I'm amazed that there are so many passionate fans of The Baby-Sitters Club after all these years, and I'm honored to continue to hear from readers - now grown, who have become writers, editors, teachers, librarians, filmmakers - who say that they see a reflection of themselves in the characters of Kristy and her friends. So I'm very excited about the forthcoming series on Netflix, which I hope will inspire a new generation of readers and leaders everywhere," said Ann M. Martin, author of The Baby-Sitters Club.
For many millennial mamas, Martin was a huge part of their childhoods, as the mother behind the popular Instagram account @the.book.report, Michelle Rasmussen, noted in a post about coming across her old BSC collection.
"I had a rush of good memories. I remember going to the bookstore with my family and we would all head to our different sections to pick out books. There was a time where EVERYTIME we would go to the store I would plant myself in front of 'The Babysitters Club' book section and read and have the hardest time picking out which one to take home with me. I can't wait for Stella to be old enough to be interested in read these books," Rasmussen wrote.
She tells Motherly, "I think I was about eight when I read my first BSC book. I read about Kristy's big idea and watched her gather Stacy, Mary Anne, and Claudia and all I wanted was to be invited into their amazing club. It seemed liked the world's best idea and couldn't help but wish to be invited to the fun."
(Same.)
"I very quickly read every single one. Including the mysteries and the super specials," Rasmussen says. "I was obsessed—I even got the board game for Christmas one year. Oh, and I remember begging my mom to buy a BSC book set from [the] Scholastic book order, because of the necklace that came with the set, even though I had already read 2 of the 4 books that came in that pack."
Like many mamas, Rasmussen hopes to share her BSC obsession with her daughter, Stella, and says she'll probably introduce her around the same age she was when she found them, about eight. The book-loving mama is happy to hear there is a Netflix show, as, in her experience, screen adaptations can get kids interested in reading the source material.
The Hollywood Reporter notes this isn't the first time the BSC has been turned into a TV show. HBO aired an early '90s version by Scholastic, but another screen version of the franchise, 1995's Baby-Sitters Club movie, is perhaps the better known screen adaptation.
Who can forget Schuyler Fisk as Kristy or Rachael Leigh Cook as Mary Anne, or—even more memorable—that rap they all did to help poor Claudia study for summer school? I'm sure my mom's got the VHS copy of that still, too.
July can't come soon enough, but in the meantime we'll re-watch old episodes and hope the trailer below will tie us over.
[A version of this post was originally published May 24, 2018. It has been updated.]
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