The Baby-sitters Club: Mary Anne Saves the Day

I could not resist revisiting the books that were a staple of my reading diet during my tween years. I must preface this entry by saying that my review is based on the original 1987 version of this book, which is all that was available at my local library. Martin’s series has recently undergone a facelift in the form of graphic novels. I hope to read one of the updated novels and compare it with the older version in a later review.

In Mary Anne Saves the Day, the fourth of over one hundred novels in the series, the usually shy Mary Anne (whose dad became super overprotective after her mother passed away) gets a chance to prove that she is not the immature weakling everyone thinks her to be The four members of the club are a close-knit group, never missing a weekly meeting and walking to school together everyday without fail. But when they get into a huge fight with no resolution in sight, the Babysitters Club may fall apart. Mary Anne decides it is up to her to bring the girls back together. Readers are also introduced to Dawn, the next member invited to join the club.

Although each character verges on caricature (e.g. Dawn, the blonde, tree-hugger from California and Claudia, the Chinese-American girl who tries to distance herself from her parents’ traditional ways), tween girls will identify with each of the babysitters in some way. And these are smart, entrepreneurial young ladies, usually supporting each other instead of working against the others. Certainly, Martin’s novels are a welcome change from some of the self-destructive role models and negative self-images that tweens are exposed to all too regularly.

Martin, A.M. (1987). The baby-sitters club: Mary Anne saves the day. Scholastic: New York, NY. ISBN 0-590-43512-4