Netflix’s Baby-Sitters Club

I’m a child of the 90s which means The Baby-Sitters Club series was regular reading material for me growing up. I didn’t have many on my bookshelves at home, but I read dozens of them from the public library. Basically devouring them as fast as I could (even faster when you learned that you could skip chapter two which was a recap of how the club came into existence). So I knew I definitely had to check out Netflix’s Baby-Sitters Club!

Original Series

First published in 1986, The Baby-Sitters Club books written by Ann M. Martin were fairly diverse for the time period. Claudia was Japanese American, Kristy and Mary Anne came from single-parent households for different reasons, Stacey developed diabetes, and Jessi was Black.

Diversity in children’s literature in the late 80s and early 90s wasn’t as prevalent as it is now (and we still have a long way to go). But, Ann M. Martin chose to create a group of friends that really were very different from each other. Check out this article from People with Ann M. Martin discussing the choices made to make the Netflix show even more diverse.

My favorite BSC book was #16 – Jessi’s Secret Language where Jessi learns American Sign Language (ASL) to help her communicate with the club’s newest client. Growing up, my parents both worked with a lot of people with all different types of disabilities and I have always wanted to be fluent in ASL. Ann M. Martin created a deaf character after meeting a number of deaf and hard of hearing fans. Just another example of diversity in the series.

Netflix Series

I was so excited and a little nervous to see how Netflix could recreate such a beloved series – keeping true to the heart of it, while updating it for today’s kids. And you know what? It worked amazingly well! The 10-episode arc gives a nod to the 80s – a true landline (bought on Etsy) for Claudia’s room. While also planting the show firmly in the 21st century with references to “targeted social media ads”.

The Netflix’s Babysitters-Club cast also looks a little different from the original characters I grew up with on the book covers – Mary Anne is biracial and Dawn is played by a Latinx actress. And it works seamlessly. I haven’t read a BSC book in many, many years, but each episode threw me right back to the book series.

But, I also loved how the show really upped its game to create situations that felt very real. When Stacey has an episode where she goes into insulin shock at her old school – there’s a video posted online. When Claudia’s grandmother has a stroke, it brings back vivid memories of her time in an internment camp during World War II. There’s an episode with a young charge who is transgender and the explanation that the BSC uses is perfect – comparing knowing your gender to knowing if you’re right or left-handed, you just know.

Pair the show, with the original books for a great mother-daughter book club. Or check out the newish graphic novels by artists like Raina Telgemeier! With great content to share and relatable characters, Netflix did an amazing job with this adaptation. And I’m looking forward to the next season!

If you’re looking for more great modern, middle grade books check out my booklist!