The Baby-Sitters Club (also known as BSC) is a series of novels, written by Ann M. Martin and published by Scholastic between 1986 and 2000, that sold more than 190 million copies.

[1] Martin wrote an estimated 60-80 novels in the series while subsequent titles were written by ghostwriters, such as Peter Lerangis.

She contacted Ann M. Martin, who took the general idea of a babysitter's club and created the characters, plots, and settings for the series.

[6] The novels generally follow this format: Kristy is known for her great ideas as well as her slight bossiness though she is still one of the nicest in the club, She hates it when she is not in charge.

The idea for "The Baby-Sitters Club" came to Kristy when her mother was having trouble finding a babysitter for her younger brother, David Michael.

She coaches a softball team for small children called Kristy's Krushers, which includes many of the club's sitting charges and her brother, David Michael.

Mary Anne is the secretary of the club due to her exceptional organizational skills and neat handwriting.

Mary Anne's mother died from cancer when she was a baby, and her father Richard (who is a lawyer) was very overprotective until he married Sharon Schafer and loosened up.

In Mary Anne and the Secret in the Attic it is revealed that she lived with her grandparents before her dad raised her on his own.

They are considered to be the best-dressed students in Stoneybrook Middle School (Stacey is the more sophisticated dresser, while Claudia is more creative and original).

Stacey has Type 1 diabetes and has been hospitalized several times as a result; in Kristy's Great Idea, she tried to hide this from the others since her classmates in New York teased her because of it, but she eventually told them.

[12] Stacey leaves Stoneybrook when her father is transferred back to New York City[13] but returns after her parents' divorce.

Dawn is a vegetarian, addicted to healthy food (she can't stand sugary snacks), likes ghost stories, and is also into environmentalism.

Her mother and Mary Anne's father married; they dated while they were in high school and once they reunited they discovered that they still loved each other.

She has an eight-year-old sister Rebecca, called "Becca", and a baby brother named John Phillip Ramsey Jr., whose nickname is "Squirt".

[20] Abby and her family moved into a house on McLelland Road and spent the first night in the neighborhood sleeping over at Kristy's.

[22] However, in The Baby-Sitters Club Friends Forever: Mary Anne's Big Breakup, they break up for good.

Karen's father and Kristy's stepfather, Watson Brewer, owns a mansion in an upscale subdivision of Stoneybrook.

The families of Hannie and Linnie Papadakis, Amanda and Max Delaney, and Shannon Kilbourne also live there.

Karen's mother, Lisa, and stepfather, Seth Engle, reside in a regular middle-class neighborhood, as does the family of Nancy Dawes.

The titles are Teacher's Pet, Author Day, Class Play, Second Grade Baby, The Snow War, Twin Trouble, Science Fair, Summer School, Halloween Parade, Holiday Time, Spelling Bee, and Baby Animal Zoo.

Fifteen novels were published focusing on the characters Dawn, Ducky McCrae, Amalia Vargas, Maggie Blume, and Sunny Winslow.

Examples of subjects dealt with are anorexia, sexual orientation, and racism, along with the characters' personal problems and family disputes.

[24] The series continued with the release of The Truth About Stacey, Mary Anne Saves the Day, and concluded with Claudia and Mean Janine.

In 2019, it was announced that starting in 2021, six more graphic novels would be published, two per year: "Cartoonists Gabriela Epstein [...] and Chan Chau [...] will alternate as adapters of four of the books.

On April 30, 2019, it was announced that there are plans for a series of Baby-Sitters Little Sister graphic novels illustrated by Katy Farina and colored by Braden Lamb.

[34][35][36] In 1990, The Baby-Sitters Club spawned a 13-episode TV series that aired on HBO and the Disney Channel, and was later released on video.

It starred Schuyler Fisk, Rachael Leigh Cook, Larisa Oleynik, Bre Blair, Tricia Joe, Zelda Harris, and Stacey Linn Ramsower.

The Baby-Sitters Club: Songs for My Best Friends was a soundtrack for the series that was released on October 13, 1992, on CD[43] and cassette tape.

[40] All tracks are written by Jeff Barry, Kelly Sachs, and Leslie Spiro, except where noted.