The Baby-Sitters Club (graphic novels) adapted by Raina Telgemeier
When I was growing up, I adored The Baby-Sitters Club series. I spent birthday money on the books, I checked them out from the library, I borrowed them from whoever I could. I even paid the $5 advertised in the back of the book to be a fan club member. I still have a box full of paperbacks in my office here at home. Let me say it again, "I adored the BSC."
I've spent the past five years watching middle schoolers read about drugs, sex, alcoholism, abuse, and other topics that are (in my opinion) inappropriate for preteens. What happened to reading that could be fun and relevant without having an explicit sex scene on page 86? (In case you can't tell, I bought a book specifically for my classroom and THANK GOD I read it prior to putting it in my class.) I want kids to understand that reading can be entertaining without being lewd or crass.
Imagine my delight when I placed an order back in October and saw that the first four BSC novels are now available in a graphic novel form. They tell the same stories, albeit abridged, but use a medium that pique the interests of today's kids. However, a group of fourth graders came in the library today and checked out the actual novels since they had read the newer versions.
I know that these books aren't ever going to end up in the "Classics" section of a bookstore, but they're clean fun for kids. According to Wikipedia, 17 million copies were sold between 1986 and 2000, which goes to show that kids in the 80s, 90s, and the 00s (and now the 10s?) like them.
Keep reading, kids.
Target Age Range: upper elementary, early middle school (and ladies in their 20s reliving their childhoods)
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