Say Hello to Your Friends...

Because the libraries in Allegheny Country are "connected" we share items with each other on a regular basis. Two times a day at Scott Library, we run our "pull list" that sends requested items from our shelves into the hands of patrons at other county libraries.

On this list this morning was Mary Anne and Too Many Boys by Anne M. Martin, which I'm sure most of my readers will recognize as a classic Baby-Sitters Club title. We have quite a good collection of the Baby-Sitters series and they are always going out with young girls or making their way to different libraries. It always makes me excited to see young girls reading the books I enjoyed so much in the 3rd, 4th & 5th grade (and let's face it, probably 6th...there wasn't as much YA and and "tween" literature back then as there is today).

The best thing about the Baby-Sitters Club series was the calendar put out every year that they sold at the Scholastic Book Fair. We didn't have a lot of money when I was growing up, so I could never go hog wild at the book fair & therefore usually saved my designated book fair money for actual books (and a pencil, they always had the best pencils) like a good future-librarian should. But one year I planned ahead and did manage to buy the calendar. Freakin' A, it had stickers & awesome pictures & was just about the best thing on Earth for the year 1992 (aprox)! And the TV show! And the movie (which I saw On Demand over the holidays)!

Even Facebook has a quiz that was popular a few months ago that let determined what Baby-Sitter you were. The results said I was Kristy but I always figured myself more of a Mallory though I always wanted to be Claudia.

But did you know that the series has been out-of-print? The series officially ended in 2000 and currently, unless the books reside on the shelves of a local library or on the shelves of a teacher/fan inside a school, or a mom passes them on, young girls can't get their hands on them.

That is, until now this year. Later in the year, Scholastic will be re-releasing "slightly revised" editions of the first two books in the series, plus an original prequel to the Club.

Read about it here: http://tinyurl.com/ye7nufg

I can't wait to see this books updated for today's young reader. They are clean, age-appropriate, show positive role models for young gals & really exhibit great examples of friendship. Yes, there are tons of things out there for young girls to read but I think the hardest group to find appropriate, yet interesting books for, is always the 4-5th grade set. When I was teaching this age, and even now at the library, often few books of high caliber are aimed at this set and they are often stuck reading things below their skill level or way above their emotional level. Twilight may be great for teenagers, but not for pre-teens. Plus, I remember Logan being a way better boyfriend than this Edward Cullen.

Hopefully the tweaked Baby-Sitters Club books will catch on and more will be released in time. It would be great to have a suitable series for this age group that isn't historical fiction, fantasy or something every teacher assigns in school.

I know I'll be checking out the revised editions and I super-cannot-wait for the prequel to be released. Will you travel back in time to read it too?