Kristy's great idea

Gr. 4-6. Kristy's Great Idea (1986), the first in Martin's hugely popular Baby-Sitters Club series (which grew to more than 100 titles and generated both a TV series and a movie), returns in a successful graphic novel makeover. Comics artist Telgemeier's clean-lined, black-and-white art with stark black details nicely differentiates the four personable seventh-graders who parlay their babysitting experience into a business: artsy Mary; overprotected Stacy; Claudia, the girl with a secret; and clever, outspoken Kristy, who willingly supports her friends but refuses to give her mother an inch when it comes to a new stepfather. The story has been effectively trimmed to accommodate the format (Kristy's actions and feelings are the focus), but there's still plenty of content, comedy, action, and emotion--in both the text and the art--as the kids cope with feisty toddlers and personal problems and fight with and help one another, while modeling right behavior and the ups and downs of friendship. It's easy to see how this could evolve into a series of its own. --Stephanie Zvirin Copyright 2006 Booklist

Telgemeier offers a spirited graphic novel adaptation of the debut title in Martin's The Baby-sitters Club series, the story of the four founding members of this fledgling club. The graphic-style black-and-white panels engagingly spotlight the camaraderie, as well as the minor spats, among the quartet of seventh-graders-outspoken tomboy Kristy, earnest, shy Mary Anne, artistic and free-spirited Claudia and the somewhat secretive newcomer to town, Stacey-as they team up to launch a baby-sitting service. Various sitting jobs provide the story's livelier moments: Kristy arrives at one stint to discover that her charges are rambunctious pooches rather than kids, and Mary Anne attempts to rescue a family's cat from the yard of an alleged witch. Telgemeier also portrays the tale's quieter moments, as Kristy gradually and credibly comes to accept her divorced mother's new fianc? and his children, and Stacey reveals that her mysterious behavior is due to the fact that she has diabetes. The artist adds abundant energy to the pages and, largely through amusingly exaggerated facial expressions, ably captures each character's personality. This will likely hook reluctant readers on this affable group of girls and may well spur a new generation of youngsters to move on to the original series. A second adaptation, The Truth About Stacey, is due in the fall. Ages 9-12. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Gr 4-7-This graphic-novel version of a popular series describes how the Baby-Sitters Club was formed, focusing on the girls' friendships and some of their amusing jobs. Subplots include Kristy's gradual acceptance of her mother's boyfriend and their eventual engagement and Stacy's medical problem (readers may think it's anorexia, but it is really diabetes). The black-and-white cartoons are clear and uncluttered, and the language is simple enough for slow or reluctant readers.-Ronnie Gordon, Brooklyn Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

In this hard-cover edition of the first book in the series, seventh-grader Kristy thinks a baby sitter's club sounds like fun until she finds that organizing and advertising is work. When three friends join her club, they discover that four heads are better than one in making a business work. An obvious formula story. From HORN BOOK 1991, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.