Brooke's Pick: Baby-Sitters on Board! by Ann M. Martin

As the baby-sitters take a scenic cruise through the Caribbean, Mary Anne encounters a mysterious girl, Claudia gains a secret admirer, and Dawn has a shipboard romance.

As it was for many of us who grew up in the ‘80s & ‘90s, The Baby-Sitters Club was my go-to series as a young reader. With compelling storylines and a diverse cast of characters, not to mention a seemingly endless series of books filled with adventures nothing like my own life, the BSC was the ultimate escape. Now as an adult, I have found myself seeking the comfort of nostalgia reads, so I decided to revisit my favorite childhood series, starting with the Super Specials because they are obviously the most epic way to indulge in the glory of the BSC. With their iconic white covers and considerably longer length than a typical BSC novel, I knew I was in for a treat when my library acquired a copy of one of these.

Super Special #1, Baby-Sitters on Board, finds the Pike brood winning a trip aboard a cruise ship, as well as three days at Disney World. Of course, when you are traveling with eight kids, you’re going to need a bit of extra help, so Stacey and Mary Anne have been invited along as mother’s helpers, which really translates to the girls watching all of the kids while mom & dad get off scot-free. Naturally, it wouldn’t be a Super Special if the rest of the Club wasn’t involved, so Watson Brewer decides to book the same trip alongside the Pikes & brings along Kristy and the rest of the Brewer-Thomas crew … AND Dawn and Claudia! I’m sure this trip cost a fortune, but Watson is loaded, so live and let live, right?

Baby-Sitters on Board is narrated by the Club members in alternating chapters, and each girl has her own adventure. While Stacey and Mary Anne’s storylines primarily concern the kids in their care and some interesting people they meet aboard their luxury liner, AKA the Ocean Princess, Claudia and Dawn’s naturally involve boys and crushes. Kristy finds herself battling it out with Dawn over the state of their shared room - Dawn is a neat freak who can’t abide slovenly Kristy - as well as making friends with a lonely older gentleman who is on this cruise in an attempt to shake himself out of a funk after the death of his wife.

As is typical with a BSC novel, the book is a balanced amalgamation of relatable, heartwarming, and engaging moments of friendship, babysitting, girlhood, and innocent romance. Rereading this book as an adult, I can see why I fell in love with this series as a child - these girls are real and relatable, yet they possess just a bit of otherworldliness that made them and their lives aspirational in a positive, uplifting way. These are girls that you can look up to and would feel safe letting your own kids be friends with, which makes them perfect role models for a coming of age series.

Now for the real reason why I have picked up this series again - the nostalgia is real, y’all! I fell right back into the BSC without missing a beat - this series was an essential part of my formative years and reading Baby-Sitters on Board was like reuniting with long-lost friends who I know everything about. While the babysitters were a bit older than me when I first started reading the series, we were essentially kids coming of age at the same time, and it was amazing to revisit the world I grew up in through this book.

Ahhh, a world without cell phones, the Internet, or social media - honestly, it was heaven. I loved seeing the babysitters record memories of their trip with disposable cameras, having to wait until the film was developed to see which moments they captured. These girls live in a world where not everyone has cable TV, and the old-fashioned TV shows mentioned - I Love Lucy and the Odd Couple - are such a contrast to today’s world of on-demand streaming. The kids are allowed to roam the cruise ship, and even Disney, without an adult present, and you have to keep reminding yourself that this was a time before cell phones and tracking apps - kids were still allowed a sense of independence and the opportunity to prove that they are mature enough to handle a bit of freedom. It was just a simpler time, and I miss it, but thankfully we have the BSC to remind us of the way we were!

I can’t wait for my next adventure with The Baby-Sitters Club! Bring on Super Special #2 … we’re headed to sleep-away camp! - Brooke, Public Relations Librarian