Baby-Sitters Little Sister Books In Order

Publication Order of Baby-Sitters Little Sister Books

Publication Order of Baby-Sitters Little Sister Super Special Books

Publication Order of Baby-Sitters Little Sister Graphic Novels Books

Baby-Sitters Little Sister is a series of novels written by Ann M. Martin. The books began publication in 1988, just two years after the baby-sitters club was launched.

+The Story

The baby-sitters club took the world by storm when the series began in 1986. The books followed the exploits of a group of young girls who decide to offer babysitting services to their community.

The babysitter books were so popular that Ann M. Martin’s publisher decided to create a number of spinoff series designed to capitalize on the fame of the original baby-sitters club series.

Baby-sitters little sister is one such spinoff series. The books are connected to the parent series via their protagonist Karen.

The baby-sitters club series was initially led by Kristy, the girl that decided to create the babysitting operation in the first place in response to the need she observed in her town of Stoneybrook.

It was revealed in the books that Kristy came from a large family. Her father abandoned the family when she was young. Eventually, Elizabeth, her mother, married Watson Brewer. Watson was initially married to Lisa, Karen’s mother.

But circumstances saw them divorce. Karen and her brother Andrew initially spent most of their time with their mother and Seth Engle, their stepfather. But then they decided that they missed spending time with their real father and his new family, and that saw Karen intersect with Kristy, her stepsister.

Karen is different from Kristy. She isn’t anywhere nearly as popular and that is because, as far as many readers are concerned, she tends to act like a spoiled brat. But as a second-grader, it has been argued that Karen is accurately portrayed for her age.

Karen Brewer is an inquisitive little girl. She isn’t shy about admitting that she is a little jealous of her sister Kristy’s babysitting club. She is also envious of a couple of her friends who she thinks are either smarter or richer or better than her in some way.

However, her attempts to even the playing field rarely work. For all her flaws, though, Karen makes an effort to end up on the right side of things. Many of the shenanigans she pulls are the result of the turmoil she had to deal with at home as a result of her parents’ divorce.

For that reason, she is typically excused for the mistakes she makes. And when she does mess up, Karen always learns her lesson.

+The Author

Ann M. Martin did not know her babysitting books would become a phenomenon when she first wrote them. She certainly didn’t think the baby-sitters little sister series would garner as much attention down the line.

It took her a while to understand just how devoted her fans were and that they would devour every baby-sitters club spinoff she produced.

Born in 1955, Martin’s father was a cartoonist who worked for the New Yorker. Her mother taught pre-school. Martin was telling stories from a very young age. She read a lot and, over time, the stories she consumed enticed her to produce her own stories.

Ann M. Martin initially depended on her mother to write her stories down for her. But as she progressed through school and honed her writing abilities, Martin began to do her own writing, filling notebooks with ideas and stories.

It didn’t take long for the author’s teachers to take note of her zeal for writing. Naturally, Martin gravitated towards English in class. She took every opportunity to hone her craft.

The author’s curiosity for children’s fiction can probably be imputed to her love for children. Martin loved spending time with young minds and that definitely influenced her decision to become a teacher.

As a student of child psychology, Martin came to appreciate young readers, especially the disabled ones who she would help teach over the summer. The author also came to appreciate the place of strong women in literature.

Martin has always identified as a feminist. Her fiction is littered with strong female characters many of whom are based on people she has known in real life.

Even though Martin loved teaching kids, her passion has always been in writing and telling stories. She definitely found fulfillment in helping autistic kids find their footing. But her zeal for publishing eventually dragged her back to writing.

Martin initially operated behind the scenes of the publishing arena, working as an editor and helping other writers shape their stories. The opportunity to write her own story finally presented and she took it.

Ann M. Martin devoted many years to writing series like the baby-sitters little sister. But after producing several dozen books in the babysitter arena, this including the spinoffs, she decided to experiment with a couple of single novels.

Martin seems to win awards whenever she tries her hand at a new literary concept. Martin admits that she has mined many of her best ideas from her own life. While the plots are mostly fictional, the author has been known to base her characters on the people she has known.

Martin is very passionate about reading. She has a foundation that finances reading programs. She has also poured money into the planting of libraries in places where access to reading material is an issue.

The author has had the opportunity to see her baby-sitter books receive movie and television adaptations.

+Karen’s Witch

Karen Brewer is a 6-year-old girl who is certain that her neighbor is a witch. Mrs. Porter shows all the signs. It isn’t just the black robes that give her away. There’s also the hair which is all wild and grey.

And then there’s the cat. Everyone knows witches have black cats. Mrs. Porter’s cat is not only black but she calls it Midnight. With all these damning signs before her, Karen decides to do something about Mrs. Porter.

The six-year-old knows that Mrs. Porter is having a gathering, one that will, no doubt, have plenty of witches. She cannot have them cast a spell on her and her friends.

The first book in the baby-sitters little sister series introduces Kristy’s stepsister to readers.

+Karen’s Roller Skates

Karen Brewer thought she was pretty amazing with her roller skates. And if her friends didn’t know it, she was going to show them. Things go very wrong very quickly. Karen’s attempts at showing her roller skating moves end with a broken wrist.

But Karen won’t be downcast, not when she has a cast that everyone can now sign.