For the series’ 40th anniversary, Ronny Chieng tells Ann M Martin he learned to read through the Baby-Sitters Club



    Posted by minetf

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    23 Comments

    1. [Link to the full interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaVf2CwyZjY)!

      tbh it’s not very good, partly because Martin is not very talkative and partly because Chieng genuinely seems a little star struck.

      At one point Chieng asks a bunch of questions about the future of the characters and Martin tells him “You’ve thought about this way more than I did” lol

    2. That’s got to be one of the nicest compliments an author can receive that your books taught someone to love reading.

    3. Proper-Emu1558 on

      I love how much he knows about BSC lore. My favorite of the babysitters was always Claudia. I do have that Super Special book from the photo, btw. Memories!

    4. teddybonkerrs on

      I loved these books so much back in the day. And the Babysitter’s Little Sister series too

    5. I really wish they would write a series about the babysitters as adults. I wonder what they would be up to. 

      I doubt they’d all still be friends with each other 

    6. RosieFernTrail on

      I bet that’s every author’s dream to hear that their books were the reason someone fell in love with reading.

    7. arsenicandoldspice on

      The Truth About Stacey taught me a surprising amount about type 1 diabetes…

    8. MapleVelvetSky on

      The Baby-Sitters Club walked so a lot of us could run. Those books got so many kids excited about reading.

    9. babyinthebathwater on

      There used to be a podcast called The Babysitters Club Club where two dudes were reading through the whole series and doing a little book club podcast, an episode for each book. It was a delight!

    10. CherryInkCloud on

      You could see how much that meant to Ann M. Martin. That’s probably the kind of thing every children’s author hopes to hear one day.

    11. I’m a guy and a few years older than my sister but I also consumed every book I could get my hands on when I was a kid so even though at some point I was reading like Dean Koontz novels as a 6th grader, I also read (and enjoyed) her own library books like Babysitter’s Club and Cam Jansen books. I always felt reading books that weren’t necessary geared towards me helped me be a more well rounded person.

    12. No_Bottle6745 on

      Just another example too about how representation in books matters. Having that Asian character probably helped make the stories connect more for Ronny and fam. And now he’s a lifelong reader! I love that BSC is his shit!

    13. I was in a subscription club. My mother decided at 13 I was too old to continue the subscription and CUT ME OFF!

      AND THEN SHE HAD THE AUDACITY to give them all to the library when I was in my 20’s. Just willy nilly “here library. My daughter is too old for this.”

      Anyway, my favorite Super Special was the one about the blizzard.

    14. p333p33p00p00boo on

      I loved the series from the POV of Kristy’s stepsister Karen (Babysitter’s Little Sister). Ann M. Martin apparently looks just like Karen in the original illustrations!