Graduation Day
Look who's talking in BookPage!
Stephen Ambrose
Children's Authors
Stan and Jan Berenstain |
Bye-bye to The Baby-Sitters Club
INTERVIEW BY HEIDI HENNEMAN
After 15 years and 213 titles, the mega-popular series The Baby-Sitters Club will come to an end. "It's like a graduation day for me, too," says author Ann M. Martin. "It's a sad but joyous occasion at the same time." Graduation Day, the final title of one of the longest running and most successful series in the history of children's publishing, will mark the end of an era. The Baby-Sitters Club began in 1985 when Martin, then a senior editor at Bantam Books for Young Readers, was approached by friend and editor Jean Feiwel, senior vice president and editor-in-chief of Scholastic Books. Martin, already a published children's fiction writer, was tagged to write four titles in a series Feiwel wanted to call The Baby-Sitters Club. "The title was already chosen," admits Martin, "but it was up to me to figure out what it meant and who the characters would be." Martin modeled the first characters, Kristy and Mary Anne, after her childhood best friend Beth and herself. "We were very much opposites in terms of personality," says Martin, "but we were close friends." Martin combined characteristics she saw in her friends and family to create a group of girls who were different from one another, but could get along well as friends. By 1986, the first four titles of The Baby-Sitters Club had achieved minor success. "They did nicely," says Martin, "but it was nothing special." It was enough, though, for Scholastic to cautiously sign Martin for two more titles in the fledgling series. And when the sixth book was named to the B. Dalton bestseller's list, Scholastic knew they had something hot. "It just exploded," says Martin, "the books were selling really well, and they asked me to write an entire year's worth!" Martin has not only entertained her young readers, she has inspired them. Shortly after The Baby-Sitters Club came into existence, real-life Baby-Sitters Clubs started springing up across the country. "We heard from lots of kids who had formed the clubs in their own neighborhoods," says Martin. Kids across the country were starting their own businesses modeled after Martin's young group of characters. At the height of her popularity, Martin was receiving more than 17,000 letters per year, several hundred per month. "I had five people who freelanced for me just to answer the letters," says Martin. Even more incredible, this author always wrote back to each fan. "Unless there was no return address, we answered every one of them." The letters not only proved to be flattering to Martin, they brought her closer to the issues that were facing some of her readers. "I tried to keep the books current to reflect what was really happening with my readers and young people today," says Martin. Some of her characters came from turbulent homes, others from stable homes. The kids dealt with various kinds of abilities and disabilities. In one of the most memorable events of the series, they even faced the death of a friend who perished in a drunk driving accident. It wasn't difficult for Martin to come up with new story lines for her characters. "After a point, I realized the characters began to generate their own plot ideas," says Martin. "That made it easier to write for them." And Martin is quick to give praise to her editors for their help in shaping the characters. "I was rarely doing this on my own." So why end the series now? "The characters have been in junior high for 15 years now," explains Martin. "It's time to let them move on with their lives while we're all still feeling inspired by them." Undoubtedly, Martin would like to move on with her life as well. "As much as I've loved working on the characters, it's freeing to come up with new characters and ideas." And she has no shortage of new ideas. Earlier this year, she collaborated with Paula Danziger on P.S. Longer Letter Later. Its sequel, Snail Mail No More, will be coming out next spring. Also on her list of new projects is Belle Teal, a story set at a time when elementary schools were being racially integrated. But Martin will never forget the characters and fans that have brought her so much joy over the last 15 years. "At the moment there's nothing planned for the BSC characters, but in a few years, you never know," hints Martin. And the pen pals she has made throughout the years will remain close to her forever. "All of their letters were so helpful and heartfelt," says Martin. Sometimes, though, you have to say good-bye -- even to your dearest of friends.
Heidi Henneman is a freelance writer in New York City whose sister Brianna is a huge BSC fan.
|
