The Baby-Sitters ClubAuthor Ann M. Martin Reveals Surprising Original Plan for Iconic Series in Rare Interview (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Scholastic (2)

The original cover of ‘The Truth About Stacey’ and the graphic novel adaptation.Scholastic (2)

“From the beginning, I wanted characters who were very different from one another but who formed strong friendships and worked well together,” Martin says.

Her original cast of four included two characters who came from single-parent households — Kristy, whose parents are divorced, and Mary Anne, whose mother died before the series began. There was also Stacey, a Manhattan transplant with type 1 diabetes, and Claudia, whose family was one of the few of Japanese descent in Stonybrook, the series’ fictional Connecticut suburb.

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“We addressed many of the issues that readers were facing and talking about at the time, including divorce, racism, eating disorders, grief and neurodiversity,” Martin notes. “But of course, 1986 was very different from 2024, and I love that the more contemporary adaptations of theBSC, like the graphic novels and the Netflix show, have been able to address many other topics and introduce more diversity to the stories.”

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“Since the stories are character-driven and revolve around timeless themes — especially family and friendship — and since my editors and I decided to keep the series ‘time neutral,’ the stories, both old and new, resonate with kids today,” she says of the series’ enduring appeal.

“I wouldn’t mind living in this timeless time myself,” Martin jokes.

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But fans continue to wonder where the members of theBSCwould be in their lives as adults.

source: people.com