Ann M. Martin

Feeling isolated as the only African American in her sixth grade class, Jessi gains a sense of belonging by participating in the Baby-sitters Club, learning sign language in order to communicate with a deaf child, and dancing in a ballet.

Mary Anne should never have thrown away that chain letter she got in the mail. Ever since she did, bad things have been happening to everybody in the Club. With Halloween coming up, Mary Anne's even more worried what will happen next.

After Karen's best friend Hannie gets a kitten, Karen wants to start a Kittycat Club for all of her friends with cats. Emulating her older sister Kristy, she decides to open up the club to cat-sitting.

"It's fun to be a Baby-sitters Little Sister. No fair! Karen is having a bad-luck day. Her favorite jeans are missing. There's no prize in the Crunch-O cereal box. And Boo-Boo the cat runs away from her! Karen tries everything to make her day better. But her bad luck just won't go away. She even gets punished and sent to her room! Poor Karen--will this be her worst day ever?" -- Back cover.

"Everybody used to love Karen. She was cute. She was the little sister. But now baby Emily is in their family, and Karen feels left out. Then Emily gets sick and everybody has to take care of her. Even Karen. And that's when Karen finds out that being a big sister is the most fun of all!" -- Back cover.

"Karen has to get glasses--two pairs! One pair for reading and one for all the time. Karen does not want glasses. Her school pictures are going to be taken soon! But Karen has to...so she picks out some pretty pink and blue ones. Karen thinks she looks very grown-up. Then Yicky Ricky calls her Four-eyes. If Karen wears her glasses for the school picture, Ricky will make fun of her. But Karen is not a wimp! Glasses or no glasses--that Ricky is going...

Karen has to get glasses! She doesn't want them, especially because school pictures are going to be taken soon. But she picks out some pretty pink ones and thinks she looks very grown-up. Then Yicky Ricky at school starts calling her names, like Owl Girl and Googly Eyes. If Karen wears her glasses for the school picture, Ricky will make fun of her. If she doesn't wear them, she'll feel like she's afraid to be herself. Glasses or no glasses, that Ricky...

A family of porcelain dolls that has lived in the same house for one hundred years is taken aback when a new family of plastic dolls arrives and doesn't follow The Doll Code of Honor.

Claudia keeps getting calls, while baby-sitting, that make her certain that the house she's staying in is the next target for the phantom jewel thief.

"Claudia has always been the most outrageous kid in her class...until Ashley Wyeth comes along, Ashley's really different--she wears hippie clothes, has six holes in her ears, and is the most fantastic artist Claudia has ever met. Ashley says Claudia has artistic talent, too. She thinks Claudia should spend more time on her "calling" and forget about the Baby-sitters Club: It's just a waste of time. The Baby-sitters are sick of Ashley Wyeth, and they...