Clubbing... BSC style

Raise your hand if you read The Babysitter's Club as a kid. (Yes, you in the back, get your hand up, you know you wanted to dress like Claudia Kishi). I remember getting into them when I was in third grade, maybe? I don't remember exactly when I lost interest in them, but there was a long time in my life when I wanted nothing more than to have a group of BFFs and organize them into a club with our own phone line and a notebook to keep track of all of our babysitting jobs.

Like many things from childhood, I remember the BSC with the hazy glow of nostalgia, even though I am aware that to my adult self, the books would now probably come across as trite, boring, and pointless.

Thanks to BSC Headquarters, a blog dedicated to reviews of the BSC books, I don't have to even read the books again to realize this. Tiff undertook a project to read all of the old BSC books. You understand, there are like 200 or more books in the series. And they all have the same exact formula.

We have a chapter introducing us to the members of the BSC.
Then a dilemma is introduced.
A subplot usually involving the kids they babysit.
The dilemma continues. BSC meetings are held.
The subplot is resolved.
The dilemma is resolved.

And yes, the reviews are hilarious. Everything, from the lovely cover art to the incessant descriptions of Claudia Kishi's outfits as "high fashion" when we all know she dressed like a freak are up for grabs.

Despite the snark, her blog is obviously a labor of love, because to read all 200+ books as an adult is certainly an act of insanity. And then to actually analyze and come up appropriate hilarious commentary for the drabble... wow.

I always thought Claudia Kishi's outfits sounded a little weird even when I read the books, but it is so nice to go back and know I was exactly right. One little sample of Tiff's commentary:

What, you might be wondering, did Claud wear for her test? Glad you asked..."I thought I'd start with my lucky earrings--the ones that look like Princess Di's. They're huge (pretend) emeralds, surrounded by thousands of tiny (phony) diamonds. Then I thought I'd work downward from there, wearing my new green-and-blue-tie-dyed T-shirt dress (the casualness of the dress would be an interesting contrast to those fancy earrings) over green leggings." Um, hawt? [Hey, RNL, if the Painkiller costumes don't come together, I can wear this, and you can dress up as a long-term substitute teacher for Halloween. And you can go around accusing me of cheating. Or we can challenge people to fight as though we were wearing the Painkiller costumes. Suitable backup plan?]