The Baby-Sitters Club

• Club Position: President
• Appearance: Shortest girl in the 8th grade at five feet tall, white, looks like a ten-year old, long straight brown hair usually in a ponytail with bangs, three-inch scar from an appendix operation, is left handed, does not wear a bra, sometimes wears mascara, big brown eyes; "uniform" clothing is jeans, a sweater or hoodie, turtleneck in the winter, baseball cap, sneakers, and wears a visor and pencil over her ear
• Birthday: August 20
• Age: 12, 13, and 14 in later novels

Kristy is known for her great ideas for the club as well as her bossiness and big mouth that can occasionally get her in trouble usually by her mother Elizabeth and stepfather Watson. She hates it when she isn't in charge, and the idea for "The Baby-Sitters Club" came to Kristy in the first Tuesday afternoon of seventh grade when Kristy was only 12 years old when her mother Elizabeth was having trouble finding a babysitter for her younger brother, David Michael since Elizabeth is a divorced mother and has to take care of four children alone and feels guilty about it. She felt sorry for David Michael, as well as her mother. In a flash, as she calls it, Kristy had her "great idea" to form The Baby-Sitters Club and almost choked on a pizza. Kristy formed the club with herself, her old friend and neighbor Claudia, her best friend and next-door-neighbor Mary Anne, and the new girl Stacey as founding members. Kristy usually wears jeans and a T-shirt (in the winter, a turtleneck and, if needed, a sweater), sneakers, and sometimes a baseball cap with a collie on it, in memory of the family dog, Louie, who was put down in Kristy and the Snobs. She is athletic and loves sports. She coaches a softball team for small children called Kristy's Krushers for those who don't know how to play baseball, which includes many of the club's sitting charges, as well as her own siblings. Kristy comes from a very large family, the Thomas-Brewers-Engles are composed of her mother, Elizabeth "Liz", her stepfather, Watson (her biological father, Patrick, walked out of her family when Kristy was six years old), her two older brothers, Charles "Charlie", who is 16 later 17 and Samuel "Sam", who is 14 later 15, her younger brother, David Michael, who is 6 later 7, her stepsister, Karen, who is 5 later 6 and 7, her stepbrother, Andrew, who is 3 later 4, her grandmother, Nannie (real name Janet Taylor), her sister adopted from Vietnam, Emily Michelle, who is two years old, and Karen and Andrew's mother and stepfather Lisa and Seth Engle that they see every other month. Kristy's mother and her stepfather got married in the book Kristy's Big Day. The family's pets include Shannon (a puppy), Boo-Boo (a cat), and two goldfish named Crystal Light the Second (the first one is dead), and Goldfishie. After Boo-Boo was put down, they get a cat and named it Pumpkin. Pumpkin was named after Kristy's favorite Halloween tradition, and she also looked like a pumpkin.[7] They also had a guide dog named Scout before she returned to the foundation in Long Island, New York. Kristy is called a "Tomboy" since she isn't that girly and doesn't really care about fashion or new styles like most girls. Kristy's best friend is Mary Anne Spier, since they grew up together. Kristy is played by Avriel Hillman in the HBO series, Sophie Grace in the Netflix series, and Schuyler Fisk in the film adaptation.

Kristy is based on Ann M. Martin's childhood friend Beth McKeever Perkins.

• Club Position: Vice President
• Appearance: Japanese American at five feet four inches tall with creamy skin, looks older and a model, long silky jet-black hair, dark brown eyes, never had pimples, seven in shoe size, wild, new, crazy, and unpredictable outfits
• Birthday: July 11
• Age: 12 and 13 in later novels

Claudia is a second generation Japanese American. She is extremely creative in both her artwork and wardrobe. She is always wearing something new and loves to express herself with how she dresses. She is the vice president because she has her own phone in her room, and she takes after-hours calls. She always has snacks, junk food, and candy hidden around her room for the meetings. She is described as creative, talented, sophisticated, and trendy. Claudia loves to draw, paint, sculpt, make jewelry, and sketch. She loves to read "Nancy Drew" mystery books. Claudia hides her Nancy Drew mysteries and her candy around her room because her parents do not approve of them. Despite her diet, she maintains a good figure and smart. Claudia's mother Rioko is the head librarian at Stoneybrook Public Library and her father John is a banker. Her older sister Janine who is 15 is a real-life genius with an IQ of 196 and always corrects Claudia and her friends. In Claudia and Mean Janine, Claudia's grandmother Mimi Yamamoto had a serious stroke which causes Claudia to take better care of her and be around her more often. Claudia has an aunt Peaches (her real name is Miyoshi), whose husband is named Russ, and a cousin named Lynn. Claudia feels that no one in her family understands her, except for her beloved grandmother, Mimi, who died in Claudia and the Sad Goodbye. Claudia is played by Jeni F. Winslow in the HBO series, Momona Tamada in the Netflix series, and Tricia Joe in the film adaptation.

Claudia is named after Dr. Claudia Werner, a friend of Ann M. Martin.

• Club Position: Secretary
• Appearance: Very fair white skin and never tans to avoid burning, five feet and a half-inch tall, looks like a china doll, long wavy brown hair worn in childish braids until Mary Anne Saves the Day; she cuts it short above her shoulders in Mary Anne's Makeover, brown eyes, wire-rimmed contacts lenses for reading, modern clothing, make-up, wears a bra
• Birthday: September 22
• Age: 12 and 13 in later novels

Mary Anne is the secretary of the club due to her exceptional organizational skills and neat handwriting. Her hobbies include sewing, knitting, watching classic movies, and reading. She and her best friend, Kristy, initially looked similar (but had very different personalities) until Mary Anne cut her hair and began wearing a little makeup in Mary Anne's Makeover. She also vowed never to get her ears pierced due to being traumatized by almost having her ears pierced by a fellow camper at Camp Mohawk.[8] Mary Anne and Kristy have been best friends since childhood and were neighbors until Kristy's mother married Watson Brewer and Kristy had to move to Watson's new neighborhood. Mary Anne's mother Alma died from leukemia when she was a 18 months old, and her father Richard (who is a lawyer) was very overprotective until he married Sharon Schafer and loosened up. She is very sensitive, and shy, is a good listener, and does not like being the center of attention. In Logan Likes Mary Anne! Mary Anne starts going out with Logan Bruno, and she is the first member who has a steady boyfriend. Mary Anne has a stepsister named Dawn who is 12 later 13, a stepbrother named Jeffery "Jeff" who is 9 later 10, and a gray kitten named Tigger. She has four grandparents, Verna and Bill Baker, and Rita and Pop-Pop Porter. In Mary Anne and the Secret in the Attic it is revealed that she lived with her grandparents Verna and Bill Baker before her father raised her on his own. Mary Anne is played by Meghan Lahey in the HBO series, Malia Baker in the Netflix series, and Rachael Leigh Cook in the film adaptation.

It was revealed that Ann M. Martin based the character of Mary Anne on herself.[9][10]

• Club Position: Treasurer (for most of the books)
• Appearance: White, very pretty and tall, thin, looks older and a model, short wavy blonde hair right below her shoulders that she often gets permed or curled, huge dark blue eyes with dark lashes, trendy clothes
• Birthday: April 3
• Age: 12, 13, and 14 later novels

A native New Yorker, Stacey moved to Stoneybrook in the seventh grade when she got type 1 diabetes. She quickly became friends with Claudia because of their shared love for both fashion and boys. Her New York best friend is Lanie Cummings before they broke up when Lanie started calling her Anastasia and started to become too mature and snobby for her own good. Claudia and Stacey are considered to be the best-dressed students in Stoneybrook Middle School along with some other girls too (Stacey is the more sophisticated dresser, while Claudia is more creative and original). Stacey has Type 1 diabetes and has been hospitalized several times as a result due to her eating too much sugar which also caused her and her best friend Laine to break up; in Kristy's Great Idea, she tried to hide this from the others since her classmates in New York teased her because of it, but she eventually told them, and her friends were quick to forgive her. Because she excels in math, she is the club's treasurer. Her talent in math inspired her to join the Stoneybrook Middle School Mathlete Club.[11] Stacey leaves Stoneybrook when her father Edward is transferred back to New York City [12] but returns after her parents' divorce.[13] She later leaves the club for a short time after she starts dating Robert Brewster (a superstar cute basketball player) and chooses him over the club because she thinks the club is so childish and immature.[14] However, she later returns to the club after she has an unpleasant experience with some bad snobby girls who pretended to be her friends; this makes her realize who her real friends are.[15] Stacey has three cousins, twins Jonathon and Kirsten, and Cheryl. Stacey is played by Jessica Prunell in the HBO series, Shay Rudolph in the Netflix series, and Bre Blair in the film adaptation.

Stacey had diabetes because Ann M. Martin had two friends that had it. Martin also lives in New York, but upscale New York.

• Club Position: Alternate Officer
• Appearance: Tanned-white skin, tall at five feet inches tall, not very pretty, long straight white-blonde hair that goes past her waist, pale blue eyes, freckles if in sun for too long, California causal clothes, two ear piercings, never cuts her hair but trims it
• Birthday: February 5
• Age: 12 and 13 later novels

Dawn grew up in California, until her parents' divorce. Dawn moved with her younger brother Jeffery "Jeff" (who is 9 later 10) and her mother Sharon across the country to Stoneybrook, Connecticut, where Sharon and her parents Rita and Pop-Pop grew up. Jeff had a lot of trouble adjusting to the move since he was homesick and soon returned to California to live with his father Jack. Dawn is a vegetarian, addicted to healthy food (she can't stand sugary snacks but sometimes eats it), likes ghost stories like Claudia, and is also into environmentalism. She joins Stoneybrook Middle School in the middle of the seventh grade in January when the club members were having a fight after Kristy forgot to give out a job and Claudia gave her a name. She met Mary Anne in the lunchroom, and they instantly bonded. Her mother and Mary Anne's father married; they dated while they were in high school and once they reunited they discovered that they still loved each other. Dawn and Mary Anne became stepsisters as a result. Kristy, Mary Anne's best friend, is initially jealous, but gets over it and invites Dawn to become the fifth member of the club once the fight between the club members ends. Dawn's best friend in California are Sunny Winslow, Maggie Blume, Jill Henderson, Amalia Vargas, and Christopher "Ducky" McCrae. Dawn temporarily moves back to California for six months in Dawn's Big Move after feeling homesick, but returns to Stoneybrook in Kristy and Mr. Mom. However, in Farewell, Dawn, she moves back to California permanently when Sunny's mother Elizabeth has lung cancer and really needs her. Dawn has a stepmother named Carol Olson and later a stepsister named Elizabeth Grace "Gracie" who is 6 months old. Elizabeth Grace was named after Sunny's mother, Elizabeth, who died from lung cancer. She also has two other grandparents, Verna and Bill Baker, Mary Anne's grandparents. Dawn is played by Melissa Chasse in the HBO series, Xochitl Gomez (season 1) and Kyndra Sanchez (season 2) in the Netflix series, and Larisa Oleynik in the film adaptation.

• Club Position: Junior Officer, then Honorary Member
• Appearance: White, five feet one inch tall, short curly reddish brown hair sometimes described as red, chestnut, auburn, bright auburn, dark brown with red highlights, brown, or orange, blue eyes, clear braces she has to wear for two years, glasses, freckles across her nose that she hates, not allowed to get contacts until she is 15, pierced ears, does not wear a bra, wears school clothes
• Birthday: May 2
• Age: 10 and 11 later novels

Mallory's first appearance was in The Truth About Stacey as a sitting charge. The members used to babysit Mallory when she was 10 along with her seven younger siblings, Jordan, Adam, Byron (9 later 10 year old triplets), Vanessa (8 later 9), Nicolas "Nicky" (7 later 8), Margo (6 later 7), and Claire (4 later 5). However, when she became 11, she joined the club as a Junior Officer (later Honorary Member in the series) after Stacey's departure.

Mallory feels that her parents Dee and John treat her like a baby, and although she was allowed to get her ears pierced in Mallory and the Trouble with Twins, she still feels self-conscious about her glasses and braces (she has to wear them for two years) and is not allowed to have contacts lenses until she is 15. She loves drawing, writing, and reading; her dream is to become a children's book author and illustrator. Her family has a pet hamster named Frodo; they later adopt Pow, who was the Barretts' dog. Mallory was given the opportunity to teach eighth-grade students as part of a school event called "Teachers of Tomorrow", at the middle school. However, after she accidentally broke a piece of chalk in eighth-grade English class, the students began calling her "Spaz Girl" which was started by bullies Cokie Mason and Grace Blume and so did the other students from seventh and sixth grade in the school. This resulted in Mallory transferring to a boarding school in Massachusetts, where she stayed until the end of the series.[16][17] Mallory is played by Meghan Andrews in the HBO series, Vivian Watson in the Netflix series, and Stacey Linn Ramsower in the film adaptation.

It's said that Ann M. Martin likes reading and horses, too.

• Club Position: Junior Officer
• Appearance: African American, short curly black hair, dark brown eyes, long legs, flexible and graceful, reading glasses, needs to get braces, long eyelashes, wears size six shoes, wears dance and ballet clothes
• Birthday: June 30, formally September 13
• Age: 11

Jessi moved to Stoneybrook from Oakley, New Jersey at the beginning of the sixth grade; her family moved into Stacey's old house. She has an eight-year-old sister Rebecca, called "Becca", and a 18-month old brother named John Phillip Ramsey Jr., whose nickname is "Squirt". When Jessi and her family first moved to Stoneybrook, many people were racist toward them because they were Black, some people say she was born in Africa, and some say she is a monster and doesn't belong there, but this improved later.[18] Jessi is shown to be funny and likes to joke around. In Hello, Mallory, Mallory Pike meets Jessi when Mallory walked to her house, and they instantly bond and form their own babysitting club, "Kids Incorporated", before joining The Baby-Sitters Club since the club thought they were too young to join the club. In Jessi's Baby-sitter, Jessi's Aunt Cecelia Parker moves into Jessi's house when Jessi's mom goes back to work. Jessi calls her "Aunt Dictator" and at first Jessi hates her since she forbids her to go to a club meeting, but at the end of the novel they become friends after she calms down, and she is part of the household for the rest of the series. Jessi has to get braces like Mallory. Jessi learns American Sign Language in Jessi's Secret Language when she babysits for Haley and Matthew "Matt" Braddock because Matt is a deaf child since birth. Jessi is a very talented ballerina, a terrible singer, and has leading roles in several ballets, and she takes ballet classes at Stamford Ballet School with Madame Noelle, her ballet teacher. Jessi's best friend is Mallory Pike, as they are both junior officers and 11-year olds. Jessi is played by Nicole Leach in the HBO series, Anais Lee in the Netflix series, and Zelda Harris in the film adaptation.

• Club Position: Alternate Officer
• Appearance: Tanned-white skin, pointy face, long thick curly dark brown hair that's almost in ringlets, keeps her nails short, dark brown eyes, is nearsighted and sometimes wears glasses or contact lenses, taller than Dawn at five feet seven inches, tomboyish clothes like Kristy, needs to get braces for a year
• Birthday: October 15
• Age: 12 and 13 in later novels

Abby first appeared in Kristy and the Dirty Diapers. Shortly after Dawn moved back to California to live with her father after feeling homesick, Abby moved to Stoneybrook from Long Island with her mother Rachel and twin sister, Anna, still Rachel communicates to Long Island. Her father died in a car accident (where he was hit by a dump truck) when she was nine years old, which was part of the reason for the move. Abby still misses him and does not like to talk about him. Abby and her family moved into a house on McLelland Road near Kristy's house and spent the first night in the neighborhood sleeping over at Kristy's. Abby is Jewish. She has asthma after sitting for the Papadakises and carries inhalers. She is allergic to shellfish, kitty litter, dust, pollen, milk, tomatoes, and eggs. Abby is described as wild, funny, athletic, and has to get braces for a year like Mallory. Abby and Kristy have similar competitive personalities and sometimes clash but they are still good friends. Anna, the older twin, is quieter than Abby. Anna was born eight minutes earlier than Abby. Anna is a serious violinist who practices four hours a day, and she hates sports; Stacey said she would rather play the national anthem than playing baseball. The Baby-Sitters Club and Kristy invited both Abby and Anna to join the club. Anna declined because of her music studies, but Abby takes Dawn's place as an alternate officer.

Abby was supposed to be called Lucy Ricardo after Ann M. Martin's favorite show I Love Lucy and Anna was called Ethel after Lucy's best friend. But the name the twins contest was made to guess the twin's names and Abby and Anna Stevenson were chosen by Martin and her editors. Abby and Anna Stevenson were made up by Sara Ruth Bell of Missouri who was the winner of the contest.

• Club Position: Associate Member
• Appearance: White, curly dirty blonde hair with bangs sometimes refers to dark blonde, brown, or brown with blonde highlights, blue eyes, average height, average build, sports clothes
• Birthday: January 10
• Age: 13 and 14 in later novels

Logan moved from Louisville, Kentucky, before eighth grade. He first appeared in Logan Likes Mary Anne! He has a dreamy southern accent, participates in many sports, and works as a busboy at the Rosebud Café, and the Public library. He is an associate member of the club, which is a member who is not required to come to meetings, which he takes because he feels uncomfortable with girls, but takes jobs when no regular member is available. Logan lives with his parents Louise and Lyman, younger sister Kerry who is 10 and hardly has any friends, and younger brother Hunter who is 5 and has many allergies. He is also Mary Anne's boyfriend, which makes them the perfect couple by everyone around them. Although they temporarily split up,[19] when he becomes too demanding and bossy, but eventually got back together when they miss each other.[20] However, in The Baby-Sitters Club Friends Forever: Mary Anne's Big Breakup, they break up for good when they had not much in common and decide to still be friends other than boyfriend and girlfriend together. Logan is played by Eric Lawton in the HBO series, Rian McCririck in the Netflix series, and Austin O'Brien in the film adaptation.

• Club Position: Associate Member
• Appearance: White, long thick curly blonde hair, blue eyes, tall, high cheekbones, ski jump nose, wears black mascara, long face, causal clothes
• Birthday: March 17
• Age: 13

Shannon is an overachiever who is involved in many extracurricular activities, and is the only member who doesn't attend Stoneybrook Middle School; she instead goes to Stoneybrook Day School, which is a private school since she lives in a rich neighborhood where Kristy lives. She first appears in Kristy and the Snobs. She lives in Watson's neighborhood. She has two younger sisters, Tiffany, who is 11 and is a babysitter herself and a brat, and Maria, who is 8 and has reddish brown hair than Shannon and Tiffany. She is Kristy's first friend in her new neighborhood, although initially, Kristy thought she was a snob since she and her sisters made fun of her sick dog Louie, but then Kristy and Shannon became friends. She is an associate member, which she took because she was too busy to come to meetings. However, when Dawn temporarily left the club, she filled Dawn's place as an alternate officer, since she had less activities to do. Once Dawn returned, she went back to the position of associate member. When Stacey left the club, she went back to a alternate officer. When Stacey came back, she went back to the position of associate member, but when Dawn left for good, she can't replace her because her activities have gone too far, and Abby Stevenson replaced her. After the death of Kristy's beloved collie, Louie, Shannon gave Kristy one of Astrid's (a Bernese Mountain Dog) puppies, which David Michael named after Shannon.

• Super Specials: Super Specials were an extended version of the regular series, with several members of The Baby-Sitters Club (plus at times, their friends and/or sitting charges) narrating (chapter-by-chapter changes of narrators). Super Specials centered on a larger-scale plot, usually with at least three subplots. For example, in The Baby-Sitters Club Super Special #7, Snowbound, some members of The Baby-Sitters Club are babysitting when a snowstorm hits Stoneybrook and the larger area, and the others are spread out. Dawn is stuck at the airport waiting for Jeff with her mother Sharon, and Kristy is stuck at home with her boyfriend Bart Taylor. The members narrate their experiences and usually, the next chapter would bring on an entirely different plot or an extension of the previous chapter, only with a different narrator.
• Readers' Requests: These were special novels featuring associate members Logan Bruno and Shannon Kilbourne, and their personal lives away from the Baby-Sitters Club.

• Mysteries: These resemble the style of the regular novels (single narrator), only the plot of the novel mainly focuses on solving a mystery, with a small subplot.
• Super Mysteries: These resembled the style of the Super Specials, with multiple narrators, only the plot of the novel was mainly focused on solving a mystery, with a few small subplots.

• Portrait Collections: These are autobiographies of The Baby-Sitters Club members (Stacey, Claudia, Dawn, Mary Anne, Kristy, and Abby). Mallory and Jessi were not included because the autobiographies were an eighth grade project only. Logan and Shannon were also not included because they were either unpublished or unwritten.

• The Baby-Sitters Club: Friends Forever: These novels are an extension of the original series, which focused on the original four members (Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, and Stacey). They were set following the fire at Mary Anne's house, which drastically impacted the lives of The Baby-Sitters Club members, and concluded with a final Super Special detailing the older club member's graduation from Stoneybrook Middle School.

• It depicted the lives of Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, and Stacey the summer before the school year began.[21]

The Baby-Sitters Little Sister novels were a series of novels for younger readers. It centered on Karen Becky Sue Brewer, the seven-year-old stepsister of Kristy Thomas. One hundred and twenty-two Baby-Sitters Little Sister novels and six Baby-Sitters Little Sister Super Special novels were published. The series ran from 1988 to 2000.

The Kids in Ms. Colman's Class series was a spin-off of the Baby-Sitters Little Sister series and covered Karen Brewer's second grade classmates at Stoneybrook Academy, and their adventures in Ms. Colman's classroom. Twelve novels were published. The series ran from 1995 to 1998. The titles are Teacher's Pet, Author Day, Class Play, Second Grade Baby, The Snow War, Twin Trouble, Science Fair, Summer School, Halloween Parade, Holiday Time, Spelling Bee, and Baby Animal Zoo.

The California Diaries series centered on Dawn Schafer and her friends after her return to California, and targeted a slightly older audience, with a darker feel. Fifteen novels were published focusing on the characters Dawn, Christoper "Ducky" McCrae, Amalia Vargas, Margaret "Maggie" Blume, and Sunshine "Sunny" Winslow. Examples of subjects dealt with are anorexia, sexual orientation, and racism, along with the characters' personal problems and family disputes.

Track listing adapted from AllMusic.[37] All tracks performed by Leslie Spiro.[42]

Personnel adapted from liner notes.[42]

• Jeff Barry - producer, songwriter
• Deborah Forte - executive producer
• Richard Goldsmith - producer
• Bobby Huff - arrangement, programming
• Glen Roven - songwriter
• Kelly Sachs - background vocals, songwriter
• Leslie Spiro - lead vocals, background vocals, songwriter
• Mark Spiro - arrangement, mixing, programming, recording