The Summer Before (The Baby-Sitters Club, #0.5)

The Summer Before (The Baby-Sitters Club 0.5)

3.61 of 5 stars 3.61  ·  rating details  ·  1,518 ratings  ·  217 reviews
Before there was the Baby-Sitters Club, there were four girls named Kristy Thomas, Mary Anne Spier, Claudia Kishi, and Stacey McGill. As they start the summer before seventh grade (also before they start the BSC), each of them is on the cusp of a big change.
Hardcover, 215 pages
Published April 1st 2010 by Scholastic Inc.
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Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 2,521)
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Rachel Brand
I must have read at least fifty of these books as a child and after coming across them in a charity shop at the age of sixteen and rediscovering the joy of the adventures of these preteen babysitters, I started to recollect the books. I now have half a shelf full of these colourful little novels sitting on my bookcase that I revisit when I'm in need of some light relief to destress myself. So when I heard that a prequel was being written I was naturally excited at the premise of it. Although man...more
Larissa
When I found out that there was a new Babysitter's Club coming out, I actually pre-ordered the book from my local bookstore. I was--although I probably shouldn't have been--kind of amazed at the instantaneous nostalgia that this publication inspired for me. Suddenly, I was remembering the family driving trip through the Four Corners where I pretty much missed all of Utah because I was reading the first Super Special (Babysitters on Board!) and literally could not pull my eyes away from the pages...more
Jennifer Wardrip
Reviewed by Kira M for TeensReadToo.com

Ever wondered what the girls of the Baby-Sitters Club were like before KRISTY'S BIG IDEA? How Kristy's mom met her step-dad?

A prequel to the original series, these four girls will do a lot of growing up before Kristy comes up with her great idea for the Club.

The summer before seventh grade is not going as well as Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, and Stacey thought it would. Kristy's mom is dating a new guy, but Kristy still hopes her dad will come back and pick...more
Jesse Bornemann
Before sexy vampires and werewolves with six-pack abs, before angsty adolescent wizards, there was The Baby-Sitters Club (the BSC, natch). As a former Club devotee, turned card-carrying almost 30-something, I rushed out to purchase “The Summer Before,” Ann M. Martin’s new BSC prequel. As I presented the hardback to my almost 30-something salesclerk, she exclaimed, “I’ve been meaning to buy this! Which girl was your favorite?” With less hesitation than I approach 99% of life’s questions, I replie...more
Katie
A nice trip down memory lane, this book tells the story of the original four BSC members before Kristy's Great Idea. Mary Anne is struggling with her strict father, Kristy is dealing with her absentee father and her mother's relationship with Watson, Claudia is becoming more interested in boys and makeup and less interested in her childish friends, and Stacey is leaving her ex-best friend Laine and NYC for small town Stoneybrook.

The book was typical BSC yet it somehow tugged at my heartstrings...more
Kathryn
I was a big fan of Ann M. Martins Babysitters Club series when I during my middle and upper primary school years. I smiled to myself a few years ago when I learned that the series was to be re-released for a new generation of readers, along with a brand new prequel, and wondered if kids today would enjoy it as much as I did. But it wasn't until a trip to QBD last week when I found a copy of the BSC prequel The Summer Before sitting on the shelf that I began to feel excited. Very excited. Even th...more
Jessica  Schley
Honestly, there wasn't even time for me to put this on "to read" and/or to list progress on it. I was walking through the new children's library when I went to renew my card yesterday, saw that somehow, I missed the release of an actual honest-to-goodness BSC book, and not just one of the re-releases.

So I read it one sitting. Just like I used to. Except, as I pointed out to a friend, this time I did not lock myself in the bathroom the way I used to have to in order to keep out my older brothers...more
Jodi
OK, I was someone who grew up with the Baby-Sitters Club. I was obsessed with the series through elementary school and even now, many years later, I can't bear to donate the books that are stored in bins. I was so excited when I found out Ann M. Martin was going to be revisiting these characters to give a little insight as to what they were like before the BSC. (Yes, I did just use that abbreviation). Sadly, I knew from the first few pages, that this book was just not going to do it for me. I r...more
Jodi Papazian
OK, I was someone who grew up with the Baby-Sitters Club. I was obsessed with the series through elementary school and even now, many years later, I can't bear to donate the books that are stored in bins. I was so excited when I found out Ann M. Martin was going to be revisiting these characters to give a little insight as to what they were like before the BSC. (Yes, I did just use that abbreviation). Sadly, I knew from the first few pages, that this book was just not going to do it for me. I r...more
Amy Flink
I grew up with the BSC back in the late 1980s. I was thrilled to see this new book as I was sad when Martin decided to retire the series about 10 years ago, even though I had sorta outgrown the series. I really love early BSC about the first books in the series. I feel like the first few books were the best. So good to see a new book. My fave character is Stacey, I have always felt like she was my alter-ego! However I feel her story in the book was ended too abruptly. I wish she had beat the liv...more
Mundie Moms & Mundie Kids
Being a huge fan of the original Baby Sitters Club, I gave this book 5 stars, as Ann did a wonderful job at keeping the integrity of the characters and being true to their voices. I feel that author sometimes tend to forget their true characters when they add a book to their popular series, but this wasn't the case at all. Ann did an excellent job with this upcoming release. I think this book is a must have addition to the ever popular series. It brought back some feelings I had when I first rea...more
Arianna
My sister gave me this to read, because we were huge BSC fans when we were little. It was...cute. Very nostalgiac, and very much like every other Baby-Sitters Club book ever, but I enjoyed being transported back to my youth & revisiting some "old friends". And I noted often how timeless these books are, because while the girls don't ever mention cell phones or computers or any sort of technology (which I guess was a good - if not conscious, in 1980-whatever - move by Ann M. Martin, because i...more
Jay
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Laura
This book is a never-before released prequel to The Baby-Sitters Club. My daughter was really excited about this. The book is written from the first-person POV of all four girls. It does this by dedicating alternating chapters to each girl, allowing the reader to get to know each character’s story as related by them. My daughter pointed out that she liked this.

The book gives the reader more background information about each of the four girls, building up to when they all start school and eventua...more
Debbie
If you were a fan of the original Baby-Sitters Club then you definitely want to pick this book up. If you are not familiar with this series it’s a perfect read for the tween set. The Baby-Sitters Club starts off with four friends who love to babysit and follows their adventures in babysitting, friendships and more. I was a huge fan of this series growing up and eagerly awaited every new book in the series.

This prequel follows Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia and Stacey the summer before the start of t...more
Jennifer
Is there any way to objectively evaluate this book? I spent my childhood reading literally HUNDREDS of Baby-Sitters Club books, so reading this newly-released prequel was like watching a home movie -- full of so much nostalgia and warmth that it doesn't matter how awkward it is in retrospect.

I really love how easily Ann M. Martin was able to slip back into these characters, and each girl in the story has a very clear narrative arc. It's not great art, and the writing style is as weird as ever (w...more
Shea
I was very excited to here that a new Babysitters Club book was coming out and I checked it out from the library right away. I will admit this isn't the greatest book you'll ever read, but if you were a fan of the series growing up you should definitely check it out. It was really cool to see the girls before the BSC was formed; it's interesting the dynamics between the girls this summer, and the fact that no one even knew Stacey yet! I didn't think the writing was too childish, it was an easy r...more
Sara
4.5 stars. Apparently the old Babysitters Club books are beginning to be rereleased. In anticipation, the author wrote this book about the four original characters the summer before the club started. Kristy's mom is dating Watson, who will eventually become her stepdad, and Kristy is hoping that her dad will return to their family; Mary Anne is learning more about her mom and trying to gain some independence; Claudia has a crush on an older guy and blows off her friends to hang out with him; and...more
Marian
Apr 09, 2010 Marian rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: any BSC fan
Shelves: bsc, readit, 2010
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Sarescent
This was an interesting look back on how the four original members of the BSC (Claudia, Kristy, Mary Anne, and Stacey) spent the summer before seventh grade. It ends with retelling of the first chapter of Kristy's Big Day, with some lines taken verbatim from that text. (That was the chapter in which Kristy came up with the idea for the club while eating pizza.) I'm torn between enjoying the book and seeing it as a money-making ploy on Ann M's part. I'm obsessed with the BSC so I'm going to read...more
Rebecca
Apr 05, 2012 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars
Shelves: ya
What book series did you read as a kid? Sweet Valley? Narnia? Cleary? Baby-Sitter's Club? I was a total BSC fan. I think my mom even got a little worried when I was still reading them through 9th grade. But at least I was reading! Better then my sister who picked up maybe one book a year and rarely finished it. I don't know what they were so worried about. Anyway, thank you internet for keeping me up-to-date on all things current BSC and know that I am not the only weirdo out there! And as alway...more
Dawn
May 07, 2010 Dawn rated it 4 of 5 stars
Shelves: 2010, ya
I loved the BSC books when I was a kid, and actually continued reading the series even when I was far too old to be doing so. They're obviously not great literature, problems are generally mild and solved by then end of each book (like a sitcom), but I still sort of love them, mostly for the nostalgia factor. It's kind of weird that AMM decided to write a prequel now, but I've read that they are going to start republishing the old BSC books again and try to market them to kids today...

This was a...more
Jamie
I can't bring myself to utter one negative word about a novel by the author who inspired me to become a writer and move to New York City. I bought this prequel both out of nostalgia and and a desire to support Ann M. Martin no matter what she does. I was a little disappointed by the lack of desciption of fashionable outfits (no matter how horribly '80s); the book seemed to have a serious (maybe even depressing?) psychological undercurrent that ran deeper than the books in the original series. Th...more
Jane
First, you must understand that the Babysitters Club is a MAJOR blast from my past - of all the crappy YA series in the world, this is the one I collected and read the most from oh, maybe 1989-1992ish. I still have my old books (and then some) and once in a while break one out when I need a security blanket.

But this. I have never felt any need to go beyond the BSC of my youth, whether the later series like California Diaries and Friends Forever or new additions like this. Once I got past the "AW...more
Katieb (MundieMoms)
Being a huge fan of the original Baby Sitters Club, I gave this book 5 stars, as Ann did a wonderful job at keeping the integrity of the characters and being true to their voices. I feel that author sometimes tend to forget their true characters when they add a book to their popular series, but this wasn't the case at all. Ann did an excellent job with this upcoming release. I think this book is a must have addition to the ever popular series. It brought back some feelings I had when I first rea...more
Gretchen
I didn't even know this book existed until 2 weeks ago. My older brother loves to make fun of the Baby-Sitters Club, although I would like to point out that he read some of them too! Anyway, he is the one who gave me this book for my birthday. I just finished a pretty heavy, mind-bending book, so I needed something a little less intense. The Summer Before was the perfect fit.

I was skeptical about this book. For one thing, I haven't read a BSC book in probably about 17 years. And I was sure that...more
NCPL Teenzone
Back in the late 1980s through the 90s, the Baby-Sitters Club was a hugely popular series about a group of friends from Stoneybrook, CT who babysit. It all started with four girls: Kristy Thomas, Mary Anne Spier, Claudia Kishi, and Stacy McGill. This book looks back at the summer between 6th & 7th grade, right before the Baby-Sitters Club was born. It's about being a girl, the bonds of friendship, and how life changes.

Why I picked the book up: As a preteen my friends and I LOVED the Baby-Si...more
Nikki Boisture
I'm probably too big a BSC fangirl to fairly review this. I mean, I'm a member of the fandom. Yes, that means I dissect BSC books on the internet. *shrugs* Whatever. There's more of us than you'd think. In fact, the book is probably actually shit. But God! A new BSC book!

Called The Summer Before, the book follows (duh) the summer before Kristy Thomas thunk up the idea for the Baby-sitters club. (I know, Janine... that elusive apostrophe!) Told from four different points of view, each baby sitte...more
Angela
This made me feel like a kid again.

BSC was my book series in elementary school. In middle school a friend and I even tried to form our own baby-sitting club (it last about twelve seconds). These girls were definitely part of my life - I even dressed like Claudia on "favorite book character" day in elementary school.

But after 6th grade or so, I don't think I ever picked the books up again. I'd moved on to bigger and better things. So I was surprised when I picked this up just how much I remembere...more
Denette
I am sure that I read at least 60 of these books as a tween. Every time I received a Scholastic book order, I would quickly tear through the pages in search for the newest installment of the series.

Fast forward to a month ago... I was at work when someone dropped by my office (I work n an elementary school) and donated around 50 BSC books. From the moment I opened the sack and looked down at the covers with their ever so recognizable toy block titles, I was immediately transported back to sixth...more
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The Summer Before (The Babysitters Club, #0)
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Ann Matthews Martin was born on August 12, 1955. She grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, with her parents and her younger sister, Jane. After graduating from Smith College, Ann became a teacher and then an editor of children's books. She's now a full-time writer.

Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood me...more
More about Ann M. Martin...
Kristy's Great Idea (The Baby-Sitters Club, #1) A Corner of the Universe A Dog's Life: The Autobiography of a Stray The Doll People The Truth About Stacey (The Baby-Sitters Club, #3)

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