Ann M. Martin

During the summer before their seventh-grade year, Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, and Stacey tackle difficulties, including family problems, crushes, moving, and making new friends.

"Rose Howard is obsessed with homonyms. She's thrilled that her own name is a homonym, and she purposely gave her dog Rain a name with tow homonyms (Reign, Rein), which, according to Rose's rules of homonyms, is very special. Not everyone understands Rose's obsessions, her rules, and the other things that make her different--not her teachers, not other kids, and not her single father. When a storm hits their rural town, rivers overflow, the roads...

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.

As her birthday approaches, Karen, whose parents are divorced, realizes that the only gift she really wants is to have her whole family together and wonders if her wish will come true.

It's going to be a great weekend! Karen has new roller skates and is a very good skater. She's looking forward to trying some new tricks. But, oh no! Karen falls down and has to go to the hospital. Her wrist is broken! Karen is determined to get everyone she knows -- plus someone famous -- to sign her cast. It isn't going to be easy, but she won't give up until the job is done.

Karen Brewer's imagination gets the best of her when she decides that her neighbor, Mrs. Porter--who has wild gray hair, wears black robes, and has a garden full of mysterious herbs--must be a witch.

Karen wants to start her own club! Karen's best friend Hannie just got an adorable new kitten. Their neighbor Amanda has a cat, too, and Karen has grumpy old Boo-Boo. Now that they all have cats, Karen comes up with a great idea. She wants to start a Kittycat Club! What will the club do? Karen can't baby-sit like her big sister Kristy... but she can cat-sit! Will anyone want to hire Karen and her friends?

"Claudia has always been the most creative kid in her class ... until Ashley Wyeth comes along. Ashley's really different: She wears hippie clothes and has multiple earrings, and she's the most fantastic artist Claudia has ever met. Ashley says Claudia is a great artist, too, but thinks she's wasting her artistic talent with The Baby-sitters Club. When Claudia starts spending more time with Ashley and missing BSC meetings, it becomes clear that Claudia...

"When the Baby-sitters Club gets into a huge fight, Mary Anne is left to her own devices. She has to eat by herself in the school cafeteria, figure out how to make new friends, and deal with her overprotective father. But the worst happens when she finds herself in a baby-sitting emergency and can't turn to her friends for help. Will Mary Anne solve her problems and save The Baby-sitters Club from falling apart?" -- Back cover.

"Poor Stacey. She just moved to a new town, is still coming to terms with her diabetes, and is facing baby-sitting problems left and right. Fortunately, Stacey has three new friends--Kristy, Claudia, and Mary Anne. Together they're the BSC--and they will deal with whatever's thrown their way ... even if it's a rival baby-sitting club" -- Back cover.