Amy A. Cowan is rediscovering the books of her childhood and writing about them on the way: The Baby-Sitters Club, Goosebumps, and Fear Street.

Rereading My childhood - The Essay Series

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Rereading My Childhood - The Podcast

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In 2015, my father passed away. My mother couldn’t pay all the bills without assistance, so my partner and I moved in with her. It was a good situation for everyone involved – my mother received help and the new arrangement alleviated our bills. At the same time, Jon’s job situation stabilized due to the new, optimistic Obama economy (we were so happy before the Orange Menace).For the first time in years, we had disposable income. I was also spending time with my mother browsing thrift stores, a hobby I forgot I enjoyed. At a Savers, I found a stack of my missed childhood – The Baby-Sitters Club by Ann M. Martin. The rush of memories from those years I spent with Kristy, Claudia, Stacy, Jessi, Mallory, Dawn, Abby, and, my favorite, Mary Anne grabbed me. Along with my newfound disposable income, I couldn’t resist. I purchased the whole stack. I had done what any adult does when they have extra money – I bought back my childhood – or more accurately, I bought the childhood I wished I had.I didn’t own every The Baby-Sitters Club book, but I had a significant collection. I was a part of the fan club. I played that CD-ROM game every day. I begged for a new book each month. I kept a The Baby-Sitters Club diary. I even wrote a letter to Ann M. Martin and received a bookmark and a form letter in return. It was my prized possession.Unfortunately, there came a time when I wanted to eschew every remnant of my childhood in an attempt to mature. I gave away my collection of The Baby-Sitters Club memorabilia to a friend. I donated my Goosebumps books and I started reading Fear Street.Now, fifteen odd years later, I scour used bookstores and thrift stores looking for The Baby-Sitters Club, Goosebumps, and Fear Street books.Now, why do I want to review something I once loved? Why do I want to tear apart the series and authors who made up my childhood and shaped who I am today?Simple. Exercise and nostalgia.I want to exercise my writing skills. I want to create a portfolio with work I can be proud of and the only way to do that is to write.And as for nostalgia – it’s something I don’t revere. Nostalgia is looking back with a skewed sense. It ignores the problems and we end up pining for a time that will never return and wasn’t that great in the first place. I’ve read a few of the early The Baby-Sitters Club books and, frankly, some of them are sub-par. It’s important for me to see that. I believe people need to be reminded that the past wasn’t always perfect.But there is also a lot of good to be lauded and re-appreciated. The babysitters are surprisingly mature for their ages. In The Baby-Sitters Club #6: Kristy’s Big Day, the BSC start a summer day camp that is surprisingly efficient and organized. They also solve problems in thoughtful ways.I look forward to rediscovering the crying, laughter, fear, unexpected wisdom as well as the problems in the books that shaped my childhood – The Baby-Sitters Club by Ann M. Martin, and Fear Street and Goosebumps by R. L. Stine. I’m excited to share my childhood with everyone.

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Super Specials

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Mysteries

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1-8; 9-15; 16-22; 23-29; 30-36

Super Mysteries

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Special Edition Readers' Requests

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Portrait Collections

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California Diaries

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Friends Forever

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These are affiliate links and I may get a commission from any purchases you make, but you get to support a local bookshop and me at the same time. Thanks!

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A Year With the BSC (The Baby-Sitters Club Friendship Kit)

#1: First Letter
#2: Stay Out of It, Dawn
#3: I Made a Flyer!
#4: Happy Birthday, Claudia!
#5: Good Job, Mallory
#6: BSC Day Camp
#7: How, Mary Anne, How?
#8: A Simple Fix
#9: Kristy's Birthday
#10: Why Would You Do That?
#11: The End of Summer
#12: Send In the Grandparents!
#13: A Slow Week
#14: Ten Pictures?
#15: Let Women Live, Dammit!
#16: The Costume Conundrum
#17: Haunted House Explanation With My Dad
#18: A Spooky Idea
#19: Laughing All the Way to the ICU
#20: Animals and Thanksgiving
#21: What Backspace?
#22: Turkey is Gross, Deal With It
#23: Grades
#24: Vice-President Search
#25: Camp Word-That-Has-New-Connotations
#26: Sweet Camp Moolah
#27: What Happened to Jessi?
#28: Creating a Habit
#29: Welcome Back, Jessi!
#30: The Late One
#31: Killing Trees
#32: Get Out Dat Hole!
#33: Hearts for Old Farts
#34: Saying Yuck Weird
#35: A Phone Call
#36: Making a Card for Shannon
#37: The Kid Sucks
#38: Zip Codes and Tickets
#39: Time Travel
#40: The Early One!
#41: A Lot to Unpack
#42: Steez Chomping
#43: Swing and a Miss
#44: Vaccinate Your Damn Kids
#45: Claudia's Ruse
#46: This One's Weird
#47: The Long Game
#48: Turn On the TV
#49: Neither a Simone Nor a Biles Be
#50: Self Promotion
#51: Shaving a Doll
#52: The Finish Line Is In Sight
#53: Back to the Beginning

An Introduction

Originally published: July 4, 2018It started with a YouTuber named Brutalmoose. In particular, a video he made about a relic from my childhood: Where in the U.S.A. is Carmen Sandiego?CD-ROM games were an important part of my upbringing. I still remember the large boxes with the colorful art promoting a fun experience for me and a learning opportunity so I could convince my parents that a fifty dollar game was a good investment in my education. Although I played Carmen Sandiego religiously, and I did learn a few things, I am still not sure where Carlsbad Caverns is. Kentucky? Is it Kentucky?Anyway, I watched a Brutalmoost video about Carmen Sandiego and it brought back a flood of memories. From Math Blasters to Diablo and finally, The Baby-Sitters Club Friendship Kit.I first saw this game in a BSC Newsletter. I was a paying member of the Fan Club (mostly so I could get the diaries and pens) and with my membership, I received a newsletter. When I saw that black and white ad for a CD-ROM game, I knew I had to have it. I saved up my money and ordered it from the newsletter. An eternity later, I received the game.The game centers around you being inducted as the newest member of the BSC, but the game itself isn’t really a game. It’s more of a personal organizer. There is a calendar and an address book. There are a few mini-games, but not much else.It may seem like a lacking experience, but it wasn’t because of two things: the letters and the journal.The game has a computer where you can input information about yourself: your favorite tv show, your family, your best friend, your personality traits. With that information, you get personalized letters from the BSC. I used to change the clock on my computer just so I could get more than one each day. Those letters were my life.The journal is the other thing that is interesting. Throughout the year, the other baby-sitters write in it. About their charges, schoolwork, or whatever else. I changed the clock on my computer so I could get a new journal entry.Well, thanks to a virtual machine and the internet’s uncanny archival abilities, I’m the newest member of the BSC and I’m going to chronicle their lives and share the letters I receive. It’sA Year With the BSC