Post by celaeno on Oct 10, 2009 23:11:33 GMT -5
Since getting reintroduced to the BSC now that I’m in my 20s and reading some of the posts on here, I’ve been thinking about other series aimed at preteen girls from around the same time (late 80s/early 90s). I find it interesting how many of them follow an extremely similar pattern to the BSC. Since all the ones I came up with started after the BSC (I think), I feel that these books were deliberately modeled after the BSC (with the exception of The Saddle Club, which was started in the same year. However, I do feel The Saddle Club took some notes from the BSC formula later in its series). I haven't found a similar series that started before the BSC.
You know the books I’m talking about – series of books aimed at preteen girls, about a group of girls who are united by some shared interest or club. I feel like they follow a specific pattern:
Basic plot: A diverse group of girls forming a clearly defined clique, brought together by some shared interest, often in the form of a club.
Set-up of books: The books alternate between the members of the group in a cycling pattern. Each book is either told in first person by a member of the group, or the book is told in third-person about a storyline focusing on one group member.
Age of characters: Usually 11 to 13
Size of group: Usually around 4
Racial make-up of group: Mostly white. A popular pattern is a group of four, where three are white and one is non-white.
Special Editions? Some series, like the BSC, have special books that are not numbered in the regular series.
So I tried to gather up as many series as I could find that followed this pattern. Let's examine the series I came up with:
The Baby-sitters Club, 1986
A diverse group of girls brought together by: baby-sitting
Set-up of books: Each book is told in first person by one member of the group
Age of characters: 11 - 13
Size of group: originally 4, later 8
Racial make-up: Originally 3 white and 1 Asian. Later, 6 white (one of which is Jewish and may not be classified as white, depending on your perception), 1 Asian, 1 black
Special Editions? Yes
The Saddle Club, 1986
A diverse group of girls brought together by: horseback riding
Set-up of books: Told in third person. Unlike the other series I listed, it doesn’t appear that each book is “assigned” to one member of the club.
Age of characters: 12 - 13
Size of group: 3
Racial make-up: 2 white, 1 black
Special Editions? Yes
Sleepover Friends, started in 1987
A diverse group of girls brought together by: weekly sleepovers
Set-up of books: Books are in first person, usually narrated by Lauren at the beginning of the series, but the other girls start rotating in toward the end of the series
Age of characters: They are 10 year old 5th graders.
Size of group: 4, Lauren, Patti, Stephanie and Kate
Racial make-up: all Caucasian
Special Editions: Yes, 1
The Gymnasts, 1988
A diverse group of girls brought together by: gymnastics
Set-up of books: Each book is told in first person by one member of the group
Age of characters: 11 - 12
Size of group: 4
Racial make-up: 3 white, 1 black
Special Editions? No
The Fabulous Five, started in 1988
A diverse group of girls brought together by: By being fabulous (Really by hating classmate Taffy Sinclair, and then by normal Jr. High drama.)
Set-up of books: Books are in 3rd person, each focuses on one member
Age of characters: 12? They are in 7th grade.
Size of group: 5, Jana, Christie, Melanie, Beth and Katie
Racial make-up: all Caucasian
Special Editions: Yes, 4
Pen Pals, started in 1989
A diverse group of girls brought together by: Having Pen Pals who are boys
Set-up of books: Books are in third person, each book has a main plot of one or two girls, but each girl is figured prominantly in each book.
Age of characters: 12-14
Size of group: 4 at any one time, although one character moves away, and another comes in, although the old character is still part of the books sometimes.
Racial make-up: 3/4 Causasian, one Chinese, ala Claudia Kishi
Special Editions: 2
No Way Ballet, 1990
A diverse group of girls brought together by: ballet
Set-up of books: Told in third person, each book is a storyline mainly focusing on one member
Age of characters: 11
Size of group: 3
Racial make-up: all white
Special Editions? No
*Interesting note: Like the BSC, this group features a member who is originally from New York who talks about NYC all the freaking time. Coincidence?
Girl Talk, started in 1990
A diverse group of girls brought together by: Again, by surviving Jr. High
Set-up of books: Books are in 1st person, each book focuses on one member, rotating narrators
Age of characters: 12-13, They are in 7th grade.
Size of group: 4, Sabrina, Katie, Randy and Allison
Racial make-up: Sabs, Katie and Randy are Caucasian. Allison is Native American.
Special Editions: Not that I know of.
Friends 4 Eva 1990
A diverse group of girls brought together by: Writing to their friend who moves away
Set-up of books: Told in third person, each book is a storyline mainly focusing on one member
Age of characters: 10 or 11
Size of group: 4
Racial make-up: All caucasian
Special Editions: None
Best Friends, 1992
A diverse group of girls brought together by: Christianity
Set-up of books: Told in third person, each book is a storyline mainly focusing on one member
Age of characters: 11
Size of group: 4
Racial make-up: 3 white, 1 Native American
Special Editions? Yes, even though this well-organized site about the series says there were 16 books in the regular series with no special editions. It appears Special Editions were released, but later (possibly due to lack of sales?) they were changed to be in the regular series.
The Boyfriend Club 1994
A diverse group of girls brought together by: they want boyfriends
Set-up of books: Each book is told in first person by one member of the group
Age of characters: 14
Size of group: 4
Racial make-up: 2 white, 1 Hispanic, 1 Asian
Special Editions? The Wikipedia entry for this series says there were 12 books (all regular series, no Special Editions), but Amazon lists at least two Special Editions in the series. Like Best Friends, it appears Special Editions were released, but later (possibly due to lack of sales?) they were changed to be in the regular series.
(By the way, the best part about this series was the awesome cover art. Wikipedia shows the series with what I surmise is the updated cover art, which is not nearly as awesome.)
Pony Pals, 1995
A diverse group of girls brought together by: Owning/keeping ponies
Set-up of books: Books are in third person, each focuses on one member
Age of characters: 10 at the beginning, 12 by the end
Size of group: 3
Racial make-up: Two white, one black
Special Editions? Yes
My conclusion: The huge commercial success of the BSC caused some very strong imitation!
A lot of this information I got from searching the web, Wikipedia, and Amazon, so I can’t really verify how correct it is (some of these books I never even heard of until I found the BSC boards). If anyone would like to make any corrections or additions, I would be very appreciative. Can anyone think of any other series that should be added to this list? If anyone would kindly offer some suggestions, I will edit my original post so we can have a more accurate or more comprehensive list.
Sweet Valley is often compared to the BSC (both are very successful series for preteen girls with hundreds of books in the series), but I didn’t feel that these books followed the same pattern of dealing with a defined club of girls, so I didn’t think that series was appropriate to compare.
*Edited to add series to the list and make the list chronological
You know the books I’m talking about – series of books aimed at preteen girls, about a group of girls who are united by some shared interest or club. I feel like they follow a specific pattern:
Basic plot: A diverse group of girls forming a clearly defined clique, brought together by some shared interest, often in the form of a club.
Set-up of books: The books alternate between the members of the group in a cycling pattern. Each book is either told in first person by a member of the group, or the book is told in third-person about a storyline focusing on one group member.
Age of characters: Usually 11 to 13
Size of group: Usually around 4
Racial make-up of group: Mostly white. A popular pattern is a group of four, where three are white and one is non-white.
Special Editions? Some series, like the BSC, have special books that are not numbered in the regular series.
So I tried to gather up as many series as I could find that followed this pattern. Let's examine the series I came up with:
The Baby-sitters Club, 1986
A diverse group of girls brought together by: baby-sitting
Set-up of books: Each book is told in first person by one member of the group
Age of characters: 11 - 13
Size of group: originally 4, later 8
Racial make-up: Originally 3 white and 1 Asian. Later, 6 white (one of which is Jewish and may not be classified as white, depending on your perception), 1 Asian, 1 black
Special Editions? Yes
The Saddle Club, 1986
A diverse group of girls brought together by: horseback riding
Set-up of books: Told in third person. Unlike the other series I listed, it doesn’t appear that each book is “assigned” to one member of the club.
Age of characters: 12 - 13
Size of group: 3
Racial make-up: 2 white, 1 black
Special Editions? Yes
Sleepover Friends, started in 1987
A diverse group of girls brought together by: weekly sleepovers
Set-up of books: Books are in first person, usually narrated by Lauren at the beginning of the series, but the other girls start rotating in toward the end of the series
Age of characters: They are 10 year old 5th graders.
Size of group: 4, Lauren, Patti, Stephanie and Kate
Racial make-up: all Caucasian
Special Editions: Yes, 1
The Gymnasts, 1988
A diverse group of girls brought together by: gymnastics
Set-up of books: Each book is told in first person by one member of the group
Age of characters: 11 - 12
Size of group: 4
Racial make-up: 3 white, 1 black
Special Editions? No
The Fabulous Five, started in 1988
A diverse group of girls brought together by: By being fabulous (Really by hating classmate Taffy Sinclair, and then by normal Jr. High drama.)
Set-up of books: Books are in 3rd person, each focuses on one member
Age of characters: 12? They are in 7th grade.
Size of group: 5, Jana, Christie, Melanie, Beth and Katie
Racial make-up: all Caucasian
Special Editions: Yes, 4
Pen Pals, started in 1989
A diverse group of girls brought together by: Having Pen Pals who are boys
Set-up of books: Books are in third person, each book has a main plot of one or two girls, but each girl is figured prominantly in each book.
Age of characters: 12-14
Size of group: 4 at any one time, although one character moves away, and another comes in, although the old character is still part of the books sometimes.
Racial make-up: 3/4 Causasian, one Chinese, ala Claudia Kishi
Special Editions: 2
No Way Ballet, 1990
A diverse group of girls brought together by: ballet
Set-up of books: Told in third person, each book is a storyline mainly focusing on one member
Age of characters: 11
Size of group: 3
Racial make-up: all white
Special Editions? No
*Interesting note: Like the BSC, this group features a member who is originally from New York who talks about NYC all the freaking time. Coincidence?
Girl Talk, started in 1990
A diverse group of girls brought together by: Again, by surviving Jr. High
Set-up of books: Books are in 1st person, each book focuses on one member, rotating narrators
Age of characters: 12-13, They are in 7th grade.
Size of group: 4, Sabrina, Katie, Randy and Allison
Racial make-up: Sabs, Katie and Randy are Caucasian. Allison is Native American.
Special Editions: Not that I know of.
Friends 4 Eva 1990
A diverse group of girls brought together by: Writing to their friend who moves away
Set-up of books: Told in third person, each book is a storyline mainly focusing on one member
Age of characters: 10 or 11
Size of group: 4
Racial make-up: All caucasian
Special Editions: None
Best Friends, 1992
A diverse group of girls brought together by: Christianity
Set-up of books: Told in third person, each book is a storyline mainly focusing on one member
Age of characters: 11
Size of group: 4
Racial make-up: 3 white, 1 Native American
Special Editions? Yes, even though this well-organized site about the series says there were 16 books in the regular series with no special editions. It appears Special Editions were released, but later (possibly due to lack of sales?) they were changed to be in the regular series.
The Boyfriend Club 1994
A diverse group of girls brought together by: they want boyfriends
Set-up of books: Each book is told in first person by one member of the group
Age of characters: 14
Size of group: 4
Racial make-up: 2 white, 1 Hispanic, 1 Asian
Special Editions? The Wikipedia entry for this series says there were 12 books (all regular series, no Special Editions), but Amazon lists at least two Special Editions in the series. Like Best Friends, it appears Special Editions were released, but later (possibly due to lack of sales?) they were changed to be in the regular series.
(By the way, the best part about this series was the awesome cover art. Wikipedia shows the series with what I surmise is the updated cover art, which is not nearly as awesome.)
Pony Pals, 1995
A diverse group of girls brought together by: Owning/keeping ponies
Set-up of books: Books are in third person, each focuses on one member
Age of characters: 10 at the beginning, 12 by the end
Size of group: 3
Racial make-up: Two white, one black
Special Editions? Yes
My conclusion: The huge commercial success of the BSC caused some very strong imitation!
A lot of this information I got from searching the web, Wikipedia, and Amazon, so I can’t really verify how correct it is (some of these books I never even heard of until I found the BSC boards). If anyone would like to make any corrections or additions, I would be very appreciative. Can anyone think of any other series that should be added to this list? If anyone would kindly offer some suggestions, I will edit my original post so we can have a more accurate or more comprehensive list.
Sweet Valley is often compared to the BSC (both are very successful series for preteen girls with hundreds of books in the series), but I didn’t feel that these books followed the same pattern of dealing with a defined club of girls, so I didn’t think that series was appropriate to compare.
*Edited to add series to the list and make the list chronological