| Title | : | Kristys Great Idea |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Library Binding |
| Number of Pages | : | 186 |
| Publication | : | First published April 1, 2006 |
Kristys Great Idea Reviews
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I picked this up because my niece read this and she said it was okay and Raina Telgemeier illustrated this graphic novel and I love Raina's work and try to read all her stuff. The story is from the ever-popular 80's series that I read as a kid. I admit to loving these stories as a teen. I owned the first 10 books. They were all the rage back then. I had this series, Ramona and a few others.
This is a cute story of 4 girls who decide to start a business baby-sitting. It's a nice story with some drama in it, but not too much. One character has a sneaky reveal that did surprise me. I thought one of them was anorexic but was something else. Raina is amazing and her artwork is so great. She can tell a great story and her characters jump off the page. I love her work. -
4.5 stars
To say I liked this series when I was a kid doesn't adequately cover it. Between the original series, the super specials, the mysteries, and spin-off series with Karen, I owned around 200 of these books. (Thank you Mom for taking me to B. Dalton at the mall every month to purchase them! Sorry Dad that they are still in your basement because I don't have room for them at my house!) And these weren't books I read one time and then moved on to the next. These were my comfort reading so everything was read multiple times. Given Kristy's Great Idea was the first in the series and one of my favorites, I probably read it at least 10 times.
So yes, I was very excited to see this book in graphic novel form. And for the most part, I thought it turned out well. This is the book that obviously sets up the rest of the series as Kristy comes up with the idea to start a baby sitting business with her friends. There were actually some interesting side plots that as an adult I can appreciate more because Ann M. Martin did attempt to add some substance to the books. Kristy is dealing with her mother dating someone as well as having a father who really isn't in the picture. There's also Mary Anne dealing with an overprotective father, Claudia and her relationship with her genius sister, and Stacey and her mysterious eating habits.
Honestly the only thing I didn't like about the graphic novel was the illustrations of the girls' faces. They just weren't very appealing especially Claudia and Stacey although I did think the rest of the graphics turned out nicely and really captured the book quite well.
Definitely recommend as I think this is a graphic novel that will appeal to people of all ages. -
Nothing quite beats the feeling from walking into the library not knowing what to get and walking away victoriously with two exciting reads. Raina Telgemeier graphic novel adaption to the Baby-Sitters Club with Kristy's Great Idea was one of them.
One of my greatest accomplishments as a big sister is passing on my love for books to my ten-year-old sister, and I can thank in part Raina Telgemeier's graphic novels for kicking it off with a bang, specifically with
Sisters, which my sister still recites certain scenes from today, like, the infamous road trip. So spending this past Shabbat poring over this newest release was a walk down memory lane for us.
For me, what I personally cherish in these books is how timeless Telgemeier's writing feels. Like, when I read other middle-grade books I'm self-aware throughout the story that this is meant for younger audiences, but there's something so appealing in its nostalgic nature.
I also appreciated how this particular book on babysitting kids showcases situations with how to deal with the not-so-kind moments, similar to
How to Talk So Teens Will Listen & Listen So Teens Will Talk, wherein it opens up with a kid acting a certain way (throwing tantrums, asking big questions, opening up) and through the Baby-Sitters Club we see a number of ways to react in a helpful manner.
And as always, the art was astounding and perfectly captured those quintessential summer days spent frolicking outside with friends, thinking of what to do next.
It's also interesting looking back on my 2018 reading challenge to suddenly realize that Raina Telgemeier's
Ghosts was my second book of the year (and first graphic novel), just like Kristy's Great Idea is my second read of 2019.
Make your bookish purchases through my Amazon Affiliate. I’ll make a small commission! Kristy's Great Idea by Raina Telgemeier:
This review and more can be found on my blog. -
This is a Middle Grade Graphic Novel, and this is the first book in the Baby-Sitters Club Graphic Novels series. I read all the Baby-Sitters Club books when I was younger, and they were my favorite books when I was young. I know I had to read the Graphic Novels base off the Baby-Sitters Club books. I love the drawing in this book, and I really think it helped the story come to life. I really enjoyed reading this book. Great Read.
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As someone who grew up on the BSC series, this was definitely a really lovely trip through nostalgia, though I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if this had been something brand new to me. The story is still fun and the art is pretty but the dialogue feels kind of unnatural and strange.
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This was so cute.
Kristy comes up with an idea to form the baby-sitters club with her friends to make money after school. Like any other groups of friends, they have a fight but they make up again and are closer than ever. Kristy doesn't think before she speaks and comes across as rude but she realises her mistakes and apologizes. I also liked Kristy coming to terms with her mother and Watson to get married.
It was a nice story but I enjoyed the illustrations the most.
4 stars -
IT IS GORGEOUS OMG!!!!
Anyone who knows me knows of my love for all things
BSC. They were my favourites as a child, they are my favourites as an adult. I obsessively collect anything BSC, and I like it.
I was hella excited when the
first graphic novel came out almost nine (!!!) years ago, and I fell in love immediately.
Raina Telgemeier's illustrations suit the story and the characters perfectly, and she did an excellent job of translating the novel into a more visual format. (And an anecdote: I lived at home when these first came out, and my brother took both the graphic novel and the actual book - without telling me - and looked through them both. He commented to me when he was returning them that the adaptation was pretty spot-on, and he was pretty impressed about that.)
So, needless to say, I was even more pumped about the full-colour versions being released thanks to Raina's popularity. And I was not disappointed. (Not that I thought I could be.) The colouring is beautiful, everything looks better than I ever could have imagined. It's like breathing more new life into the books I cherish, and even though I've read
Kristy's Great Idea like thirty-thousand times, reading it in full colour was like I was reading it for the first time.
Really hope that this introduces the Baby-sitters Club to a new group of readers, and really can't wait for the next one to come out!!! -
It was so much fun to revisit a childhood favourite in a new format! I loved The Babysitters Club books when I was younger, and remember them fondly. When I saw this the other day I thought it would be the perfect thing to read right now, and it really was. Characters I already know and love, and a familiar story, now told in graphic novel form. I've read a couple of the Baby-sitters Club graphic novels, but they were in black and white. I liked them a lot, but the colour is a great addition, and I'll be rereading the ones I already have in colour too.
The only downside is, with New Zealand now being in lock down for four weeks, it'll be a little while before I can read the next one, but I'm looking forward to reading them when I can. -
I don't know why I'm still so obsessed with the Babysitters' Club, but I am, and I accept that, and I probably should hold Ann M. Martin and her staff of ghostwriters responsible for my current writing ability, but instead I'll tell you that this graphic novel version will give you lots of warm fuzzies, get rid of some of the "OH PLEASE" moments you'd be having if you were rereading the actual novel and not this adapted version, and that I wish Raina Telgemeir was doing THE ENTIRE SERIES.
(Especially the Super Specials.) -
Read this right after I finished re-reading the regular book. A favorite from my 90s childhood. This was fun...I don't think I've ever read a graphic novel before? The illustrations were great!
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This story is so sweet and comforting! I've read it more times than I can count. :)
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This was so much fun!!
I loved the BSC and read all the books growing up. I made my own version of the BSC and had all the swag, watched the movies on repeat, made my own business cards with the computer program, you get the idea...
This was delightful to revisit book 1 in graphic novel format. The images were beautiful and really captured perfectly the hijinks and differences between the main characters. I think this would be a perfect series for any younger middle grade reader today, and I will likely continue on with the series. -
I devoured this book last night. How fun- I was such a fan of the BSC as a kid and it's great to live through these characters' stories in a new way. Divorce, diabetes, weird babysitting jobs... it's all still relevant. I was so impressed, I wrote an email to Raina Telgemeier, adapter/illustrator today. She wrote me back and was so sweet! She said she'd let me know when she's in Austin. How cool is that? I can't wait to read the 2nd and 3rd issues, and apparently Raina just finished the 4th, as well, so it'll be out soon!
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This book is so good
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That was so cute and quick I'm glad I read it and I Definetly want to read the next three books!
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loved the art, characters, and the plot! this is such a fun, easy story to read and i read it in one sitting.
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so enjoyable and so cute
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a graphic novel version of the book. very cute, & very true to the original book. just about everything is in there, from kristy feeling strange about claudia wearing make-up, to everyone making up rules to liven up watson's fondue dinner, to kristy's essay on decorum. the only significant change i noted was that rinbows are now in, rather than sheep. i was a little sad, because i really wanted to see a little cartoon claudia say, "sheep are in," but i'll get over it. oh, the other change i noticed: when stacey sits for david michael for the first time, she wears a sweatshirt dress with a big yellow number 10 on it, but in the comic, she was just wearing non-descript NYC sophisticate clothes. for some reason, i remember the number 10 thing really vividly & would have liked to see it. apparently i have a whole section of my brain just for cataloguing outfits worn by members of the babysitters club.
but the drawings are great. the girls all look age-appropriate & the story maintains a certain timeless quality. maybe the characters even get to express a little extra personality by being drawn. i'd never really thought of charlie as anything other than a laid-bank lunkhead, but he really looked like a kind of suave high school dude in the drawings. even karen looked a little cuter than she does in my imagination. & boo boo was adorable. i liked how his fangs were on display. -
Read this in less than 2 hours yesterday and it was awwwwesommmmme! My childhood and pre-teen book series were Sweet Valley Jr High, July Blume books, Jacqueline Wilson and Jean Ure books, some Alice books, and A series of unfortunate events, and I wish the baby-sitters club series was on my list too. I always saw the books in the libraries but I never read them! Now reading this graphic adaptation I wish I read them even more! So excited to read this whole graphic series!!
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Love her graphic novels. Though I would not pick up the original series, I will continue with the graphic novel adaptations.
It's so well done. So easy to read. So easy to enjoy. The characters are lovely.
I am here for all the good family and friendship vibes. -
Loved it so much - it brought me back to my childhood days of reading this series.The art was amazingly good.
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It is a good graphic novel although not for me (my age?!)
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In my childhood bedroom, I had an entire shelf dedicated to the Baby-Sitters club. Going into a re-booted, graphic series made me wary. Could we really capture all the magic and awesomeness of the original series?
The answer? Yes!
This was fantastic. I read the entire book aloud to my son who also loved it. Graphic Kristy is just as bossy and meddling as she always was, and Claudia is equally dismissive and cool. I thought, being a re-boot, they would update it a bit. But no. The kids still obsess over G.I. Joe and Rainbow Brite in true 80s fandom.
The artwork is perfect too. Bold, colorful, and animated. If you loved the original series or you’re a new fan, this is a great introduction to the BSC. -
Growing up I LOVED The Babysitters Club books. I read them all the time. I was at Half Price Books and noticed this graphic novel version of the first book. It was a fast read but it took me back to my childhood. I hadn't read about Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, or Stacey in probably 20 years. The artwork was great and I like how they didn't try to "modernize" the story, they left it how it was back in the 80s. I think if you were a fan of The BSC, you will definitely enjoy this one.
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This was a fun read!!
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I stand by everything I said in
my review of Ann M. Martin’s Kristy’s Great Idea so, rather than rehash that, I’m going to mention some of the differences I noticed between the book and graphic novel instead.
In the book Kristy wears a dress on the original front cover and it’s mentioned she wears a blouse and skirt to school. That’s not Kristy at all. In the graphic novel Kristy consistently wears what we come to know as her uniform. Much better.
In the book Kristy has a purse. Again, this is definitely not something I would ever picture her with. In the graphic novel her purse has transformed into a backpack. Definitely more Kristy-like.
While I absolutely love that Claudia has a section of her hair dyed in the graphic novel, I don’t think her parents would have allowed her to get away with that. She has to hide her earrings, junk food and Nancy Drew novels from them so hair dye would have to be forbidden as well, right?
The BSC logo that Claudia draws in the graphic novel is different than the one we all grew up with. Similar but different.
The amount the girls have earned by the time of the sleepover and how much they each need to contribute to buy pizza has increased. These aren’t 1986 prices anymore.
Class at Stoneybrook Middle School appears to finish at 3pm now, not 2:42pm like in the book. That makes much more sense.
The sheep barrettes in Claudia’s hair in the book are now a rainbow on her shirt. I’m good with either. It’s Claudia, after all. She can get away with whatever fashion choices she makes.
In my version of the first book, Kristy’s mother’s name is Edie and in the graphic novel it’s Elizabeth. Although I haven’t checked later books to confirm this, Elizabeth sounds right to me.
This isn’t a change, but I was really happy to discover that the landline in Claudia’s bedroom hasn’t succumbed to technology. The BSC meetings would look a lot different if everyone was sitting around with a mobile phone.
I’d forgotten I’d already read this graphic novel so I can’t tell you what I thought last time I read it but this time I was really impressed. The story and important details remain true to the original.
I read the black and white version of the graphic novel. I would be interested to check out the colour version at some point. For comparison, here are the black and white and colour versions of the first page.
[image error] -
I grew up reading The Baby Sitters Club. So of course I had to give the graphic novel a try. Especially since it is written by Raina Telgemeier, who I love. The pictures are definitely cute and I feel like they captured the essence of the characters. It was fun to re live the books, but it wasn't anything amazing.
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Major nostalgia feels! I loved this series as a kid. My favorite babysitter was always Stacey, I think because I could relate to her the most. I liked Kristy a lot too.
The graphic novel followed the book almost exactly so I liked that. The artwork was cute, although I will admit I pictured them to look somewhat differently.
I can’t wait to read more of these graphic novels. -
Baby Sitters Club
By Raina Telgemeier -
This was my first Baby-Sitters Club experience and I loved it!
