Best Babysitters Ever, written by Caroline Cala, reviewed by Anneliese White

Summary: This reboot brings back the nostalgia of Ann M. Martin’s Babysitters Club series, and actually, pays quite a bit of homage to it in the beginning of the story. Three characters- Malia, Dot, and Bree- bring humor to this novel, each of them narrating their own chapters. They are all in the 7th grade, and really want to throw a party that will be spectacular and inevitably make them popular with the other middle schoolers, but the only snafu is that they need money. Malia has the great idea to start a babysitting club (even though all three of them are not big on little children), to raise funds for the party of the year. Various things will get in their way of running a successful babysitting business, especially Malia’s older sister Chelsea, as she swoops in and starts a babysitting business of her own, the Seaside Sitters, who end up stealing all the business. Will Dot, Bree, and Malia be able to turn their business around? Will the girls be able to throw the social event of their dreams (and also impress Malia’s crush Connor)? Younger readers will definitely be captivated in this story to find out.

Straight Talk for Librarians: There is no doubt that this book will be appealing to upper elementary students at any library. It has the epic formula of girl power, boy crushes, pesky older siblings, and parents who seem to treat the main characters unfairly. If readers are looking for deep substance and a non-cliche read, this may not be the right match. It would be something I would recommend for librarians to purchase because it is a fun reboot of the popular Babysitters Club (with a second book already out), but it is highly doubtful that middle school students would be interested in this one, as the storyline and characters are quite immature (despite the main characters being in 7th grade in the book). The three main characters (Bree, Dot, and Malia) are diverse, which is nice. It could be used to start a discussion on entrepreneurship. Definitely recommended, but with the push to 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade readers.