Author Appreciation Week 2010:Ann M. Martin

This week, I am talking about the inspirational authors that have been feeding my imagination since cihldhood. Today, I want to talk about pre-teen/ Young Adult author, Ann M. Martin.

Ann M. Martin is the bestselling author of the Babysitter’s Club series of book. This book series  was really my first book series. I believe I had at least 200 of these books at one time.

For those who are unfamiliar with the series, I will give you a quick rundown of the structure of each book. First and foremost, each book is in first person perspective. That means the entire book is told in one person’s point of view.

The character who is telling the story is usually the one that the book’s main plot is about.  Book titles would generally indicate who would be telling the story. (ie: Dawn and the Impossible Three or Mary Anne Saves the Day).

There was also one or two side plots. Martin pulls this off with a lot of ease. I wouldn’t have known how hard that was back when I was reading them as a child and early teen, but as a growing writer, who is experimenting, I can appreciate her genius.

The books would end with all of the plots being tied up, and a group scene that wrapped up the story nicely. Each book in the series was it’s own story , so you could literally pick up any volume, and not be lost. This is also encouraged with the fact that Martin always included a quick exposition by the main character of how the characters met, and how the club was formed.

The Babysitter’s Club was followed up by several spin off series, all which had their own audiences and success. There were also several side books that followed the characters.

Martin’s BSC series was the first series I ever read. Up to that point in my life, I had only been reading single, stand alone books. I was not interested in any continuing story lines.

That changed the day that R.I.F. came into our classroom. One of the books was the fourth title in the Babysitter’s Club series. I sat down, and read it in almost a day. I didn’t know it then, but this single volume of a series was going to lead me to many books that would help me cope with my changing life. As a pre-teen, I was starting to go through changes I was having trouble coping with, on top of my disability’s difficulties.

Martin also wrote a wonderful book called “Bummer Summer”, about a girl who has to adjust to her father getting re-married. I was going through living with a step parent at the time, so I could relate. It was a wonderful thing.

What I liked best about that book, as well as the BSC, is that they all dealt with real life situations. Things like diabetes, grades, siblings, and divorce and remarrying. She handled them as if she herself were a teenager, and understood her readers very well. Even at my age, when I was just learning the simple mechanics of story, I knew that took talent.

It has been a long time since I have picked up a Babysitter’s Club book. I just found out recently that she has released a sort of prequel to the whole series. I am considering picking it up, for nostalgic purposes.

She is one author I owe my teen sanity to, and I am glad to have had her books around to comfort me at that time.

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