Why are there no Babysitter’s Club readalike lists?

I’m just going to use Outsidecat to rant on reference questions I get.

Since my library has such a small space, we tend to get rid of things that don’t circulate – series takes up a lot of space, and although the occasional young person (or adult) inquires about them, it’s not worth the real estate.

A 19-year-old patron came in looking for the Babysitter’s Club series. As I asked her questions, I inferred that she had a low reading level. BSC is a great hi-lo (high interest, low reading leve) series – the language isn’t very difficult, but there’s enough responsibility and teen angst to appeal to older readers.

I found a few readalike lists that included BSC, but they all seemed to be about a younger age group. What I wish the interslice tubes could send me is a list of books like BSC for hi-lo readers.

  1. Have you looked around on GoodReads or LibraryThing? Have you asked Erin Miller? That’s what I would do. 🙂

  2. Are you just looking for “girls” stuff or just anything? Tom Swift, Jr. isn’t very complicated but fun to read. I hate to say it, but when I ran the kids section at my bookstore, Goosbumps flew off the shelf. I know, I know, but the parents were at least grateful they were reading. Ooh, Encyclopedia Brown! That’s a huge series that’s a lot of fun and easy to read.

  3. She seemed interested in girl-based stuff, but any sort of alternative is good. Goosebumps is a great suggestion. They’re all from the 90’s, and they’re still circulating like mad.

  4. Do you have any of Beverly Cleary’s “teen” novels – three of them were published together as The First Love Treasury. I might also suggest the Gilda Joyce, Psychic Detective series (this one’s new).

    On a related note – have you seen this blog http://claudiasroom.blogspot.com/ – a 20 something gal rereading and blogging about all of the BSC books, so funny!

  5. Thanks for the suggestion, Erinbrain. I did see that blog – it’s way more fun and amusing than the books themselves.

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