Author SPLOTlight: Raina Telgemeier

Once upon a time, there was a young girl who loved The Baby-sitters Club series. Then she grew up and became an artist, creating graphic novels and comic books, winning award after award. Meanwhile, a publishing company was in the midst of creating a new line of graphic novels, called Graphix. They had heard a lot about this artist, and they invited her in to see what kinds of ideas she could contribute. They asked her what books she read as a kid, and of course, she mentioned the BSC (that's the acronym for The Baby-sitters Club, for all you newbies!). And the rest is history!

Raina Telgemeier is the artist behind the awesome graphic novel versions of Ann M. Martin's The Baby-sitters Club books: so far, she's done Kristy's Great Idea, The Truth About Stacey, Mary Anne Saves the Day, and Claudia and Mean Janine. Instead of just reading the words on the page, fans of the BSC now get to see them and watch all the baby-sitting, middle-school-ing adventures of the BSC members rendered in Telgemeier's charming, detailed drawings.

As a big BSC fan myself, I re-discovered the books in new ways once I saw what Telgemeier did with them. In the just-released graphic novel edition of Claudia and Mean Janine, Telgemeier's drawings are playful and captivating. The depictions of the BSC members are true to character, and the super-expressive, totally energetic illustrations practically leap off the page. Whether you're a BSC fan or not, Telgemeier's graphic versions are just plain fun to read.

What's even cooler is that Telgemeier's BSC versions have now gotten me interested in other graphic novels, particularly her upcoming SMILE: A Dental Drama, which Scholastic Graphix will publish in 2010. Until then, I'll just occupy myself with discovering other graphic artists! Any suggestions?

— Morgan, Scholastic Staffer

Art © 2006 by Raina Telgemeier