Kristy and the Walking Disaster

The Baby-Sitters Club Graphic Novels #16

by Ann M. Martin, Ellen T. Crenshaw (illustrator)

A Baby-sitters Club graphic novel adapted by Eisner- and National Book Award-nominated cartoonist Ellen T. Crenshaw!

They're lean, they're mean, they're the pride of Stoneybrook. Who are they? They're Kristy's Krushers!

When Kristy sees how much her little brothers and sister want to play on a softball team, she starts a ragtag team of her own. Maybe Kristy's Krushers aren't world champions (how could they be, with Jackie Rodowsky, walking disaster, playing for them?), but nobody beats them when it comes to team spirit.

Now Bart's Bashers have challenged the Krushers to a game. It's bad enough that the Bashers truly are lean and mean -- but what's worse is that Kristy has a crush on the Bashers' coach!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Sports, Fiction, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Comics

160 pages, Hardcover

First published September 17, 2024

About the author

Ann Matthews Martin was born on August 12, 1955. She grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, with her parents and her younger sister, Jane. After graduating from Smith College, Ann became a teacher and then an editor of children's books. She's now a full-time writer.

Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.

Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.

Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.

After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was spending the weekend visiting my adult daughter, and we were looking for a change of pace from the TV shows and movies we'd been watching, so reading this together was a fun little diversion we could easily agree on. She's been reading the Baby-Sitters Club since she was a kid, and I'll read anything in graphic novel format.

Man is this adaptation stuffed! In just a little over 150 pages we get a first crush, stepfather and stepdaughter relationship strengthening, formation of a new baseball team, practices, individual problems for several of the players that coach Kristy Thomas has to work with the kids to resolve, and the big game finale. There is also matter-of-fact inclusion of a Deaf boy -- the team's star player -- with multiple characters using sign language to communicate with him. In all, three dozen recurring characters from Baby-Sitters universe take part in this epic.

It's a breezy read with lots of humorous and dramatic moments. Another solid entry in the Baby-Sitters Club graphic novel series.

[lydia {67} ୨ৎ · Rating 2 out of 5]

so erm this is actually #20 in the og series so idk why it's only #16 here 😤😒😡

[౨ৎ˖ ࣪⊹ hanah ౨ৎ˖ ࣪⊹ · Rating 5 out of 5]

₊⊹⁀➴ 5 stars
these books are adorable <3

[Scottsdale Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kristy and the Walking Disaster is a fantastic graphic novel adaptation of the Baby-Sitters Club classic. The story emphasizes themes of teamwork, and doing your best, making it both relatable and inspiring.

One of my favorite aspects was the inclusion of Matt, first introduced in Jessi’s Secret Language, and the representation of American Sign Language. The kids use sign language with Matt, Kristy incorporates signs while communicating with her team, and Matt’s mother and sister both serve as interpreters. I appreciated how the signed words were bolded in the text, adding a nice visual touch to the reading experience.

Kids who like reading about sports (baseball) or the Baby-Sitters Club in general will enjoy this graphic novel. – Diana F.

[- ̗̀✮ &#x1d690;&#x1d69b;&#x1d68a;&#x1d68c;&#x1d68e; ₊˚୧‧ (jess’ version) · Rating 2 out of 5]

i’ve given up on the baby sitters club at this point

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading about baseball is boring. The Kristy/Bart crush was cute.

[ChrissiesPurpleLibrary · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Jourdy · Rating 5 out of 5]

KRISTY LOVE INTEREST?!?!?

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Queer icon Kristy Thomas takes a crack (of the bat) at a boy who’s also a really bad baseball coach.

Kristy starts a baseball team of BSC sittees who are too young or frightened to be in Little League. One kid is two and a half! It’s nice to include everyone, but letting a two and a half year old think they’re participating is fine, you don’t have to actually include her in full length practices and a baseball game.

Someone has heard tell that another thirteen-year-old in the area is also single-handedly coaching their own baseball team, so Kristy goes to introduce herself to Bart of Bart’s Bashers (all normal sports teams are named after the coach) and societal norms and her weird teenage hormones make her think Bart is cute. Then Bart and his team who look a lot older than the average Krusher age of six-and-a-half come to spy on Kristy’s practice and do a wildly inappropriate amount of smack talking that Bart doesn’t notice. They are smack talking pre-kindergarteners. The four-to-eight-year-olds are deeply upset. They are also bad at baseball.

The game is the denouement. It’s boring. Graphic novel is a bad medium for sports action. Jacky Rodowski blips into another timeline and knocks over the refreshment table.

Not much from the rest of the BSC.

This book was adequate.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kristy starts a baseball team for her siblings and the rest of the BSC kids who are too young for little league. They take on a rival team of also too young for little league kids (but not quite as young), who are coached by a neighborhood boy. Cute as always. I don’t remember Kristy being quite so into Bart (and fricken’ a is Karen annoying).

A bit laughable now, since 3-year-olds have baseball “teams”. Not to mention a few 13-year-olds left in charge of a gaggle of 2-1/2 to 8 year olds. But no registration fees and free babysitting, so I can see why the parents like it.

[&#x1d717;&#x1d71a; tasia (matching with beloved aimes) &#x1f499;&#x1f49b; · Rating 4 out of 5]

rereading these cuz I wanna feel like a little kid

[Eden · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
it's pretty good. I just don't like baseball 😂 but I really liked kristy's way of handling things.

[Lucy Graf · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as BSC books go, it was good

[Jmay · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one didn’t capture my attention so much. All the little kids looked the same. And Kristy’s life interest was a jerk!

[Nora Graf · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s good but some of the characters, ABSOLUTELY SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Eleni Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good. Lots of baseball. With children. Kinda dangerous. Also I thought Kristy was gay but she’s not🤷‍♀️. She likes other baby sitter baseball dude 👍

[Mackenzie Berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This baby sitters club book was excellent. It had many lessons like leadership and many more, Thats one of the reasons why this book was so amazing. The pictures were also so cute!

[Emilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy reading the graphic novel versions of the babysitters clubs because it’s fun to compare to the books and have visuals!!
Giving this 4 stars instead of 5 because I finished it in like 30 minutes😂😂

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been enjoying all of these graphic novel adaptations of my favorite childhood series 💛

[&#x1f33b; Sunita &#x1f98b;✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Competitive and cute.

[Lo Wayward Tomes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily one of my favorite volumes.

[Kéra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing much to say about this one! The older babysitter graphic novels are peak and this was a bit more boring, idk

[Cytrina Ogle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the teamwork. My son is in baseball for the summer so it’s very sweet

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zillions of kids, very little drama, this is my favorite kind of baby-sitter book. Especially since the little kids on the field makes for great illustrations in the graphic novel.

[Cloverr ^_^ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t like it…… maybe just cuz I don’t like sports and I rlly feel like Kristy would be like into girls idk

[Gabrielle Olowu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good! Not my favourite but I love the art style!

[Ashtyn Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

echoing other reviews that baseball isnt the most interesting plot but i like kristy’s multifaceted personality. she’s not just a tomboy stereotype, she has a crush on a boy and it’s sweet

[୨⎯ gabs (bea’s vrsn)(merry xmas&#x1f384;)⎯୧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

the romanceeeee
K+B

[Aaliyah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ooo la la Kristy has a crush loved this book

[Mackenzie Walton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very cute adaptation of a book that's honestly not one of my favorites (sorry, not a sports girl, even for the BSC). But sorry, I need to indulge in a few nitpicks. They stood out to me because this series is usually so seamless!

* The book retains a cute little moment where Kristy calls Archie "Red" and he doesn't get why. But in this series, the Rodowskys all have brown hair, I assume to make the Pikes stand out more. In fact, Kristy's hair is redder than Archie's. Why not put him a red shirt or something?

* When the Bashers show up to practice to heckle the kids, one of the Krushers complains, "Those boys were mean." But at least one of the Bashers was a girl. She even appears on the cover of the book.

* We see the refreshment stand at the game from a distance in one panel and Sam Thomas appears to be leaning over the table chatting with a redheaded guy. Then there's a close-up, and oops, the redhead is Charlie and he has completely different coloring now!