Claudia has always been the most outrageous girl in her class...until Ashley Wyeth comes along. Ashley's really different - she dresses in hippie clothes, wears six earrings and work boots, and is the most fantastic artist Claudia has ever met. Ashley says Claudia has artistic talent, too, but thinks Claudia should spend more time on her "calling" and stop wasting time on the Baby-Sitters Club. The baby-sitters are sick of Ashley Wyeth, and they feel like Claudia is a traitor. Claudia has to decide: either the BSC or the new girl - one of them's got to go!

Jessi knows a secret language! She learned it from Matt Braddock, the BSC's newest charge. Matt's been deaf since birth, and he uses sign language to speak. Since Jessi is Matt's baby-sitter, she's been using sign language, too. Soon all the kids in Stoneybrook want to learn to sign...which keeps the baby-sitters busy. Jessi's the busiest of all: she working on another secret just for Matt. Will she be able to keep the secret and pull off her special event?

Mallory Pike has always wanted to be a member of the Baby-Sitters Club - they're so much fun to be around, and she's practically a baby-sitter already. Now the club members have invited Mallory to a meeting. This might be her big chance! But the BSC isn't making it easy - they make Mal feel like a baby on a job, and make her take an impossible written test. Mallory's beginning to think she doesn't want to be a part of the BSC...or maybe she and her new friend Jessi should start a club of their own. It's time to show those baby-sitters what a couple of new girls can do!

Lately, it seems like each of the baby-sitters besides Dawn has been singled out...and she's a little jealous. But now it's Dawn's turn to shine: Mrs. Pike has asked her to help prepare Margo and Claire for the Little Miss Stoneybrook contest! Dawn's going to do everything she can to help her charges win, even if Margo's only talent is peeling a banana with her feet. But then Kristy, Mary Anne, and Claudia are helping Karen, Myriah, and Charlotte enter the contest, too. It's hard to tell whether the competition is fiercer at the pageant - or in the BSC!

After Kristy's mom got married, her family moved to Watson's house in a new neighborhood. But the kids there aren't very friendly - in fact, they're total snobs! They criticize Kristy's clothes, make fun of the Baby-Sitters Club...and worst of all, they laugh at Louie, Kristy's pet collie, who's going blind. Nobody does that and gets away with it! Kristy's fighting mad, and she's not going to put up with a Snob Attack any longer - and neither is the BSC!

Stacey's so excited! She's invited her friends in the Baby-Sitters Club to New York City for a long weekend. It's going to be perfect - a party and a sleepover on Friday, a big baby-sitting job on Saturday, and lot of sightseeing on Sunday. But what a mistake! The BSC is way out of place in the big city. Mary Anne sounds like a walking guide book, Dawn is afraid of everything, Kristy can't keep her mouth shut, and Claudia is jealous of Stacey's friends. Can Stacey be in the BSC anymore?

Mallory discovers that the terrible twins she baby-sits on a regular basis are not really bad - they just want to be treated as individuals.

Mary Anne used to have to wear her hair in braids, keep her room painted pink, and ask her dad before she did anything. But not anymore. Mary Anne's been growing up...and the Baby-Sitters Club members aren't the only ones who have noticed. Logan Bruno likes Mary Anne! He has a dreamy southern accent, he's awfully cute - and he wants to join the Baby-Sitters Club. The baby-sitters aren't sure Logan will make a good club member. And Mary Anne thinks she's too shy for Logan. Life in the BSC has never been this complicated - or this fun!

When Kristy sees how much her little brothers and sisters want to play on a softball team, she organizes a ragtag team of her own. They may not be champions, with Jackie Rodowsky, walking disaster, on the team, but at least they have team spirit! Now Bart's Bashers have challenged Kristy's Krushers to a game. The Bashers really are lean and mean...but the worst part of it all is that Kristy has a giant crush on the Bashers' coach.

Claudia's sister, Janine, is too busy being smart to be nice to anyone - even their grandmother, Mimi. But Claudia doesn't have to see Janine too much this summer, since the Baby-Sitters Club is starting a new play group. It's going to be so much fun! But then Mimi has a stroke, and the whole summer changes. Now Claudia is "Mimi-sitting," and Janine is no help at all. How can the Kishi sisters get along when Janine is always so mean?

Stacey's parents are getting a divorce. Stacey is sad and angry, and she has a big decision to make - stay in New York with her father, or move back to Stoneybrook with her mother.

Lately, the pressure's really been on Stacey. She hasn't been feeling well, her schoolwork and baby-sitting jobs are almost out of control, and she's sick of being in the middle of her parents' fights. Then it happens: Stacey ends up in the hospital because of her diabetes. The baby-sitters are worried. So is Stacey. Why are things always so hard?

Receiving a desperate call from the Mancusi family, Jessi takes on an unusual sitting job caring for three dogs, five cats, two birds, a cage of hamsters, guinea pigs, fish, a snake, rabbits, and turtles.

Claudia has a sad good-bye to make. Her grandmother, Mimi, has just died. Claudia understands that Mimi was sick for a long time, but she's still mad at her grandmother for leaving her. Who will help Claudia with her homework...and share "special tea" with her? 

Visiting her father on the west coast, Dawn is tempted to stay with him when she enjoys the beach, Disneyland, and a wealth of healthy restaurants, but the homesick baby-sitter fears leaving her mother and all of her friends.