Chapter XX

The BSC Overseas

Thanks to Rosemarie DiCristo, who found them at a library sale in New York several years ago, the first foreign BSC books I ever saw were 4 Danish BSC books and 5 Dutch BSC books.

DANISH

The ones from Denmark are the size of a Young Adult paperback book but are hardcover, and the cover art is the same. I have books 1-4, as follows:

1. Kristy får en idé (Kristy’s Great Idea)

2. Vem vill scrämma Cindy? (Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls)

3. Saras hemlighet (The Truth About Stacey)

4. Mari som barnvakt (Mary Anne Saves the Day)

Although the titles may not all be exact translations, the names in the books are interesting:

Baby-sitters Club = Barnvaktsklubben

Kristy = Kristy

Claudia = Cindy

Mary Anne = Mari

Stacey = Sara

DUTCH

The ones from the Netherlands are the same size and format as the U.S. Baby-sitters Club books with the same cover art. I have books, 4, 5, 13, 14, and 17 as follows:

4. Inge houde het hoofd koel (Mary Anne Saves the Day)

5. Betty op de proef gesteld (Dawn and the Impossible Three)

13. Vaarwell Petra (Good-bye, Stacey, Good-bye)

14. Tine uitgedaagd (Hello, Mallory)

17. Dreigbrieven voor Inge (Mary Anne’s Bad-Luck Mystery)

Again, the titles probably are not all exact translations, but here are the Dutch versions of the names:

Baby-sitters Club = Babysittersclub

Kristy = Gertie

Claudia = Joke (probably pronounced something like YO-keh)

Mary Anne = Inge

Stacey = Petra

Dawn = Betty

Mallory = Tine

Jessi = Jessica

Logan = Tim

FRENCH

Meredith Jaffe found two French BSC books in Canada in 1996. These are paperbacks in the same format as the (earlier) U.S.A. books except for the language. Later on, I got two more French books on eBay, so now I have books 2, 9, 11, and 12 as follows:

2. De mystérieux appels anonymes (Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls)

9. Diane et le fantôme (The Ghost at Dawn’s House)

11. Christine chez les snobs (Kristy and the Snobs)

12. Claudia et la nouvelle venue (Claudia and the New Girl)

These are the names of the Baby-sitters in French:

Baby-sitters Club = le Club des baby-sitters (although the covers say "Les Baby-sitters")

Kristy = Christine

Claudia = Claudia

Mary Anne = Anne-Marie

Stacey = Sophie

Dawn = Diane

Mallory = Marjorie

Jessi = Jessie

Logan = Louis

Shannon = Chantal

A new French BSC series ("Folio Junior") came out in 1999. I have two books as follows:

21. Le cauchemar de Mallory (Mallory and the Trouble with Twins)

M1. Lucy et le voleur de bijoux (Stacey and the Missing Ring)

The names in the new French series were changed from the earlier series in interesting ways:

Kristy Thomas = Kristy Parker

Claudia Kishi = Claudia Koshi

Mary Anne Spier = Mary Anne Cook

Stacey McGill = Lucy MacDouglas

Dawn Schafer = Carla Schafer

Mallory Pike = same

Jessi Ramsey = same

Logan Bruno = Logan Rinaldi

Shannon Kilbourne = Louisa Kilbourne

SPANISH

In September 1996, on the occasion of our annual Phantom Friends regional member gathering in New York City at the “New York Is Book Country” used book event, Rosemarie DiCristo located a Spanish BSC book at the same library sale where she found the Dutch and Danish BSC books. This one is Mystery book 2 and has the same format as the above French books.

M2. Dawn y los mensajes atterradores (Beware, Dawn!)

In Spain the names of the baby-sitters are the same as in English.

Mysteries = Misterios

Baby-sitters Club = Club de las Canguro

Note: Canguro means “kangaroo” in Spanish.

SWEDISH

Teenage BSC fan Katarina Larsson of Sweden, with whom I began corresponding after she saw my Web site, sent me book 10 in Swedish. The format is hardback and very similar to the Danish books above.

10. Logan gillar Mary Anne (Logan Likes Mary Anne), published 1993

In Sweden the names of the baby-sitters are the same as in English.

Baby-sitters Club = Barnvaktsklubben (the same translation as the Danish one)

In 1999 I visited Katarina in Sweden and bought 6 currently available BSC books in Stockholm. (Thank you, Katarina, for providing me with the interesting literal Swedish title translations!)

1. Mitt nya, läckra jag (Dawn's Big Date, book 50), published 1999

Swedish title literally translates as "My new gorgeous/delicious me." You might remember that in this book Dawn tries to change her looks and personality completely to suit her date.

2. Inte som i drömmen (Mallory and the Dream Horse, book 54), published 1999

Swedish title literally translates as "Not like in the dream."

3. Jessi på djupt vatten (Jessi's Gold Medal, book 55), published 1999

Swedish title literally translates as "Jessi on deep water." This book is about Jessi's trying to become a champion swimmer.

4. Stacey måste välja (Stacey's Choice, book 58), published 1999

Swedish title literally translates as "Stacey has to/must choose."

5. Utfryst! (Mary Anne's Makeover, book 60), published 1999

Swedish title literally translates as "Outfrozen!" There is no one word for this in English, but it means "…when you are outside the crowd. No one wants to be with you or talk to you." This, of course, is the book in which Mary Anne has her hair cut in a trendy new style and is offended because the BSC doesn't like the "new" Mary Anne.

6. Claudias ~~ven~~ vän (Claudia's ~~Freind~~ Friend, book 63), published 1999

Swedish title is exactly the same in English.

In these 1999 editions, "Baby-sitters Club" is in English on the covers and in the book and not translated.

BRITISH

Phantom Friend Amy Allison found several British BSC books at a used paperback store in Florida. They are in Young Adult paperback format with different cover art from the American ones. I have the following books:

1. Kristy's Great Idea

2. Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls

3. The Truth About Stacey

14. Hello, Mallory

17. Mary Anne and the Bad Luck Mystery

25. Mary Anne and the Search for Tigger

27. Jessi and the Superbrat

36. Jessi’s Baby-sitter

41. Mary Anne vs. Logan

46. Mary Anne Misses Logan

47. Mallory on Strike

NORWEGIAN

Another teenage Scandinavian BSC fan with whom I correspond, Katarina Zackariassen, sent me these Norwegian BSC books in 2000. Book 21 is a small hardback like the Danish books. The Norwegian double editions are larger, thinner hardbacks with smaller type.

21. Tvillingtrøbbel (Mallory and the Trouble with Twins), published 1989

39. Overnattingsfesten/Babyparaden (Dawn and the Big Sleepover, book 44/Kristy and the Baby Parade,

book 45), published 1991

40. Mary Anne angrer/Mallory streiker (Mary Anne Misses Logan, book 46/Mallory on Strike, book 47), published 1991

41. Jessis ønske/Claudia og geniet (Jessi's Wish, book 48/Claudia and the Genius of Elm Street, book 49),

published 1991

46. Staceys valg/Guttehateren Mallory (Stacey's Choice, book 58/Mallory Hates Boys (and Gym), book

59), published 1992

The names of the characters are the same as in English. Baby-sitters Club is translated as Barnevaktklubben, a similar translation, although not identical, to the Danish and Swedish books.

GERMAN

I got the German editions of the first three books from eBay. They are the same size as the American books and have the same cover art as the early American editions. They were published in Germany in 1989.

1. Kristy hat eine tolle Idee (Kristy’s Great Idea)

2. Claudia und die mysteriösen Telefonanrufe (Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls)

3. Daisys Geheimnis (The Truth About Stacey)

In German all the names are the same as in English except for Stacey, who is Daisy McGill. The BSC is translated as Der Baby-Sitter-Club.

**Any further information about overseas BSC languages other than these would be greatly appreciated! As of 1997, the book series reportedly appeared in 19 languages around the world.**