ShareThisBy JENNIFER BARRETT
Salt Lake Tribune
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Ann Martin was reluctant to commit to another series of children's books. After all, the production schedule can be grueling.
The acclaimed writer used to churn out a book a month to satisfy demand for her wildly popular "Baby-Sitters Club" series, which included nearly 80 titles, sold more than 175 million copies, became a television series and spawned other books.
"No, no," she told her publisher when he pressed her to start another series.
But then he hit on a magic formula: "He tempted me with the idea of incorporating sewing into the books," said Martin, a passionate seamstress.
And so, she gave in, and "Main Street" was born. Martin's new series tells the story of two orphaned girls, Flora and Ruby, who go to live with their grandmother, a sewing-store owner, in a tiny fictional town. The first two books, "Welcome to Camden Falls" and "Needle and Thread," hit the shelves this month.
Martin, who wrote several acclaimed novels between "Baby-sitters" and "Main Street," believes the reason "The Baby-Sitters Club" was so successful was because the characters were so familiar to readers.
"Most kids ... said they were able to relate to them and identify with them," she said in a recent phone interview. "Friendship was at the bottom of everything."
Friendship is at the core of the new series as well, she said.
But the new books will feature a wider cast of characters, including lots of adults from the small town.
Children may have changed some in the 20 years or so since she started "The Baby-Sitters Club." But some things, like friendship and family, never change, she said.
She said she is hoping to bring one new thing to her readers, though: a love of sewing. Her characters can be found working on projects in the books, and the series Web site -- www.scholastic.com/mainstreet/ -- will offer suggestions for budding crafters.
(Jennifer Barrett can be reached at jbarrett(at)sltrib.com.)
