In Baby-sitters Little Sister: Karen’s Surprise, Karen learns some important lessons while balancing two family Thanksgivings and a Thanksgiving school play. Based on the novel by Ann M. Martin and adapted to graphic novel format by Shauna J. Grant, the book is the latest story from the Baby-sitters Club universe to get the comics treatment.
To mark the occasion, Comics Beat caught up with Grant over email. We asked Grant about her personal history with the Baby-sitters Club, about her process for adapting the books, and about her favorite character. Alongside her answers, we’re proud to present process pictures that detail how Karen’s Surprise came together!
AVERY KAPLAN: Can you tell us about any personal history you have with the Baby-sitters Club?
SHAUNA J. GRANT: My earliest memory of The Baby-sitters Club is the first TV adaption that premiered in the 90s, I believe. I remember watching that as a kid and really enjoying it. I need to watch it again to see how it compares to the new series and everything else that has come since then! It’s wonderfully amazing how perennial and multi-generational The Baby-sitters Club is!
KAPLAN: What was your path to working on the Baby-sitters Little Sister: Karen’s Surprise with Scholastic?
GRANT: Honestly, it’s all thanks to tabling at anime and comic conventions! That’s what I used to do before I started working on graphic novels full time! It’s how I met different editors, and my agent Janna Morishima—who helped edit the mainline The Baby-Sitters Club graphic novels when Raina Telgemeier started them! From there I got to work on an original graphic novel series with Scholastic, Mimi, that was a cute early-readers magical girl story.
Grant.
When I finished the second book for Mimi, Scholastic approached me about working on Baby-sitters Little Sister. I believe Katy Farina, who started adapting the series, recommended me as an artist…and we had been friends already from tabling at anime conventions! I had to complete a test, of course, to make sure my art style would work for the series, but here I am with Karen’s Surprise being my second entry in the series! And with me being the first Black artist to illustrate any of The Baby-sitters Club graphic novels!
All of this because I kept stubbornly showing off my comic work at anime and comic conventions! I always tell people you never know what path you’ll take when you get into comics!
KAPLAN: How do you approach adapting Ann M. Martin’s source material?
GRANT: As I read her novel, I try to make mental notes of what scenes really standout in my mind. My thoughts are very visual! Then I break down what scenes would fit nicely into a comic page, making sure each page feels like a complete scene with a little something tempting that makes you want to turn the page! I keep very close to what Ann M. Martin wrote, while also deciding where readers linger visually. For instance, if Karen is really excited about something, or Karen and her friends are shocked/worried, I’ll try to dedicate a bigger panel for that because I love getting readers into the shoes of a character and what they’re feeling! I try to keep the feel similar to what’s in the previous Little Sister books overall!
Thumbnails
KAPLAN: Are there any visual considerations you specifically keep in mind given the younger target demographic for the Baby-sitters Little Sister books?
GRANT: I will say drawing comics for kids is so much fun! Kids are deeply observant, and with these books being graphic novels, it makes it easier to emphasize on communicating visually. It’s not enough for Karen to just say what she’s feeling, it’s important that those feelings are shown through how she stands, how her face changes. Are her eyes sparkling with excitement? Is she curling up and frowning a lot because she’s sad? When kids read my books, I want them to enjoy the story, but I also want them to be able to look at my characters and go “oh wow, I know what that’s like, I’ve felt that before” just by seeing them on the page. I hope it makes them feel even more connected to the series!
Pencils
KAPLAN: Was there any specific part of Karen’s Surprise that you especially enjoyed adapting, or anything you were especially enthusiastic to include?
GRANT: This book overall was fun to work on because I love Thanksgiving, as growing up it was when I got to see all of my family! Even though I am an only child, I have lots and lots of cousins! So it was fun drawing Karen’s excitement for the holiday. I also really loved drawing her special surprise at the school play!
Inks
KAPLAN: What kind of collaborative process goes on between yourself and colorist Braden Lamb?
GRANT: I am mainly hands off since Braden has been coloring The Baby-sitters Club books longer than I have been drawing them! I love seeing the pages really come to life once all the colors are in place. It’s one of my favorite parts of the cartooning process (my other favorite being when I get to ink!) It takes a long time penciling and inking comics, so when I see those colored pages it feels like seeing the book for the first time again, if that makes sense. Like wow, this is what all the work was for—it’s beautiful! I will say for Karen’s Surprise I did leave some coloring notes for easter eggs that readers may recognize if they know my other works!
Final pages
KAPLAN: Do you have a favorite character from Karen’s Surprise, and/or from the Baby-sitters Little Sister/The Baby-sitter Club series?
GRANT: Honestly I love Karen! When I was her age I was a bit more shy and quiet, so getting to draw a character that knows what she wants and goes for it at such a young age is lovely. She has so many big emotions that are fun to draw. I also empathize with her as I am also a child of divorce. Growing up and seeing so many picture perfect families in the stories I enjoyed in books and on TV, it’s nice to see someone like Karen who deals with the realities of having divorced parents. I am so glad she has so many people who love her!
KAPLAN: Is there anything else that you’d like me to include?
GRANT: It was a wonderful experience working on Baby-sitters Little Sister: Karen’s Surprise! I hope everyone who reads it enjoys my take on these beloved characters. If you haven’t already, please check out my other book in the series, Karen’s Prize, and be on the lookout for more amazing books from me!
Baby-sitters Little Sister: Karen’s Surprise is available now from Scholastic.
