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Betsy-Tacy #1-4
Betsy-Tacy Treasury
The first four books in the beloved Betsy-Tacy series are ready to delight a new generation ofreaders—and to bring a grownup generation of readers back to the engrossingstories of their youth. Following the childhoods of Betsy Ray and her friendsin the late 1800s and early 1900s, this handsome anthology collects theoriginal Betsy-Tacy as well as Betsy, Tacy and Tib, Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill, and Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown. Forewords by Judy Blume,Esther Hautzig, and Johanna Hurwitz, andillustrations by Lois Lenski, will make readers ofall ages feel at home in the imaginative life of young Betsy Ray as she awakensto the challenges and triumphs of her home in quaint Mankato, Minnesota.
736 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 1995
289 people are currently reading
684 people want to read
About the author
Maud Hart Lovelace
45 books730 followersMaud Hart Lovelace was born on April 25, 1892, in Mankato, Minnesota. She was the middle of three children born to Thomas and Stella (Palmer) Hart. Her sister, Kathleen, was three years older, and her other sister, Helen, was six years younger. “That dear family" was the model for the fictional Ray family.
Maud’s birthplace was a small house on a hilly residential street several blocks above Mankato’s center business district. The street, Center Street, dead-ended at one of the town’s many hills. When Maud was a few months old, the Hart family moved two blocks up the street to 333 Center.
Shortly before Maud’s fifth birthday a “large merry Irish family" moved into the house directly across the street. Among its many children was a girl Maud’s age, Frances, nicknamed Bick, who was to be Maud’s best friend and the model for Tacy Kelly.
Tib’s character was based on another playmate, Marjorie (Midge) Gerlach, who lived nearby in a large house designed by her architect father. Maud, Bick, and Midge became lifelong friends. Maud once stated that the three couldn’t have been closer if they’d been sisters.
Maud’s birthplace was a small house on a hilly residential street several blocks above Mankato’s center business district. The street, Center Street, dead-ended at one of the town’s many hills. When Maud was a few months old, the Hart family moved two blocks up the street to 333 Center.
Shortly before Maud’s fifth birthday a “large merry Irish family" moved into the house directly across the street. Among its many children was a girl Maud’s age, Frances, nicknamed Bick, who was to be Maud’s best friend and the model for Tacy Kelly.
Tib’s character was based on another playmate, Marjorie (Midge) Gerlach, who lived nearby in a large house designed by her architect father. Maud, Bick, and Midge became lifelong friends. Maud once stated that the three couldn’t have been closer if they’d been sisters.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 177 reviews
August 30, 2016
********* Learning to Fly *********
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It's so very hard to ever pick one single favorite book from one's childhood, but I have such an easy time picking out tons of 'favorites.' The Betsy-Tacy books would definitely be up there on the favorites list.
If there was ever a book character in child form who came close to who I was a child, it would have been Betsy, the star of these books. She was all over the place, and I loved her for it. Her crazy schemes and ideas often mirrored some of the games that I forced my own friends to play. She loved to write and explore, and gently 'boss' her friends into doing things. I can relate.
And while I do have lots of memories of fun adventures and the like, I don't think I got to live quite as epically as Betsy did, so my former child self loved to indulge in these books and take my own imagination to another level of what childhood could be like.
I'm glad that adulthood didn't dampen the enjoyment of these stories. Maybe it helps to be able to remember how I felt the first time that I read the books. Because, for whatever reason, I never get that same giddy excitement when I try to read a newer/more modern children's book. The closest I came might have been with the Percy Jackson series, and that's more likely because the author included humor that would also appeal to adults, so that's kind of cheating.
The illustrations absolutely MADE the reading experience. Every single picture helped recreate Betsy, Tacy and Tib's world in my mind. I never would have imagined anything half as grand as what the illustrator gave the readers. Given that I was reading a historical book, I wouldn't have known how the clothing looked, or the rooms, etc. so it was an extra treat to have someone explain everything to me through pictures. And the girls were so darn cute.
The magic of the Betsy-Tacy world was a large part of my favorite childhood reading experiences. I was happy to get to revisit this world and still find that the magic had never left.
End note for offensive content warning : (Very) Brief mention of blackface. Little Tib reflects that she could perform a character in a play if she blacks her face. If I were to read this story to a child now, or let a child read the story, I would use the mention as a teaching experience to illustrate why this behavior is wrong and hurtful, and I would explain the history behind it. If this same mention was entertained as acceptable in a modern day book, I would refuse to finish it. Any modern author should know better.
There's also a touch of outdated gender roles in the mix as well. When Tib expresses interest in growing up to be an architect, her father tells her that this is something her brother would do, and that she would become a housewife. Again, I'd use this as another teaching moment to show how times and people have changed. Perception was not always the same as it is now. And history can be used to learn how to do better than the people who came before us.
September 27, 2020
The Betsy-Tacy Treasury lives up to its name: It’s a real five-star treasure. It contains the first four books in Maud Hart Lovelace’s series: Betsy-Tacy, Betsy-Tacy and Tib, Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill, and Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown. The books are charming and nostalgic, but never twee or maudlin. It’s no wonder that these books are still in print 80 years after Lovelace published the first book based on her own Mankato, Minn., childhood.
This omnibus relates the adventures of Betsy Ray and Anna Anastacia “Tacy” Kelly, who first meet when they’re five, and then the adventures of Betsy, Tacy and Thelma “Tib” Muller, the latter of which moves into Deep Valley, Minn., from Milwaukee a few years later. Set in the time just before and just after the turn of the 20th century, the stories are much more realistic than you’d expect in decades-old children’s books: There’s death, brushes with fatal diseases, and racist bullying; however, the three fast friends deal admirably with them all. The Betsy-Tacy Treasury will delight kids, of course, their parents and grandmothers will love the book, too. I should know! I’m 62! I also want to laud Lois Lenski’s wonderful, old-fashioned pen-and-ink illustrations.
This omnibus relates the adventures of Betsy Ray and Anna Anastacia “Tacy” Kelly, who first meet when they’re five, and then the adventures of Betsy, Tacy and Thelma “Tib” Muller, the latter of which moves into Deep Valley, Minn., from Milwaukee a few years later. Set in the time just before and just after the turn of the 20th century, the stories are much more realistic than you’d expect in decades-old children’s books: There’s death, brushes with fatal diseases, and racist bullying; however, the three fast friends deal admirably with them all. The Betsy-Tacy Treasury will delight kids, of course, their parents and grandmothers will love the book, too. I should know! I’m 62! I also want to laud Lois Lenski’s wonderful, old-fashioned pen-and-ink illustrations.
May 19, 2022
As a child, I read the first three Betsy-Tacy books over and over, but I didn’t know there was more to the series. I finished it in 2018, but haven’t read all of them back-to-back before. So, here we are!
Growing up, I thought Maud Hart Lovelace had the most romantic name in the world. Two decades later, I haven’t found a more romantic one! And it’s not even a penname.
Omnibus editions are not usually my favorite, but I love the omnibus editions of Lovelace's books. They preserve all the original illustrations, have lovely short introductions by authors who were inspired by Betsy, and appendices that connect the fiction to the real world, complete with photographs.
Betsy-Tacy
I remembered all the fun hijinks our heroines enjoyed, but I’d forgotten the emotional core of this novel. Sobbing, y’all. Honestly, I can’t think of another book for such young readers that deals with friendship through loss in this way. It’s tender, exemplary yet realistic, and hopeful. I am very much here for teaching five-year-olds how to be present to friends in grief and provide hope. Though it kind of broke my heart.
Content warning: sibling/infant death
Betsy, Tacy, and Tib
Even more hijinks in this one, and some good, clever parenting. I adore how the Deep Valley neighborhood parents trust one another and none of the adults are bad. See, children’s authors? Your characters can have all the fun adventures without being orphans!
Matilda is an unsung comedic queen. “‘I hear,’ she said meaningly, ‘that Mrs. Ray’s kitchen looked nice too after you kept house for her one day.’”
Betsy and Tacy Go over the Big Hill
I adore the wit of this title, because BTT turn 10 and consider themselves grown up (for about a day) and thus are literally and figuratively “over the hill.” They stand up for a girl being bullied (not immediately, and to personal peril). They learn about how crucial immigration is to the identity of the United States, and to respect and enjoy other cultures.
I would have sworn that Tacy was the Catholic one. Some of my ancestors were German Catholic immigrants like the Muller grandparents, and I enjoy that part of Tib’s story.
Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown
Downtown is the transitional volume between the childhood and girlhood books. Betsy is certainly still a child, but she is given new freedoms (and new expectations) as she grows up. It makes for a neat transition between the hijinks of the earlier books and the social life of the later books, as more characters are introduced and the world of BTT grows less insular.
I wish Lovelace hadn’t left the Naifi thread hanging. She explores the Syrian immigrant world more fully in Emily of Deep Valley, but it was such an important part of Big Hill that it needed to be carried through Downtown, in my opinion. Yet, because of the narrative thread of Betsy’s reading and writing, Downtown is still a strong novel with a solid core.
Overall, there are some cheesy elements, but having grown up in Wisconsin, I am duty-bound to like cheese.
Content warning: period-accurate blackface in theater productions
Growing up, I thought Maud Hart Lovelace had the most romantic name in the world. Two decades later, I haven’t found a more romantic one! And it’s not even a penname.
Omnibus editions are not usually my favorite, but I love the omnibus editions of Lovelace's books. They preserve all the original illustrations, have lovely short introductions by authors who were inspired by Betsy, and appendices that connect the fiction to the real world, complete with photographs.
Betsy-Tacy
I remembered all the fun hijinks our heroines enjoyed, but I’d forgotten the emotional core of this novel. Sobbing, y’all. Honestly, I can’t think of another book for such young readers that deals with friendship through loss in this way. It’s tender, exemplary yet realistic, and hopeful. I am very much here for teaching five-year-olds how to be present to friends in grief and provide hope. Though it kind of broke my heart.
Content warning: sibling/infant death
Betsy, Tacy, and Tib
Even more hijinks in this one, and some good, clever parenting. I adore how the Deep Valley neighborhood parents trust one another and none of the adults are bad. See, children’s authors? Your characters can have all the fun adventures without being orphans!
Matilda is an unsung comedic queen. “‘I hear,’ she said meaningly, ‘that Mrs. Ray’s kitchen looked nice too after you kept house for her one day.’”
Betsy and Tacy Go over the Big Hill
I adore the wit of this title, because BTT turn 10 and consider themselves grown up (for about a day) and thus are literally and figuratively “over the hill.” They stand up for a girl being bullied (not immediately, and to personal peril). They learn about how crucial immigration is to the identity of the United States, and to respect and enjoy other cultures.
I would have sworn that Tacy was the Catholic one. Some of my ancestors were German Catholic immigrants like the Muller grandparents, and I enjoy that part of Tib’s story.
Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown
Downtown is the transitional volume between the childhood and girlhood books. Betsy is certainly still a child, but she is given new freedoms (and new expectations) as she grows up. It makes for a neat transition between the hijinks of the earlier books and the social life of the later books, as more characters are introduced and the world of BTT grows less insular.
I wish Lovelace hadn’t left the Naifi thread hanging. She explores the Syrian immigrant world more fully in Emily of Deep Valley, but it was such an important part of Big Hill that it needed to be carried through Downtown, in my opinion. Yet, because of the narrative thread of Betsy’s reading and writing, Downtown is still a strong novel with a solid core.
Overall, there are some cheesy elements, but having grown up in Wisconsin, I am duty-bound to like cheese.
Content warning: period-accurate blackface in theater productions
August 1, 2020
I absolutely loved this so, so much! At first I was a little afraid that I wasn’t going to enjoy it as much since the books are written for children and therefore the writing is simple. But I shouldn’t haven’t worried. In no time at all, I fell in love with the simplicity of it. Maud Hart Lovelace wrote about childhood so well. I felt like I was visiting being a little girl again.
Numerous times I laughed and smiled and felt the excitement these girls found. It was just a joy to read! So much fun to read, especially the illustrations!!
I also love how effortlessly detailed she is with describing that what it was like growing up in that time. It isn’t overly-detailed but perfectly done.
All of them were wonderful but Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown was my favorite!
Numerous times I laughed and smiled and felt the excitement these girls found. It was just a joy to read! So much fun to read, especially the illustrations!!
I also love how effortlessly detailed she is with describing that what it was like growing up in that time. It isn’t overly-detailed but perfectly done.
All of them were wonderful but Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown was my favorite!
February 1, 2018
My 5-year-old is basically obsessed with this book (we've read it twice; note it is 700 pages). I dig it too. Maud Hart Lovelace understands a lot about childhood, and somehow writes about it genuinely without nodding too hard to parents in the process.
February 1, 2024
It is a rare children's book that can transport this adult reader from 2019 so convincingly back into the nostalgic childhood of the late 1800s-early 1900s. I was not only fully persuaded that it was my era, but whenever I saw my teens distracted on their phones, I desperately ached for it to be theirs as well. No technological distractions, no "noise" from the world, just fresh air and wide-eyed innocent adventure. I felt like I was exploring "the big hill" and the whole of "Deep Valley" in my own skin and discovering kindred spirits there. Such is my first journey in the world of Betsy, Tacy, and Tib. How it has taken so long for me to be introduced to this author, I cannot imagine, but as maiden voyages go, these first four books in the series of 10 are smooth sailing indeed.
June 18, 2024
I will have to confess that I ran out of time and did not finish the Betsy-Tacy Treasury. But the part I read was childhood gold. What a wonderful look at the innocent lives of little girls in the last century! If only one could move the clock back to recapture a childhood before electronics, when imagination was king, and children could move freely and without fear among families in their small towns.
January 17, 2012
I would hope that every little girl met Betsy, Tacy, and Tib as a child, but, sadly, I don't think that's the case. I was fortunate enough to read these several times throughout my childhood, so I was thrilled when my friend Trish from TLC offered this new collection of the first four books in the series for review. If you aren't familiar, these books were written in the 1940's and 50's by Maud Hart Lovelace and are based on her own turn of the century childhood. Betsy, Tacy, and Tib are three little girls who meet when they are five years old and grow up together. These books follow the girls and their adventures at ages 5, 8, 10, and 12.
Writing
So cute! I honestly just love Maud Hart Lovelace and these books are so well written. I enjoyed them just as much as an adult as I did when I read them as a child. A lot of the writing is, obviously, dated, and the turn of the century setting is very different than the way children live now, but the books honestly transcend that. I don't think it's hard to identify with and care about these little girls regardless of the time differences. They remind me a lot of the Little House on the Prairie books that way. It's also a really fun way to teach kids about how things were when their grandparents were young.
Entertainment Value
It doesn't matter how old I get, I will always be entertained by the exploits of Betsy, Tacy, and Tib. I honestly just can't recommend the books more highly. If you have little girls or if you were ever a little girl, these are must-reads. They are seriously adorable. I also really liked the new formatting of this treasury. It has all the classic Lois Lenski illustrations as well as introductions from authors like Judy Bloom and Meg Cabot. And at the end there is a section with historical information about Maud Hart Lovelace and the time and setting. I'm actually adding the rest of the books in the series (also collected in treasuries like this one) for Christmas this year - no higher recommendation than that!
Writing
So cute! I honestly just love Maud Hart Lovelace and these books are so well written. I enjoyed them just as much as an adult as I did when I read them as a child. A lot of the writing is, obviously, dated, and the turn of the century setting is very different than the way children live now, but the books honestly transcend that. I don't think it's hard to identify with and care about these little girls regardless of the time differences. They remind me a lot of the Little House on the Prairie books that way. It's also a really fun way to teach kids about how things were when their grandparents were young.
Entertainment Value
It doesn't matter how old I get, I will always be entertained by the exploits of Betsy, Tacy, and Tib. I honestly just can't recommend the books more highly. If you have little girls or if you were ever a little girl, these are must-reads. They are seriously adorable. I also really liked the new formatting of this treasury. It has all the classic Lois Lenski illustrations as well as introductions from authors like Judy Bloom and Meg Cabot. And at the end there is a section with historical information about Maud Hart Lovelace and the time and setting. I'm actually adding the rest of the books in the series (also collected in treasuries like this one) for Christmas this year - no higher recommendation than that!
July 3, 2017
(This is a review of the whole series, by the way.)
Maud Hart Lovelace was born in 1892 in Mankato, Minnesota, the town she later immortalized as Deep Valley in her beloved series of Betsy-Tacy books. These follow the adventures of childhood friends Betsy Ray and Tacy Kelly from the age of five, when they meet for the first time at Betsy's birthday party, through the school years to marriage and beyond.
The books are based largely on Lovelace's own life, and I think this is what gives them their special quality of affectionate nostalgia and deep sense of place. The characters and the setting have history behind them; every year Betsy's family celebrates her parents' wedding anniversary by visiting her mother's girlhood home, where they were married, and on the drive home, their parents share stories of their childhood and Deep Valley's history.
Besides that, they're just plain charming. Betsy, Tacy, and all of their friends and family are vivid characters, and following along as they grow up, it's easy to feel a part of the group, to the extent that I always feel distressed when, in Betsy and Joe, an old friend of Betsy's suddenly drops out of the group and is barely ever mentioned again. (I was very relieved when I finally found a copy of Carney's House Party and found out what happened to him.)
The illustrations are a large part of the books' charm as well: Lois Lenski's distinctive style in the first four books, and Vera Neville's graceful drawings in the others.
Maud Hart Lovelace was born in 1892 in Mankato, Minnesota, the town she later immortalized as Deep Valley in her beloved series of Betsy-Tacy books. These follow the adventures of childhood friends Betsy Ray and Tacy Kelly from the age of five, when they meet for the first time at Betsy's birthday party, through the school years to marriage and beyond.
The books are based largely on Lovelace's own life, and I think this is what gives them their special quality of affectionate nostalgia and deep sense of place. The characters and the setting have history behind them; every year Betsy's family celebrates her parents' wedding anniversary by visiting her mother's girlhood home, where they were married, and on the drive home, their parents share stories of their childhood and Deep Valley's history.
Besides that, they're just plain charming. Betsy, Tacy, and all of their friends and family are vivid characters, and following along as they grow up, it's easy to feel a part of the group, to the extent that I always feel distressed when, in Betsy and Joe, an old friend of Betsy's suddenly drops out of the group and is barely ever mentioned again. (I was very relieved when I finally found a copy of Carney's House Party and found out what happened to him.)
The illustrations are a large part of the books' charm as well: Lois Lenski's distinctive style in the first four books, and Vera Neville's graceful drawings in the others.
September 11, 2022
I'm never not in the mood to revisit this beloved series. There's such a sincerity and warmth in Maud's writing. You can tell that it was written with such care and fondness looking back on her earlier years. Maud's writing might come off as simple in your first encounter with it but there is a richness that is there that makes me never tire of rereading the series. Somehow she is able to have very slice of life style plots and humor while still imprinting meaningful messages in her book. But what makes these so special is that the meaningful lessons don't feel contrived or preachy like they do in so much modern literature. The later books in the series are my favorite but it wouldn't be complete without these first four books.
April 23, 2017
Charming as they were when I was a child! So much fun to revisit these lovely novels as an adult.
February 16, 2019
I love these books. I wish I had read them growing up, but I'm so happy to have read them at all. This was the second time I've read these and I was moved by different things this time around, but still moved. I love these characters so much. Thanks to all of you who are participating in the readalong and I am greatly enjoying seeing the other videos people have created about these books.
March 22, 2024
These books were great fun!
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Younger me would have been obsessed with these rambunctious girls.
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Some of the stories reminded me of shenanigans that I would get into with my cousins at our grandparents' house.
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Younger me would have been obsessed with these rambunctious girls.
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Some of the stories reminded me of shenanigans that I would get into with my cousins at our grandparents' house.
November 17, 2011
The Betsy-Tacy Treasury is the first four of the Betsy-Tacy books: Betsy-Tacy, Betsy-Tacy and Tib, Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill, and Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown. Included in the book are great forwards by current authors that are also fans including Judy Blume, Ann M. Martin, and Johanna Hurwitz. There are also sections at the end with background about Maud Hart Lovelace, illustrator Lois Lenski, and each of the four books included. I loved all of this information and found it very interesting. Also interesting was the praise at the beginning of the book for Maud Hart Lovelace from such personalities as Anna Quindlen, Meg Cabot, Laura Lippman, Bette Midler, Nora Ephron, Lorna Landvick, etc. In particular, Anna Quindlen stated, “There are three authors whose body of work I have reread more than once in my adult life: Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, and Maud Hart Lovelace.” This is praise indeed!
Was this book truly worthy of all of this praise? I am more than happy to say a very emphatic “YES!” By the end of the first book, I had fallen in love with Betsy Ray and Tacy Kelly and their world in Deep Valley, Minnesota. Deep Valley is the Mankato of Lovelace’s childhood around the turn of the nineteenth century. (For fellow Little House on the Prairie TV series fans, this is the same Mankato that characters from Walnut Grove visit to get trade goods.)
Five-year old Betsy is excited when a new family with lots of children moves into the house across the street. One girl appears to be her age. After a slight misunderstanding, they soon become fast friends and the people of Hill Street and Deep Valley can’t remember a time when Betsy-Tacy were not friends. Soon a new girl moves in to the chocolate house on the way to school, and Tib becomes their fast friend. Betsy wants to be a writer and is full of imaginative stories. Tacy is shy, but loyal and fun. Tib is very matter of fact and also very pretty. The books move through their lives. By book two they are eight, book three they are ten, and book four they are twelve.
What did I like so much about this book? Although the adventures took place long before my childhood, the spirit of their life and adventures perfectly captures the spirit and joy of childhood that does not change through the ages. The wonder of the world and how one street and one city can seem so giant and faraway places like Milwaukee can be viewed with imaginative delight are just how a child views the world. Their adventures playing and making up stories reminded me of the fun I had as a child with my best friend Stephanie and sister Kristi doing very similar things. It was wonderful how Lovelace was able to capture her childhood and to remember what it was like to be a child and to have a fantastic imagination that can make climbing a hill the most exciting journey.
What really brought these books to the next level to me was when in book one, tragedy strikes. Tacy’s baby sister, Bee, dies from a childhood illness. Tacy and Betsy go for a walk and Tacy is very sad about her sister’s death. Betsy tries to cheer her up and talks to her about Bee’s adventures in heaven. “Of course she can see us. She’s looking down right now. And I’ll tell you what tickles Bee. She knows all about Heaven, and we don’t. She’s younger than we are, but she knows something that we don’t. Isn’t that funny? She’s just a baby, and she knows more than we do.”
Betsy brings the death down to the level of a child’s understanding, and is able to make Tacy think of all of the fun that Bee is having in heaven being a big girl and watching out for her family. I found it to be a very moving conversation and quite touching. Betsy and Tacy are the best kind of friends; the kind of friends that can help you out in a moment of crisis and be what you need them to be.
I also really enjoyed how Betsy, Tacy, Tib befriend a little girl (Naifi) from “Little Syria” in Deep Valley in Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill. They defend her when she is picked on by some rather nasty boys. Tib’s mother (Mrs. Muller) had some wise words to say about it, “I’m glad Tib stood up for that little Syrian girl. Foreign people should not be treated like that. America is made up of foreign people. Both of Tib’s grandmothers came from the other side. Perhaps when they got off the boat they looked a little strange too.”
Overall, The Betsy-Tacy Treasury was a wonderful, delightful series of books that I am very happy to have finally read. They are great adventures of childhood wonder and also have beautiful illustrations. I will definitely be reading these stories to my daughter when she gets older and I’m already planning for making a future trip to Mankato to check out Big Valley. I also want to read the rest of their adventures as they grow into teenagers and beyond! My only complaint is that poor Tib is always left off of the title of the books.
This review was first posted at: http://lauragerold.blogspot.com/2011/...
Was this book truly worthy of all of this praise? I am more than happy to say a very emphatic “YES!” By the end of the first book, I had fallen in love with Betsy Ray and Tacy Kelly and their world in Deep Valley, Minnesota. Deep Valley is the Mankato of Lovelace’s childhood around the turn of the nineteenth century. (For fellow Little House on the Prairie TV series fans, this is the same Mankato that characters from Walnut Grove visit to get trade goods.)
Five-year old Betsy is excited when a new family with lots of children moves into the house across the street. One girl appears to be her age. After a slight misunderstanding, they soon become fast friends and the people of Hill Street and Deep Valley can’t remember a time when Betsy-Tacy were not friends. Soon a new girl moves in to the chocolate house on the way to school, and Tib becomes their fast friend. Betsy wants to be a writer and is full of imaginative stories. Tacy is shy, but loyal and fun. Tib is very matter of fact and also very pretty. The books move through their lives. By book two they are eight, book three they are ten, and book four they are twelve.
What did I like so much about this book? Although the adventures took place long before my childhood, the spirit of their life and adventures perfectly captures the spirit and joy of childhood that does not change through the ages. The wonder of the world and how one street and one city can seem so giant and faraway places like Milwaukee can be viewed with imaginative delight are just how a child views the world. Their adventures playing and making up stories reminded me of the fun I had as a child with my best friend Stephanie and sister Kristi doing very similar things. It was wonderful how Lovelace was able to capture her childhood and to remember what it was like to be a child and to have a fantastic imagination that can make climbing a hill the most exciting journey.
What really brought these books to the next level to me was when in book one, tragedy strikes. Tacy’s baby sister, Bee, dies from a childhood illness. Tacy and Betsy go for a walk and Tacy is very sad about her sister’s death. Betsy tries to cheer her up and talks to her about Bee’s adventures in heaven. “Of course she can see us. She’s looking down right now. And I’ll tell you what tickles Bee. She knows all about Heaven, and we don’t. She’s younger than we are, but she knows something that we don’t. Isn’t that funny? She’s just a baby, and she knows more than we do.”
Betsy brings the death down to the level of a child’s understanding, and is able to make Tacy think of all of the fun that Bee is having in heaven being a big girl and watching out for her family. I found it to be a very moving conversation and quite touching. Betsy and Tacy are the best kind of friends; the kind of friends that can help you out in a moment of crisis and be what you need them to be.
I also really enjoyed how Betsy, Tacy, Tib befriend a little girl (Naifi) from “Little Syria” in Deep Valley in Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill. They defend her when she is picked on by some rather nasty boys. Tib’s mother (Mrs. Muller) had some wise words to say about it, “I’m glad Tib stood up for that little Syrian girl. Foreign people should not be treated like that. America is made up of foreign people. Both of Tib’s grandmothers came from the other side. Perhaps when they got off the boat they looked a little strange too.”
Overall, The Betsy-Tacy Treasury was a wonderful, delightful series of books that I am very happy to have finally read. They are great adventures of childhood wonder and also have beautiful illustrations. I will definitely be reading these stories to my daughter when she gets older and I’m already planning for making a future trip to Mankato to check out Big Valley. I also want to read the rest of their adventures as they grow into teenagers and beyond! My only complaint is that poor Tib is always left off of the title of the books.
This review was first posted at: http://lauragerold.blogspot.com/2011/...
May 24, 2020
As heartwarming and charming as Laura Ingalls Wilder! An innocent and captivating story of small town Minnesota in the 20s. A childhood favorite of my Mom’s - and now I’m a fan too!
August 20, 2013
I gave this to my granddaughter Paige for her birthday, and then I decided I absolutely had to have a copy for myself. It's the first four Betsy-Tacy books, in one volume! When I was in elementary school, I had to wait for them to be returned to the school library, and hope I got to them first. (No such thing as requesting them on line, back then.) Now I was able to read all four in the right order, unlike 56 years ago, when I read whichever one came in. They're absolutely delightful, just like I remembered them!
March 14, 2013
I really enjoyed this. It was only through friends that I ever heard about the Betsy-Tacy books, and finally got around to reading them. Now I know why they're so loved. These first four books in the series are so heartwarming, sweet and with a lovely sense of humour.
October 21, 2013
This series is so delightful. I'm so glad that it was recommended to me. I love how the novels evolve as Betsy does, particularly in Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown. I'm excited to keep going.
April 9, 2017
My aunt have me this book and I'll never get rid of it. I love the illustrations and the adventures are fun too.
May 29, 2020
My only regret is that I didn't discover these marvelous books until I was an adult! Never fails to bring me bucketfuls of joy, comfort, and inspiration.
February 4, 2023
I know all of these show four stars, but the first two are 3.5, and each one is better than the one preceding it. There are six more Besty Tacy books, but I don't believe I need to read any more of them. The rest of them are high school books. I'm led to believe the tone changes, they're no longer considered children's books, and I suspect there's a focus on boys and romance in the latest ones. That's all fine and good, but I've found that when a coming of age story about little girls gets to the part where she gets twitterpated with boys, the story is less interesting. I think this happened with Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and Anne-with-an-e from the Anne of Green Gables series, but it's been a while since I read those.
Anyway, I enjoyed the four I read and recommend it to anyone who likes children's books about girls who are just having some good, wholesome fun. Links below go to my reviews.
Betsy-Tacy: ★★★★✰ (3.5)
Betsy-Tacy and Tib: ★★★★✰ (3.5)
Betsy and Tacy Go over the Big Hill: ★★★★✰
Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown: ★★★★✰
Anyway, I enjoyed the four I read and recommend it to anyone who likes children's books about girls who are just having some good, wholesome fun. Links below go to my reviews.
Betsy-Tacy: ★★★★✰ (3.5)
Betsy-Tacy and Tib: ★★★★✰ (3.5)
Betsy and Tacy Go over the Big Hill: ★★★★✰
Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown: ★★★★✰
August 26, 2021
You know how sometimes you have a friend that you don’t see or talk to for a while, but then you get together and it’s like no time has passed at all, because you still love each other just as much as you always did? That’s how these books are to me. (Side note: I say “these books” because this one is an anthology of the first four Betsy-Tacy books). I first discovered Betsy-Tacy in my school library, probably when I was around 8 years old, and I fell completely in love with these charming books. I owned copies of the first 6 books for a long time, and searched far and wide (before there was an internet for such things!) for the final books in the series. I think I was in high school or college when I finally found them! I loved them so much, I would sit and try to copy the illustrations, and sometimes traced them just so I could color them in and keep a piece of Deep Valley with me.
These books sat on my shelves for most of my life, and whenever I read something sad or scary (and hoo boy, in high school when I went through my horror book phase, I sure read some scary things), I’d stay up super late to finish the scary books - and then I’d have to stay up even later to read some of a Betsy-Tacy book to make me feel better.
I’m so happy to report that my love for these books has stood the test of time. It’s been at least 10 years since I last read them, but I love them just the same.
These books sat on my shelves for most of my life, and whenever I read something sad or scary (and hoo boy, in high school when I went through my horror book phase, I sure read some scary things), I’d stay up super late to finish the scary books - and then I’d have to stay up even later to read some of a Betsy-Tacy book to make me feel better.
I’m so happy to report that my love for these books has stood the test of time. It’s been at least 10 years since I last read them, but I love them just the same.
March 20, 2023
Re-reading The Betsy Tacy Treasury was like taking a step back in time both to Betsy and Tacy's time, as well as my own childhood 100 years later. It's been well over 15 years since I last read these books, and yet it was also so familiar. I remembered specific lines as I was reading them, although I couldn't have guessed what would happen next off the top of my head.
Maud Hart Lovelace perfectly captures the magic of childhood; she showcases the girls' vibrant world of pretend play in a way that perfectly reflects the way they see it, while simultaneously making it enjoyable for the adult reader who does not have the same suspension of disbelief.
Because so much of it was based on Lovelace's real life events and friendships, the characters feel so real and lovable. There's also a surprising depth of emotions and harder topics covered. I definitely teared up at the end of Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown.
Although I really loved these books as a kid, I somehow never read the rest of them. But as an adult, I am so excited to get to embark on this journey and learn more about Betsy, Tacy, and Tib <3
Maud Hart Lovelace perfectly captures the magic of childhood; she showcases the girls' vibrant world of pretend play in a way that perfectly reflects the way they see it, while simultaneously making it enjoyable for the adult reader who does not have the same suspension of disbelief.
Because so much of it was based on Lovelace's real life events and friendships, the characters feel so real and lovable. There's also a surprising depth of emotions and harder topics covered. I definitely teared up at the end of Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown.
Although I really loved these books as a kid, I somehow never read the rest of them. But as an adult, I am so excited to get to embark on this journey and learn more about Betsy, Tacy, and Tib <3
April 21, 2020
Delightful read aloud with my girl. We found friends in Betsy-Tacy and her little group that grew over the period of these four books.
Whimsical time period where all was well in the world and the naughtiness of children was what plagues most of children still today, which is relatable for readers then as well as now. We enjoyed seeing some of the scrapes the girls would get into as well as the fights and how these were gently resolved and wrong was forgiven. Maybe it would seem too picture perfect for today's world but I think it also reminded my younger readers that sometimes mountains are made out of molehills.
My 6 year old wants to read all of the Betsy-Tacy right up to her being married. That my friends, is a well written book and series.
Whimsical time period where all was well in the world and the naughtiness of children was what plagues most of children still today, which is relatable for readers then as well as now. We enjoyed seeing some of the scrapes the girls would get into as well as the fights and how these were gently resolved and wrong was forgiven. Maybe it would seem too picture perfect for today's world but I think it also reminded my younger readers that sometimes mountains are made out of molehills.
My 6 year old wants to read all of the Betsy-Tacy right up to her being married. That my friends, is a well written book and series.
Read
March 1, 2020Each successive book is better as Betsy & co grow and start to have concrete plans and goals.
The forth book does talk about a performance of Uncle Tom's Cabin and the prospect of blackface is briefly mentioned but not executed by the girls, although it's clear that the actors in the play were white actors in blackface (burnt cork is mentioned) which was a little bit of a bummer, especially for books written and released in the '40s.
I am interested in continuing with the series as I'm not sure I read much further 20 years ago, but I would like to know how things turn out now, as an adult.
The forth book does talk about a performance of Uncle Tom's Cabin and the prospect of blackface is briefly mentioned but not executed by the girls, although it's clear that the actors in the play were white actors in blackface (burnt cork is mentioned) which was a little bit of a bummer, especially for books written and released in the '40s.
I am interested in continuing with the series as I'm not sure I read much further 20 years ago, but I would like to know how things turn out now, as an adult.
April 30, 2023
4.75 stars
I read these young reader chapter books when I was younger. You'll find those on my Read shelf with 3 star ratings mostly because I couldn't remember how I liked them when I stood up my gr profile. I love these stories so very much. Small-town early 20th century young friendship stories. So fun and sweet. I gasped as it dawned on me that I might most be like Tib - as she says the quiet part out lound and MHL would say "but Betsy and Tacy liked Tib anyway." Gosh - I feel seen.
This read confirmed my love for stories about (nontoxic) female friendship - like BSC and Sisterhood books. I want to read stories about adult female friendship that isn't toxic. Please sent recommendations!
2023 Reading Challenge:
On TBR 10+ Years
Reread
500+ Pages
23 in 23
I read these young reader chapter books when I was younger. You'll find those on my Read shelf with 3 star ratings mostly because I couldn't remember how I liked them when I stood up my gr profile. I love these stories so very much. Small-town early 20th century young friendship stories. So fun and sweet. I gasped as it dawned on me that I might most be like Tib - as she says the quiet part out lound and MHL would say "but Betsy and Tacy liked Tib anyway." Gosh - I feel seen.
This read confirmed my love for stories about (nontoxic) female friendship - like BSC and Sisterhood books. I want to read stories about adult female friendship that isn't toxic. Please sent recommendations!
2023 Reading Challenge:
On TBR 10+ Years
Reread
500+ Pages
23 in 23
February 26, 2017
I thought it was about time to revisit these favorite classics from my childhood, and I had a grand time doing so. The "Betsy-Tacy Treasury" consists of the first four books in Maud Hart Lovelace's series: "Betsy-Tacy", "Betsy-Tacy and Tib", "Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill", and "Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown". These four books meant so much to me in my childhood, and I haven't read the books in the series where the girls grow to high school, college and adulthood-age, but now I really want to do so.
When I was younger, "Betsy-Tacy" was the most beloved of the four books to me and I read it the most times. There's always something magical about the first book in a great series. I was also about 6 when I started reading them, which matched up well with the age the girls were. My favorite was always Tacy, because I liked her red ringlets. The chapters about playing paper dolls, the sand store, and the first day of school brought back such wonderful memories.
My least favorite one was always Tib; I was so enamored of "Betsy-Tacy" and kind of viewed Tib as an interloper who didn't belong. Now though, as an adult, I find Tib is actually my very favorite. I love her unassuming modesty and innocent brutal honesty. I'm glad I got to reread and discover a new love for her character. If "Betsy-Tacy" is my favorite book because of nostalgia, then "Betsy-Tacy and Tib" is also my favorite in the here and now.
I don't remember much about "Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill", probably because I read it the least. I have memories of the voting to be Queen between Tib and Julia, but I think this was my least favorite as a kid because I found the Little Syria content boring - I just didn't have enough cultural appreciation at that age. It's still my least favorite of the four books (I just think the content is the least interesting overall), but the character of Naifi is also one I am glad to be able to appreciate now.
"Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown" is one I loved because I wasn't yet old enough to do all the fabulous things they do in this book, like see a show at the theater or go to the library by myself. I read it a lot because I really desired those experiences. It still holds up now, although the "Rip Van Winkle" play is very dated to today's audience as is the time-period racism of black face and the rather unfeeling chapters about "Uncle Tom's Cabin". Winona also sucks. I had a false memory about Betsy sitting up in a tree in the first chapter reading "Lady Chatterly's Lover", so I am relieved to go back and find that she was actually writing a story called "The Repentance of Lady Clinton" - phew.
If you have never read a Betsy-Tacy book, I suggest you do so. If you have daughters, I suggest they read these too. For the most part, time period doesn't make a difference - whether you read them when they were written in the 1940s or now in 2017, the magic of friendship and finding the joy in small childhood experiences is still a relevant and worthwhile message.
When I was younger, "Betsy-Tacy" was the most beloved of the four books to me and I read it the most times. There's always something magical about the first book in a great series. I was also about 6 when I started reading them, which matched up well with the age the girls were. My favorite was always Tacy, because I liked her red ringlets. The chapters about playing paper dolls, the sand store, and the first day of school brought back such wonderful memories.
My least favorite one was always Tib; I was so enamored of "Betsy-Tacy" and kind of viewed Tib as an interloper who didn't belong. Now though, as an adult, I find Tib is actually my very favorite. I love her unassuming modesty and innocent brutal honesty. I'm glad I got to reread and discover a new love for her character. If "Betsy-Tacy" is my favorite book because of nostalgia, then "Betsy-Tacy and Tib" is also my favorite in the here and now.
I don't remember much about "Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill", probably because I read it the least. I have memories of the voting to be Queen between Tib and Julia, but I think this was my least favorite as a kid because I found the Little Syria content boring - I just didn't have enough cultural appreciation at that age. It's still my least favorite of the four books (I just think the content is the least interesting overall), but the character of Naifi is also one I am glad to be able to appreciate now.
"Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown" is one I loved because I wasn't yet old enough to do all the fabulous things they do in this book, like see a show at the theater or go to the library by myself. I read it a lot because I really desired those experiences. It still holds up now, although the "Rip Van Winkle" play is very dated to today's audience as is the time-period racism of black face and the rather unfeeling chapters about "Uncle Tom's Cabin". Winona also sucks. I had a false memory about Betsy sitting up in a tree in the first chapter reading "Lady Chatterly's Lover", so I am relieved to go back and find that she was actually writing a story called "The Repentance of Lady Clinton" - phew.
If you have never read a Betsy-Tacy book, I suggest you do so. If you have daughters, I suggest they read these too. For the most part, time period doesn't make a difference - whether you read them when they were written in the 1940s or now in 2017, the magic of friendship and finding the joy in small childhood experiences is still a relevant and worthwhile message.
February 26, 2020
I can't believe I didn't even know about these books as a child. I was busy reading the Beverly Cleary, Laura Ingalls Wilder, E.B. White and Catherine Wooley books, among many others. Fortunately a good friend of mine loved them and encouraged me to read them. They bring back memories of innocence and creativity from my early years, and invoke a strong sense of neighborhood, family and loyal friendship.
January 26, 2021
I did not grow up with the Betsy-Tacy series, and only became familiar with the books when they were featured in Heather Vogel Frederick’s Mother-Daughter Book Club series. I enjoyed these first four books but I think I would have liked them more if I had the nostalgia of having read them as a kid. As Betsy grew older I did find them a little more interesting and I think I’ll like the next books more, as they move into her high school years and adulthood.
January 30, 2024
A missed delight
Somehow I completely missed reading these books as a child. While I admit I still prefer L.M. Montgomery's Anne and Emily (being more like myself as a child), I found Betsy, Tacy, and Tib a delight.
Somehow I completely missed reading these books as a child. While I admit I still prefer L.M. Montgomery's Anne and Emily (being more like myself as a child), I found Betsy, Tacy, and Tib a delight.
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