Betsy-Tacy and Tib (Betsy-Tacy, 2)

The Betsy,Tacy and Tib books were among my favorites when I was a child. In fact--except for the Oz books--they were the only books whose author's name I remembered! Images from all these books remain vivid in my memory--Betsy and Tacy going to the top of the hill, the twosome becoming a threesome, Tib's blond hairs, and all the rest. Betsy, Tacy, and Tib grew up in a simpler era but they still speak to modern readers. I'm so glad to see these books still in print for another generation to enjoy.

Betsy, Tacy, and Tib is a wonderful book in a great series. Maud Hart Lovelace did a spectacular job writing these stories. My mother read the books and loved them, my sister and I read the books and loved them, and now my little girls are reading them and loving them. These books never seem to grow old even though they are set during the turn of the 20th century. As a child, I not only read them, I wore the books out! I read and re-read the books, I couldn't put them down. I talked about them so much to my friends, they started checking them out from the Library and we would play Betsy-Tacy during recess. Now set in a period of a hundred years ago, they are still captivating kids today. My husband read the first four books in the series to our kids (Ages 7, 5, 3, and 1 at the time) and they love them all. My oldest begged me to let her keep my copies in her room so she could read them herself. There are many great books in the series, this one in fact is not the first in the series. Check out the other books in the series, Betsy-Tacy, Betsy-Tacy Go Over the Big Hill, Betsy-Tacy Go Downtown, Heaven to Betsy, Betsy in Spite of Herself, Betsy was a Junior, Betsy and Joe, Betsy and the Great World, and Betsy's Wedding. The books take Betsy through grade school and high school, to Europe right before the 1st world war, then back to America for her wedding and the joys and troubles of married life. Some other books not in the Betsy-Tacy series but also by Maud Hart Lovelace and worth checking out are The Trees Kneel at Christmas, Winona's Pony Cart, Carney's House Party, and (my personal Maud Hart Lovelace favorite) Emily of Deep Valley.

My sister has the whole collection of Betsy-Tacy books.She was never too excited about them.I think I was in fourth grade when I read the first one.These kind of books are my favorite.I love the whole aspect of different adventures,in different chapters.It's a fun,touching,and just unique book (and series)to read.I have tried to turn in numerous book reports for this book,or the whole series together.It worked until seventh grade.It is a refreshing book to read.The best part is that you get to escape the world's tragedies, sad times, and stress all together. This book reminds me of Because Of Winn Dixie.The cool thing about this book, is that people of all ages can enjoy the individual stories of these three, fun girls. I recommend this book, and the rest of the series to little girls, teens, moms, and women in general.

Do you know how a certain book or movie will completely transport you to another time and place? That is the effect the Betsy-Tacy and Tib series of books had on me. I read the entire series about 14 years ago and even now, from time to time, I'll remember them and smile because of all the joy they brought into my life. They lived at the turn of the 20th century and grew up with the invention of the automobile and the first World War. Maud-Hart Lovelace writes of a time of innocence and wonder and I personally feel like Betsy and Tacy and Tib are life long friends that will always exist in my heart and I'll always hold dear the memories of their young lives. There are not many books that grab hold of you like this cherished series does but when they do, you will forever be caught up in the spell of three little girls growing up in a kinder and gentler era and their many adventures and loves and losses. I highly recommend these books to ANYONE if you want to understand a bygone era, when our grandparents were growing up, and see the world through their eyes. I loved the books when they were small and when Betsy went to Europe for a year and of all her escapades in Italy and Germany. I'll never forget the many Friday nights the gang would get together and eat onion sandwiches Betsy's father would make, and how everyone would sing around the piano. The genuine love and warmth the friends and family felt for one another was uplifting and heartwarming and beautiful to read about. And Betsy's boyfriend Joe was also a loyal friend and played a prominent role in the series. If I could step into any world from the past, I would choose their world. You can't ask more from a book. Please do yourself a huge favor, and order these books. I plan on buying the series as well and begin reading them to my three year old daughter in a few years.

Beginning with "Betsy and Tacy," I read this series years ago. Now, I have read and re-read every book in it many more times then I could possibly count. Each book is more unique and different then the one before and yet, each has the one thing in common that matters the most: the ever-lasting friendship of Betsy, Tacy, and Tib. After I first finished reading the series, I wished that the wonderful and talented author, Maud Hart Lovelace, had wrote more, (as if 11 books weren't enough). But, as the story of life, and of the wholesomely-spirited Betsy and her friends goes, every sweet simple thing must come to an end.