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Read many times. Last read 4/11/09. Re-read aloud to eldest 8/16/15

There is no ISBN for the original edition and the title is slightly different: Over the Big Hill: A Betsy-Tacy Story, copyright 1942, fourth printing november 1945.

Over the Big Hill began as Betsy, Tacy, and Tib were 9, wanting to be 10. Although Tib was tiny, she and Tacy became 10 before Betsy did, but didn't talk about it much until, finally, it was Betsy's birthday in April. They had been practicing being grownup and talking about how they should begin to dress, talk, and act, but Betsy's day was so downplayed that she thought, and tried not to care, that was what being grownup was like. Their adventures continued, though, and the stories in Over the Big Hill are chapters with continuity throughout the book. Lovelace has a real knack for having them breeze into real-life sticky situations and find appropriate, constructive, and fun ways out. Among the subjects dealt with, in an adventurous and fun way, are people from other countries, enticement of royalty, and competition with siblings that may get out of hand and become quarrelsome.

This third novel in the Betsy-Tacy series didn't have nearly as much wide-eyed wonder and imagination as the first two, but that's probably because Betsy, Tacy, and Tib are practically grown up now that they have two numbers in their age (10).

When the three girls go over the big hill and meet a little girl who has immigrated from Syria and doesn't speak any English, their warm acceptance of her and her family starts a beautiful chain reaction in the community. I love the way that this series encourages compassion and kindness without ever becoming preachy.

Our favorite of the series so far! There's more of an overall plot compared to the first two (which are mostly episodic), and my 6-year-old and I both got into it. She couldn't wait to find out what happened next in the "quarrel." The characters have realistic sibling arguments but want to be kind and do the right thing.

This year Betsy, Tacey, and Tib have two numbers in their age, and they go farther up the Big Hill than ever before.

Imagine my surprise when what what is over the hill is the neighborhood of Little Syria. And my further surprise when Little Syria and its Syrian immigrants end up being a major story line. How unexpected and wonderful! I love that the real event of the King of Spain assuming power on his 16th birthday in 1902 is included here, and that they all decide they are in love with him. I love that they fight on behalf of an immigrant girl being teased. I love that they all go to different churches.

Still such a lovely and timely story.

Now that I know it's 1902, I wish we'd had a bit about turn-of-the-century celebrations in a previous book. I imagine it must have been quite exciting. Even in Deep Valley.

I read this to my 4 year old daughter. She adores Betsy and Tacy's adventures. I love how it encourages imagination and adventure. Moreover, the values and lessons Betsy and Tacy learn are precious. I'm thankful to discover these sweet books and share them with my daughter.

"Over the Big Hill" has been my favorite of the Betsy-Tacy adventures, because of the exploration into refugee life and an unfamiliar culture. I love that the girls stand up for what's right and befriend a Syrian girl.

Solid four stars.

This next installment in the Betsy-Tacy armoire... No wait. That's not the word I want. I think it has a "v" in it. Uvula? No... It also has an "o." I know it's not ovary. Someone used it in a review I saw a few weeks ago, and I thought he was a pretentious snot, so I decided to one up him and be ostentatious, and now the whole thing is just falling apart. Dammit. This calls for research. Stand by.

...

Looks like oeuvre is the wanted word... but now I don't want it anymore. You know, this happens every damn time I try to use one of those bloody ten dollar words, though I reckon it's now a fifteen dollar word due to inflation, and now this review is a complete mess before it even gets started. When will I ever learn to just stay where I belong and stick to the low-class, fifty cent deals?

n  n

This latest installment in the Betsy-Tacy series is the best so far. I've given all three books four stars because Goodreads offers no alternative, but the first two are technically 3.5 stars and this is a solid four. It turns out these books are based on real events and people from Maud Hart Lovelace's childhood, and you can see that. In the first book Betsy and Tacy were five years old, and only a little older the second one, and their adventures reflect that. In this, they and Tib are ten years old, so they're allowed more leeway, and what they get into is more interesting. Plus, this one has a bigger story that takes place over the course of the whole book. It's more structurally sound, and everything ties together in the end. In the first two, there were more short episodes strung together with no major overarching theme.

I liked how the girls wrote to the King of Spain. It sounds like something I might do. In fact, I plan to write my governor in the next couple of days about something that doesn't really amount to a hill of beans in the grand scheme of things, especially with everything else he has on his plate. I'm not doing it because Betsy, Tacy, and Tib did something similar; this was my plan regardless. I doubt he'll ever see the letter, but it still feels right that I should send it.

Like I've mentioned in my other reviews, it's nice to see some little girls having good, wholesome fun and not acting like little brats... Well, they get a little bratty at one point, but it's age appropriate. They're nothing like some other horrible little urchins I've read about in more modern children's books. I've also mentioned in one of my other reviews that kids today probably can't relate to these, but that's different with this one. It's definitely more relatable.

Another reason I liked this one more is that it's very pro-America, though it doesn't tear down any other countries in the process. I'm also rather patriotic, so this hit me in the right spot.

Check it out if you like the genre. You can read this as a standalone without having to hit the other two first.

I'm honestly impressed by how progressive this is, considering it's (relatively) old and set in a most-likely-predominantly-white small town: a scene refuting the assumption that each of the girls will grow up to be a "little housewife", and the way they get over their preconceptions of "foreigners" by befriending Syrian immigrant Naifi and her community.

I don't know that I loved this quite as much as the previous two books, but it's still quite a fun read.

In 1902 Betsy, Tacy, and Tib all turned 10 years old and think they are getting grown-up because they have 2 numbers in their age.

I read these books when I was little, and the latter ones I read several times. Reading these again made me smile and think about my childhood even though it was not like Betsy's was, but I always wanted friends like she had.

Their antics made me smile, especially when there is a big old house with an old man who lives in it because that is what was on our street, old man and all.

This book is idyllic and sometimes you just need something light and sweet to help you believe in folks again even if just for a little while one afternoon.

This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.

Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill is the third book of the Betsy-Tacy series, in which the three main characters, Betsy, Tacy, and Tib turn ten years old. Feeling quite grownup, the girls make their way over the big hill for the first time, exploring the interesting people and cultural experiences to be found there. In addition to making friends with a Syrian girl and defending her from racist bullies, they also fall in love with the King of Spain, perform in an Entertainment at school, and get into a huge quarrel with big sisters Julia and Katie.

It’s hard to remember as I read that these books are as old as they are. They read very much like contemporary middle grade historical fiction, and this story in particular addresses very contemporary issues. This book takes on topics like immigration, diversity, and racism and presents very progressive viewpoints on each one. There is a big emphasis on American nationalism, but there is also a deep appreciation for the roots of the girls’ Syrian neighbors, and for the customs that followed them from their home country. Though the three girls are fascinated with kings and queens, other characters in the story express different political opinions that subtly express some of the unrest that was driving immigrants from their homelands in the early 1900s.

Politics aside, this book is also notable for being the first Betsy-Tacy book with a true plot. While the first two books were more episodic, this one has several threads running through it that culminate in one satisfying conclusion. This book also introduces a bit more tension into the girls’ relationship with Julia and Katie, which adds some conflict and drama to the story without sacrificing the overall gentle wholesomeness of the series. It’s also so refreshing to read a story in which the only romance is an imagined courtship between young girls and a young king. This book assumes an innocence on the part of ten-year-old girls that is developmentally appropriate and hugely encouraging.

I love the way these books grow up along with their main characters. I believe this is part of why they are perennially popular - readers can follow Betsy to adulthood, and then pass the books on to their children to begin the cycle all over again. I’m looking forward to seeing what new and interesting things twelve-year-old Betsy, Tacy, and Tib will do in Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown.

Revisiting this classic series as an adult - I know I read these as a child, but I don't think I reread them or I'd have a better memory of them.
It was a pleasant surprise to find the "foreigners" (Syrian - modern day Lebanese - immigrants) in this book regarded as people to be applauded and welcomed, rather than feared and judged. The little girls remark on the differences in dress, mannerisms, language, and culture, for the most part in a positive way. The adults remark on how "foreign" people should be supported and even admired (here things veered heavily Christian and patriotic, sigh) for wanting to be American. I wondered if part of this was reflective of the persecution people of German descent were suffering in 1942, when the book was published, and since WWI. But the author may just have been remembering her childhood - hard to say. At one point Betsy's older sister has a negative reaction to Betsy having gone to the Syrian part of town, and Betsy immediately rejects it and tells her it was "lovely". Either way, it was nice to not be reading blatant racism in a book set around 1900 and published in 1942.
There was also a brief cameo by a disabled person - a neighbor who is Deaf (described in the thankfully out of fashion way people used to describe Deaf people who didn't speak, at least outside their own family), married to a Deaf man, with a baby who was "just as loud as any other baby". They go by her house, remark on how she taught the little girls to finger spell in sign language, and communicate with her using that as one of the strategies. She later brings her baby to a neighborhood party. Just a neighbor. Again, a rarity in older books!

This was a surprising addition to the Betsy-Tacy series for me. A central part of the story is the influx of Syrian refugees into the quiet town of Mankato MN in the early 1900s. Published in 1942, the novel describes the segregation, racism, tolerance, and acceptance experienced by these new American immigrants. Although the story is told through the eyes of ten year olds and is meant for children, it resonated with me as an adult facing similar issues decades later. It is wonderful when a story lasts in this way through time.