Thanks, Jordan!!! Loved it.

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.

I just love Betsy and Tacy! Tib too!

I read this out loud with my 8-year-old daughter and my 10-year-old son stopped in periodically to listen as well. A very sweet and classic story of 2, then 3, girls that become the best of friends and have many fun and exciting adventures. We are looking forward to reading the additional books in the series. My daughter was inspired by one particular story and is writing to the U.S. President in hopes of a response.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Very charming, sweet, innocent and wholesome. This is some good, edifying literature. A great book for young Christian girls.

Delightfully sweet. Refreshing read for a stressful summer.

Read this to me girls and we loved it!

I was so thrilled to find this hardcover collection of the first four Betsy-Tacy books (BETSY-TACY, BETSY-TACY AND TIB, BETSY AND TACY GO OVER THE BIG HILL and BETSY AND TACY GO DOWNTOWN)...a great set of memories from my childhood reading list, and it lead me to Betsy's high school adventures, which I hadn't read. An excellent gift for an elementary school reader!