This was a wonderful read aloud to my 8yo daughter. She loved it. I loved it. Would absolutely recommend

I'm giving this edition to my 10 year old "niece" for Christmas this year. I loved this series as a girl, in fact I named my daughter after the MC, and I'm always happy to share it with girls today. I chose this version over the hardback as this retains the original illustrations by Lois Lenski. (I dislike the newer childish illustrations the hardback version uses.)

This series is unusual in that the first books are written as easy readers, and as the friends grow up the books get harder. But no fan, whatever their age, should miss the tale of how Betsy and Tacy met. And every Christmas I think of the three girls going shopping for a Christmas ornament and choosing presents. Based on the author's life in Minnesota at the turn of the century, these are lovely, lively stories of three girls who are great friends. Watching them grow up together is a treat I highly recommend. Of course you'll want to reread the books before you wrap them up for a lucky girl on your Christmas list. :)

Why did I not know about these books in my childhood? I would have loved reading about Betsy, Tacy, and Tib as I was growing up. Maud Hart Lovelace does a great job giving us a slice of what it was like to grow up in the early 1900s. We see the first cars, the first phones, the hairstyles and the fashions, the entertainment of the time, and above all else the close knit friendship of the three girls. The illustrations by Lois Lenski add a wonderful touch and really help to bring Betsy, Tacy, and Tib alive on the page. This edition includes information about Maud Hart Lovelace and Lois Lenski in the back of the book. Great read, I highly recommend this one!

Each 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.