Fascinating reading for fans of the Betsy-Tacy series. I loved the photos of people and places. It is very detailed and I found some parts overwhelmingly meticulous (particularly who lived where), but the level of research that went into this book is amazing.

Ultimately interesting to Maudophiles. I would have rated it higher if she hadn't dissed Aunt Dolly.

I've been dying to read this for years and finally got my hands on a copy through inter-state library loan.

It was great in many ways, but the little mistakes and typos bothered me, especially when there was contradictory information about the "real people" behind the Betsy-Tacy books (a chapter would state something about one of the people, then another chapter would say the complete opposite about them).

Still, I'm extremely glad the authors did the research and took the time to write this. And the photos are priceless!

I really enjoyed this book, and more than a decade after buying it, I still refer to it every so often, especially if I am re-reading a Betsy-Tacy book.

I do agree that it could have been better edited, but that's my only criticism.

I'm not sure why someone reviewed this and called it "depressing."

As a Betsy-Tacy fan, I requested this book from ILL and was thrilled when my library located it for me. I loved learning more background of the 10 Betsy-Tacy books (plus 3 peripheral books), though it WAS more detail than I was looking for- so I read some sections of the book more quickly than others (did the dates match up with the actual calendar - i.e. was January 8 really on a Tuesday that year?; did Betsy/Maud really have the furniture she described in her bedroom? Is the schoolhouse still standing? etc), but I loved all the photographs of Maud and her friends and finding out how everyone ended up later in life. Fascinating.
This quote sums up the book perfectly, as the author is analyzing a tiny detail of the book series:
"If I have to explain why it is so amusing to analyze such trivia, you shouldn't be reading this book." I had to laugh when I read this sentence, but I decided I am a true Betsy-Tacy fan and am glad I read this whole book. The author did an incredible amount of research!

I love Maud Hart Lovelace and Betsy-Tacy. Maud is a great author who wrote such a wonderful series of book that unfortunately not enough people have read. I loved learning more about Maud and her family and friends. LOVED IT!

Every true Maud Hart Lovelace fan should own a copy of this book and take it with you when you visit Mankato, Minnesota!

I really wanted to like this book, because I liked Betsy-Tacy so much growing up, but this is so hard to read. Whalen jumps back and forth between reality and fiction, and my head just swam with all the different names and dates. I don’t need a summary and recap of the novels, I just want a biography of their author.

It is so lovely to have pictures of all the real life counterparts of the characters. I do think I’ll have to have this book beside me every time I read the Betsy-Tacy books in the future. It’s also super cool to be able to learn which all things really happened in Maud’s life.

Was so excited to discover this book! Everything I ever wanted to know about Betsy, Tacy Tib and Joe and the Crowd all in one book!!

Have read all the volume-related excerpts attached to each book in the series; the full BT Companion is winging its way to me from Amazon as we speak. Expect full and totally uncritical review slash Mankato travelogue posthaste.

I had to go to the library for this out-of-print book, but it was worth it. Just like, a 500 page wikipedia entry for the Betsy-Tacy books (with pictures!!!), which is just what I wanted. Separately, it was fun/interesting to look up all the old-houses on Google Earth....