I love this book! I read it when I was a little girl, and it has always stuck with me. The descriptions of life in 1905, the way Betsy wants to be a writer, the trunk, the new Carnegie Library downtown, the way she read and ...just everything. It is such a cozy book. It played a part in many of my dreams...including for a short time being a Children's Librarian in a Carnegie Library !!

Really enjoyed this one. It's fun to see america at this time period, as opposed to Canada or at the pioneer time. And the lost uncle was marvelous!

Loved. Reading these makes me think of the experiences my grandma Anne must have had growing up in Winnipeg during this time period. Love watching these girls grow-up. This was a great one - from the horseless carriage to the library to the play - thoroughly enjoyed.

There were lots of parts of this book I forgot about or maybe didn’t pick up on as a child. I pretty much only remembered the library/writing trunk plot. Huh.

Once again, Betsy and Tacy exceeded expectations!

In what I would call the final installment of the “childhood” portion of this series, “Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown” – the girls are now 12 years old and, according to them, “all grown up.”

Their escapades continue – riding in a horseless carriage (a car!), beguiling their new friend, Winona, going to the theatre, befriending an unexpected companion, acting on stage and discovering a long, lost relative!

So many things to adore in this book! For those who love the theatre (a paramount requirement in our family!) there are several chapters on that theme. Do you enjoy Christmas traditions? A chapter on that. A love of the library and all things literary? Betsy is euphoric when she is allowed to go the library ALONE every other Saturday. She also blossoms into a poet and writer. The relationship between Mrs. Poppy and Betsy is one of particular importance. It shows how mercy and compassion can transcend the difference between age, cultural upbringing and social status. A sweet, sweet book. If you read only one Betsy book this is the one to read.

My daughter’s favorite part: “…acting on stage! I want to do that when I grow up!” She is a closet theatre geek – she’s been going to theatre since she was 4. Her first musical, Annie. I hope she will audition some day!

Our mother/daughter book group meets tomorrow night for our discussion. This is the final Betsy Tacy book for us. We will be picking a new series/author/theme for March.

Any good ideas/recommendations?? And something short? March is Spring Break!

The girls are now 12 years old. They see a horseless carriage for the first time. Tib gets to ride in it. They go to plays, put on plays and even get to appear in one. There friendship with Winona develops.

I think that Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown may be my favorite book yet, in Maud Hart Lovelace's series of children's novels devoted to the adventures of three young girls growing up in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Minnesota. Now twelve years old, Betsy, Tacy and Tib find their horizons expanding, as they venture into town on their own, see a horseless carriage for the first time, attend a thrilling performance of n  Uncle Tom's Cabinn at the Opera House, and (in Betsy's case) discover the joys of the new Carnegie Library.

The girls find a new playmate in Winona Root, the sometimes exasperating daughter of Deep Valley's newspaper editor, and a true friend in plump Mrs. Poppy, who gives them a lovely Christmas party. But the most thrilling experience of all comes when they are chosen to participate in a performance of n  Rip Van Winklen, and make a surprise discovery with implications for Betsy's family...

Like some other reviewers who first read this as an adult, I was able to guess all the developments well in advance. But somehow, the pleasure of "discovery" was in no way diminished - a testament to Lovelace's immense skill as a storyteller. I enjoyed all the adventures chronicled herein, particularly the Christmas "shopping" expedition, and was charmed to follow Betsy's growth as an author. I laughed over her attempted sentimental novel, The Repentance of Lady Clinton, and thrilled to her first success, with the publication of the poem, The Curtain Goes Up. As Lovelace observes at the close of this entertaining and heartwarming story, the curtain is going up on the girls' adolescence, and I, for one, am looking forward to watching it!

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.

Delightful series!

In the fourth Betsy-Tacy-Tib, a horseless carriage arrives in town and makes quite a stir, the girls befriend newspaper editor's daughter Winona in hopes of scoring comp tickets to a play, Betsy is given permission to visit the town library ON HER OWN, and Betsy wishes she could meet her long-lost uncle Keith, a runaway actor.

The most adorable scene was Betsy visiting the library and just loving and adoring the entire experience. Communing with books quietly! Losing oneself in a book! Having the financial independence to have a little lunch and then go BACK to the library for MORE books! Huge mood. I would love to do that right now.

I was also rather touched by rich but lonely Mrs Poppy, doing good deeds quietly but with no one to talk to, inviting the girls over for a little party because she misses her own daughter.

Not a huge fan of Uncle Tom's Cabin as the play, complete with blackface.

The story is about two little girls growing up in Minnesota at the turn of the century, a time when cars and telephones were new and exciting inventions. The book opens with references to Lady Audley’s Secret and contains many delightful allusions to books throughout its pages.

Twelve year old Betsy is an aspiring writer. Unfortunately she’s been influenced by sensational and melodramatic novels and is writing stories with similar themes (“Lady Gwendolyn’s Sin”). Betsy’s mother and father handle this problem with gentleness and sensitivity. Instead of condemning her, her father gives her a library card and 15 cents for lunch so that she can spend all day Saturday in town, reading the classics. Her trips to town open up a new world to her.

Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown is a book about simple pleasures and great kindnesses. With its references to classic books, it’s good writing, and it’s pleasant tone, I (who am 52 years old) found it hard to put down.

I just finished the fourth Betsy-Tacy book, Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown, and I'm all teary. It was so good! Probably my favorite of the series so far. There were so many lovely parts - the horseless carriage; Betsy, Tacy and Tib trying to hypnotize Winona by staring at her all day (that made me laugh out loud); Betsy getting the writing desk from her mother; her magical first trip to the new library; Betsy's story of poor Flossie (another part that made me laugh); the girls' Christmas shopping trip with their dimes. And of course the reunion with Uncle Keith at the end. I loooved Mrs. Poppy. What a wonderful character. The whole book was just so fun and sweet and special. :)