I dare you to read a Betsy-Tacy book and not long to have a childhood as the author describes in Betsy’s life. I read and loved these books as a child, and after reading something difficult, intense, and/or something I didn’t care for at all, escaping to Deep Valley and the stories that Betsy tells always make me feel nostalgic for a childhood I never had although there were bits and pieces if I use my imagination enough.

Betsy, Tacy, and Tib are growing up and now 12 years old, old enough to go downtown by themselves. They get to see a horseless carriage and Betsy is thrilled getting to go to the library all by herself to read all day long. The girls long to see a live play, and when they think it won’t happen, they decide to put on their own. Little do they know that not only will they get to see a live play, they will actually get to be IN one.

At the end of this book there are some sections that tell how these stories played out in the author’s real-life and it amazes me how she could make such wonderful stories out of seemingly ordinary, everyday things with very little changed.

Sooo did Uncle Keith go fight for the socialists in Spain?

These books are excellent.

Yes. They are dated. There are references to theatrical practices that have thankfully gone away.


However, these books are so matter-of-fact to the heart of how girls grow up. Stripped of technology and peer pressure and too-busy-ness of the present day, this is how it is to be twelve.


My daughter would adore the library day (me too) that Betsy has. It's magic.


Just read them and judge for yourself.

One of my favorite books in the series so far! MHL perfectly captures that growing up middle age. I loved the reunion at the end!

I'm in a horrible reading slump. I'm just going to admit that I'm not going to finish this book. The books were getting less and less sweet as they went on. I didn't care for some of the things in this story.
I might finish it someday.

Loving this series! Pretty sure I didn't choke up last time I read it...

Far and away my favorite Betsy-Tacy book. Maud Hart Lovelace really makes you fall in love with Deep Valley, and this book really opens up the possibilities that we see in ourselves in childhood.

In many ways, I think this book is stronger than the second or third books; I especially like Betsy's friendship with Mrs. Poppy and her beginning to flourish as a writer. That said, the blackface is very hard to take, and the criticism of Lady Audley's Secret and other popular literature as trash annoys me (and I don't get what makes Lady Audley's Secret worse or less of a classic than the books that are praised). Also #LetTibLive.

So what I like about these books, is that they are old timey--Betsy and her friends get super excited when they get $.15 because then they can buy a dime novel AND candy for all of them, and it's awesome when the horseless carriage comes to town; BUT they aren't all hardship and woe and Indian attacks and fording rivers like Laura Ingalls Wilder. The girls live in town (the fictional Deep Valley, which is really just Mankato, Minnesota), they go to a regular school, and they do pretty much the same things as 21st century girls. Like get really excited when they get to see a play.

Pretending this because my daughter loves the earlier books in the series. Delightful aside from the loving description of Uncle Tom's Cabin performed by actors in blackface. At least the author's track record is better than most children's author's of her era. Betsy sends a flowery story to a magazine in scenes very reminiscent of Anne of Green Gables and Little Women.

Betsy and Tacy are growing up and gaining independence! This was a read aloud to a 7 yo and it started to be a little above her interest level. This is a great place to end the Betsy-Tacy series for an elementary school kid, with plenty more in the series to look forward to as they get older.

This is the last of the "younger" Betsy books, taking us to turn of the century Minnesota, horse-less carriages, and many wonderful new friends. BTGD introduces us to Winona Root, Mrs. Poppy, and some of the places and items we will know and love in the "high school" books. A wonderful look at the transition into adolecense. We also read about the tradition of the annual christmas shopping trip that Betsy and Tacy take together. On a personal note, this is a tradition that my sisters and I do every year in honor of the books and it's a blast.

The Betsy-Tacy books were highly autobiographical and Lovelace perfectly captures the innocence and magic of childhood. If you read this book and love it, please read the series. It will be books that you will never forget as long as you live. I also recommend the "Betsy-Tacy Companion" which is an amazing book that disects each book and compares it to it's real-life counterparts, including pictures of the "real" Betsy, Tacy, Tib and all the gang.

I had the pleasure of visiting "Deep Valley" (aka Mankato, Minnesota) for a Betsy-Tacy convention back in 1996. It was incredible to step back in time and enter Betsy's world. We toured the city and I was actually able to step foot in "Tacy's" bedroom and sit on the famous bench at the top of the big hill. It was truly a life-altering experience. I have to thank my sister, Julie for introducting these books to me and changing my life.

It's obvious how much these books mean to me. My first born child was named Tacy Kelly Maloy. Please read and enjoy. They are a treasure!