Every chapter is a gem!

http://perfectretort.blogspot.com/202...

http://perfectretort.blogspot.com/202...

More adventures of Betsy, Tacy, and Tib now age 12. In one chapter, the 3 girls try to hypnotize Winona, another classmate, by staring at her all day. Betsy's writing career begins to take off with much loving support from her family, friends,and the librarian at the brand new Carnegie Public Library.
The stories are quite autobiographical and I want to go to Mankato,MN to find all the real-life Maud Hart sites.

Turning twelve opened up a new world for Betsy, Tacy, and Tib. That is where Betsy's father has his store. There is a new Carnegie library being built. The building getting the most attention in this installment is The Opera House. Our favorite preteens are so excited about the upcoming production of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Winona, a girl in their class, has three complimentary tickets. How will they ever get her to choose them to go along? It is fun to see their creative methods of persuasion. This fourth book also includes Christmas, the opening of the library, and a second play to enjoy: Rip Van Winkle. Jump back in time to the early days of the 20th century with Betsy and her friends.

A sweet, funny, cozy story. I'm having a great experience with these books. They're like a comfort read for me, even though it's just my first time reading them. It brings the kind of joy I felt when I was reading the Anne of Green Gables series.

2013 - read aloud with E age 5.
2020 - read aloud with E age 12 and W age 5.

This was my first Betsy, Tacy & Tib book. I wasn't aware of them when I was younger, otherwise I would have been a fan. They are well written, humorous and very relatable to everyday life. I love the old-fashioned values and the solid family structure in the story. It will be a good addition for our school library.

While I am sure I was read this book when I was young, I had no memory of any of the stories in it. Lots happens in the Fall and Winter of the three girls' 12th year- they go to a play, make two new friends, Tib gets a ride in a car, and Betsy's estranged uncle returns.

I really enjoyed this one. A lot of the stories are quite heartwarming in a way the first three books aren't quite. There is good fat-positive representation here. Mrs. Poppy the hotel owner's wife is kind and generous with the girls and she is described and drawn as fat, she is a complex character with a backstory and a good heart. The girls describe her as large, using it only as a descriptor and not as an insult or as commentary on her worth or personality. None of the adults make any mention of her weight and Betsy's mother is only reluctant to make friends with her because she is rich and cultured, not because of how she looks.

There is a scene with blackface in this, but it's not quite what you might expect. The play Uncle Tom's Cabin is coming to the Deep Valley Theatre and as would have been the norm the actors are white and dress in blackface for the play. Not ideal, but historically accurate and in reading this to my own kids I would use it as an opportunity to talk about that practice. Thankfully none of the main characters dress in blackface for their own homemade plays or during their play. It is contained to the theatre scene.

I think what I loved most in this book is Betsy emerging as a writer. Her mother and father are incredibly supportive and loving about it. They go so far as to set up a writing desk for her so she can have a serious and inviting space to write. Her father brings home notebooks from his store for Betsy to fill and they set up a biweekly, all-day visit to the new library in town so Betsy can read to her heart's content. She is given permission to walk downtown and some pocket money to take herself to lunch at the little deli across the street. Honestly it's a book lovers dream. They also will not read her writing unless explicitly invited to and the respect they have for her work is really special.

As many have said, I think this might be my favorite of the all the books. Certainly so far.

This book was more mature and included how not to beg for something you want really badly and also discovering the beauty of libraries. Also, that opening drawing of Betsy sitting in a tree writing makes me insanely jealous. Who doesn't want to be writing in a tree? Well, maybe a few people but I hope not too many :)

This was my favorite of the Betsy-Tacy books growing up. I loved the introduction of technology (the horseless carriage or automobile) to small town Minnesota, the long lost brother plot line, and that Betsy was developing her passion for writing. All things were achievable and all endings were happy in early 1900s Deep Valley (Mankato) Minnesota.
Upon this most recent reread, I wasn't quite as fascinated my the idea of a horseless carriage and the long lost brother plot line was not as believable. Yet, out of the four stories about Betsy's (Maud's) childhood, this one remains the quintessential story of childhood. Old enough for a little independence and young enough for the simplicities of being a kid.

This fourth book features Betsy going downtown by herself, to go to the library and have a meal by herself in a restaurant. I think every girl of twelve would feel quite grown up and excited by this. I also love the Christmas "shopping." I definitely remember picking out what I would buy if I could. I think we all still have fun with this!

I do wish there had been more about the library, actually. How did she get all her books home--they could check out so many at once. Did she explore the stacks beyond the children's room? How did she really feel about all those classics?

My Evelyn says, "This is a really, really good book and I wish it had never ended....or any other of these books, either. I wish they never ended!"

This may be my favorite one so far in this series. The adventures of Betsy, Tacy and Tib (and their new friend Winona!) get a little more exciting with each book. Still very simple, these stories continue to delight and entertain us. So happy to be reading these with my daughter as I didn't read them myself as a child.

A complete delight. With such a gloriously redemptive and beautiful ending. This was the last book my grandmother would read to us of the series. She read the first four to us over and over again as a little girls. She considered the next books too grown up. I'm excited to finally read what happens to Betsy and her friends in high school and beyond, though bittersweet to do it alone and not at my grandmother's side! So much joy rediscovering this series.