I absolutely loved the Betsy-Tacy/Deep Valley books. I was not familiar with them until some dear students of mine gifted me a set this past school year, and now I wish I had read them much earlier in my life! The Lord knows, though. This will be a review for the whole series because most of my thoughts apply to multiple books.

As I'm sure many others have noted, Maud Hart Lovelace wrote the series to grow with the reader. The first four books are a little elementary, because the characters are actually in elementary school, but they have some sweet and funny lessons about growing up that are actually quite realistic. The next four cover each of Betsy's years of high school, with a whole different type of learning going on as she navigates school and vocation, friends and relationships. There's a bit of teenage drama, but it's usually resolved into worthwhile life lessons.

After this, both the series order and the plot events get a little complicated. Lovelace took a break from writing Betsy's direct narrative to spend a couple books on side characters in this world. These still forward the general chronology, though, so I personally think they should be read here, before the final two Betsy books. The first two of these "Deep Valley" books about Carney and Emily were actually some of my favorites in the collection, as each heroine examines in different ways what is important in life and who is the type of person worth sharing it with.

Betsy and her close friends still figure into those two side stories as more minor characters, so we've had some inklings about what's been going on with them, but the last two books now return her to center stage as a young adult facing all of the responsibilities and choices appertaining thereunto. In typical Betsy fashion, those are conducted in a sometimes-misguided but usually well-meaning way.

Individual things I loved:
- The experience of this historical era, recreated by someone who actually lived it. Lovelace based Betsy on herself and most of the main characters on her family and friends, and she immerses the reader into 1890s-1910s Minnesota down to the particular songs and fashions of the season.
- Betsy and her friends grow up in intact, loving, supportive families whose influence plays a key role throughout their growing up. This is disappointingly rare in children's classics- ask me for my soapbox if you want it.
- The emphases on community and on pursuing the arts/one's personal talents, especially where these things intersected: sharing songs around the piano, community dances, literary clubs, etc.
- The main characters and their experiences felt very down-to-earth and true to life. In multiple growth moments for key characters, I found myself admiring how wise and timelessly relevant the lesson was, and wishing I had learned it myself (or read these books) earlier in life. Lovelace threaded the needle of being both entertaining and edifying, moral yet not pedantic.

As a conservative Christian, my content concerns were minor and the first two did not dominate the stories:
- Multiple characters are presented as sincere believers, and in a positive light for this. However, rather than as a community united by true and saving faith to worship God, church is sometimes seen as a social institution or a vehicle for the "as long as you believe something, it doesn't matter what" approach.
- Naturalized Americans' attitudes toward recent immigrants from a different culture (even if they were well-disposed toward them) felt a little patronizing, but this may have been typical for the times. Also, blackface is used/mentioned a couple brief times in its historically-accurate theatrical setting.
- Betsy and [SPOILER REDACTED]'s relationship dynamic seemed... off to me. The love interests in the Carney and Emily books do much better jobs of communicating with their ladies and respecting them as equal humans while still taking a husband's rightful leadership role.

Miscellaneous P.S.: The third Deep Valley side book is a retcon/throwback about Winona, whom I never liked in the main series and did not like much better after her own book. It seemed unnecessary, especially since it includes a key character (not Winona) whom at this point in the main series we have not really gotten to know yet, and I found the conclusion unsatisfactory.

A delightful book that celebrates the innocence and imagination of childhood. This book is written for a very young audience and makes a perfect read-aloud. When I was little, all I wanted was a friend like Tacy. :) I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: growing up is okay, but nothing compares to the magic of childhood—when simple things can become most adventurous and exciting. This book is the first in a series of ten books about Betsy (plus two books about other characters in which she is mentioned). The reading level and plots DO increase as the books progress and the characters mature. So don’t give up on the series if you are an older reader and find this one boring. (Though I still think it is charming!) This is a series that no childhood should be without.

A delightful children's classic. A kinder, gentler version of the Anne of Green Gables books, this series is chock full of good-natured humor, family values and sweet stories. It would be a great read-aloud for little girls.

Love this classic story about two five-year-olds who become friends. My girls enjoyed it, and I appreciated the age appropriate imaginative play.

I read this as a kid. Really, all I recall is loving it. It was a long time ago ;+)

I haven't read these in so long, but I was inspired by a couple of papers at the LM Montgomery conference and a desire to recommend them to someone else, but wanting to refresh my memory on them first.

It's a fun, sweet story of friendship and the simple joys of childhood. So glad I dove into this series again.

I can hear some of my reading friends saying, "What? You really read that?" Yes, yes I did. I loved the whole Betsy-Tacy series when I was a child, and I still love the books now.

Betsy-Tacy is a sweet story of two five year olds, based on the author and her best friend, who meet and become friends at Betsy's fifth birthday party. The book follows their adventures over the course of a year, and Maud Hart Lovelace captures perfectly the imaginative play that is typical of little girls that age. It doesn't matter at all that they are living in the late 19th Century and not the 21st.

I think I may track down and read the whole series in order over the next several months; what a fun project!

Picking up this book about Betsy and Tacy is like jumping into a time machine and returning to my childhood. I loved getting lost in the books of authors like Lois Lenski and Laura Ingalls Wilder. This series begins when Betsy and Tacy are five and become across-the-street neighbors. They are timeless and I look forward to reading each and every one and watching these two little girls grow up. Includes photos and bio information on the author.

The rating is what I think I would have given this book if I'd gotten to it when I should have- half a century ago! Under the heading of "It's never too late," I recently read "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn." In her preface to the edition I read, Anna Quindlen mentioned having read the Betsy-Tacy series as a child. And if Anna Quindlen mentions it, I have to check it out! The first book in the series, as I would imagine they all are, is dated but very charming. If you shake off the references to the "servant girls" who are up first in the house lighting the fires, it's completely enjoyable. I was impressed that Lovelace mentioned, and graciously dealt with, the death of a newborn in this largely autobiographical children's book.

Read this book to my 6 year old and she adored it. Betsy and Tacy were the perfect fit for a child who’s starting into chapter books. Fun adventures, innocent imaginations, little-girl fun!

I saw this at the library and was in a weird mood, so I brought it home. Adorable story about 5-6 year olds doing 5-6 year old things at the turn of the century. I know I read the first few books twenty-some years ago, but I think I'm about to (re)discover the entire series.

Perfectly adorable. I love how they meet, and the first day of school, and dressing up like grownups. It's so sweet how close they are! What an incredible friendship! And it's based off a true story, which makes it even cooler.

~Kellyn Roth, Reveries Reviews