I was so excited to find this book at the library after thinking about this series for a while. I used to read these "Betsy" books over and over in elementary school and almost 50 years later I figured that I wouldn't find them interesting at all. I was pleased at how much I enjoyed reading this again after all these years. A lot of people complain about how dated it seems but this book was written in the 1930s and it just reminded me of the old movies on TCM.

It's a very easy read and great for kids who.are beginning to read chapter books. The chapters are really cute and the one about the circus is especially so.

I laughed out loud at the scene when Bestsy asks her father what role her mother would play in the circus and he said that her mother would "love to be the fat lady!!

One chapter I didn't like was Ch 8 called "How Betsy Went To Pick Violets And Got Into Trouble". Betsy was such a brat through the whole thing to the point that I wanted to smack her but of course the chapter wraps up nicely.

I read this book in one day and although I loved looking at the nostalgic drawings, I wish they would have kept the nostalgic cover as well instead of changing it to a more modern one.

Don't expect a lot from this book and you probably like too!

Until I saw this on the shelf at Goodwill, I had completely forgotten about this book. I LOVED IT as a child and read all the Carolyn Haywood books! What fun to revisit Betsy and Ellen and Billy and Thumpy.

For years I couldn't remember what I enjoyed as an emerging reader. Sure, my dad read Dr. Seuss to me, and then I read them to myself, over and over again. (I still remember excitedly opening Yertle the Turtle to find out how the multi-syllabic belch my dad had perfected was spelled.) My next reading memory is my third grade teacher reading to us every day after lunch which led to devouring the Borrowers and Little House books and Phyllis A. Whitney and eventually Rumer Godden and the Readers Digest Condensed Books. But what about 1st and 2nd grades, when I became that fluent and avid reader? I'm hoping rediscovering Betsy will help me find some other old friends.

Haywood's Betsy books were all tattered copies in my local library, and I checked them out time and time again. Haywood did her own illustrations for the books (don't let the garish modern covers dissuade you) and later re-printings have preserved them. These stories are simple, yet very fun to read, Betsy has a charmed, easy life, with lots of wish fulfillment, but she manages to be a kind little girl rather than being spoiled. She is generous and friendly and learns to encounter her fears.

One chapter in which the children play "Indians" is, for once, not the worst thing in the world. A little boy expresses his wish to "be an Indian"* when he grows up. Betty Jane corrects him, by saying, "You can't be an Indian, because your mother and your daddy are not Indians." Look at that, a sophisticated understanding of ethnic heritage from a first grader. Also, when did "Mother" become "Mom/my" and "Father" become "Dad/dy?" My mother and her siblings (born in the 1950s) said Mother and Daddy like the children do here. I knew a few kids who said Mommy and Daddy into elementary school when I was growing up, but most people I knew (including my brother and me) eschewed the "ee" sound, favoring Mom and Dad. (No one said Mother or Father.) Now I hear Mama all the time, but its equivalent Papa is the name for grandfather in many families I know. Some are returning to non-English names for grandparents, like Opa and Bibi, rather than the dreaded first word babbled in the direction of the grandparent by the oldest grandchild, which is then inflicted on all the other grandchildren, world without end, amen. Did those names enter their languages from baby babble, too? Wait...how did we end up here again?

Anyway, the Betsy books are just as light and cute as I remembered them being. Betsy's experience being afraid of school is memorable, as is the material culture of the 1930s that she enjoys. I find it interesting that Haywood illustrated the books with a strong 1930s feel, rather than placing them in her childhood. I hope to keep revisiting this series at my leisure, but am invested in re-reading a few too many children's book series to make a project of it at the moment. I want to say I remember Haywood aging the fashion along with the times as she kept publishing, but I can't recall for sure. The 1930s are my favorite decade for fashion and home décor, and it's so fun to see it portrayed here.

*I think the class exercise is intending to teach about the Pueblo settlements in Mesa Verde: "'First we have to make the big rock,' said Billy. 'Yes,' said Mary Lou, 'because the Indians cut the caves out of the rock.'" (42)

Who knows school was once a fun place to go.

Read aloud with kids 54

I love all these books!

Loved this one as a child - it was so much fun sharing it with my daughters :)

I remember loving the Betsy series when I was young -- one of the first series of chapter books I read all by myself. I was curious to read her books again, as an adult. This book is sweet, and contains funny parts that my children laughed at, as we read it together. We also talked a lot about how different the world is, compared to Betsy's era.

A little girl’s first year at school turns out better than she expected when she makes friends and enjoys learning.
ATOS: 4.3
Lex: 610L
Trait: Ideas

Betsy has simple, classic adventures in her home and at school, great for quiet reading before bedtime. I particularly enjoyed how each chapter resolves, which would make it a great read-aloud.

Read with LW.

A great little book for 1st and 2nd graders, maybe even Kindergarteners who can read...I remember reading "The Mixed-up Twins" by Carolyn Haywood over and over when I was 5-8 years old. Too bad I didn't know about her other books! I would definitely put the Betsy series of books on a must-read list for the very young.