Betsy-Tacy

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Editorial reviews

Product Description
Best Friends Forever

There are lots of children on Hill Street, but no little girls Betsy's age. So when a new family moves into the house across the street, Betsy hopes they will have a little girl she can play with. Sure enough, they do--a little girl named Tacy. And from the moment they meet at Betsy's fifth birthday party, Betsy and Tacy becoms such good friends that everyone starts to think of them as one person--Betsy-Tacy.

Betsy and Tacy have lots of fun together. They make a playhouse from a piano box, have a sand store, and dress up and go calling. And one day, they come home to a wonderful surprise--a new friend named Tib.

Ever since their first publication in the 1940's, the Betsy-Tacy stories have been loved by each generation of young readers.

 

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Customer reviews

review by: Mother on the Brink date: 2008-11-14 rating:
Awesome series for young girls
A friend recently recommended this as a new series I could read with my six-year-old daughter. We had already read all of Little House on the Prairie, as well as some children's novels, including Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little.

We love these books. The main characters, Betsy and Tacy, are just about five years old when they meet, so my daughter instantly related to them. She loved hearing about how they liked to sit on their bench at the top of the hill, make up stories and get into mischief.

One interesting note: It's always hard to see the characters age from book to book. Although my daughter enjoyed the whole Little House on the Prairie series, she really preferred the books where Laura was young. Still, she remained attentive as Laura aged, partly because the books didn't dwell too much on the trials of adolescence, crushes on boys, etc. These issues came up, but they didn't dominate the books, which were more focused on survival issues, life on the prairie, encounters with Indians, etc.

Betsy-Tacy is slightly different. While it does give a good sense of life in a small town in the early 1900s, the primary focus is on the characters themselves. Right now we're on Book 4, Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown. In it, the characters are 12, so quite a bit older than my audience.

The other night, I almost choked when the characters began discussing whether or not Santa exists - in my household, Santa does exist. We haven't really questioned him yet. So I had to skip over the (otherwise endearing) passage. I was grateful that I was the one reading, because I'm not sure grandma would have picked on that had it been her turn to read.

Book 4 makes only a glancing mention of crushes on boys, which is fine, but it looks like Betsy-Tacy will get more and more wrapped up in boys in the next few books, and I don't think my six-year-old will relate. So I'm going to give this excellent series a break for awhile. For now, we're on to The Secret Garden and the Tale of Desperaux.

I highly recommend the Betsy-Tacy series, but your little one's interest may not keep up as the girls get older.

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review by: date: 2008-05-10 rating:
Betsy-Tacy's magical world
My daughter and I have LOVED sharing Betsy-Tacy as a read-aloud. The way that the author weaves the girls' fantasies right into the chapter is a perfect illustration of just how real imaginary play is to children (or at least used to be when kids were allowed to imagine). Beware, parents: Have a hankie on hand for the Easter Eggs chapter. I had tears running in rivulets down my cheeks. The only sad thing about Betsy-Tacy is that my daughter wishes that she had a kindred spirit of her own as they do. Highly recommended!

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review by: date: 2007-12-05 rating:
my favorite childhood series
I was introduced to Betsy and Tacy at 5 or 6 by my mom. She adored the series growing in the 50/60s. I grew up in the 70s/80s and fell in love with Betsy, Tacy and Tib. I have 3 daughters that now love these books also. If I had to name the best gift I ever received, I would name my Betsy books. I read the books at just the right time in my life. I would look forward to receiving my Besty/Tacy book at Christmas. When I had my 1st child, my mother gave me the final book in the series when Betsy also has a baby. I was overjoyed yet sad because I knew it was the end of the books.
These books were so important to me growing up that I still think of the characters often. They are wonderful classic stories of a simple time and true friendships.

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review by: poet and computer programmer date: 2007-08-11 rating:
Faithful audio rendition of a favorite book
B-T fans rejoice! Sutton Foster acquits herself well, and brings the characters and Maud's distinctive writerly voice alive in her reading of B-T.

Tired of reading the book over and over and over to your children? This audiobook can take over the chore. Or guarantee that you arrive at work in a good mood, by listening during your commute.

Don't hesitate, just get it before it goes out of print. Let's hope they issue more of the books on CD too.


review by: The Vixen of ALL the Books date: 2006-09-15 rating:
Wonderful series of books, however...
I was recently reminded of the Betsy-Tacy books I loved so much when I was a young girl. You can not imagine my horror at seeing the current editions' illustrations of the girls, though. Part of the original books' charm was the simple illustrations. Whoever decided to change them should be ashamed. Ashamed and fired. Seriously.

Contact me if you want to join a campaign to have the real drawings returned to future editions of these timeless classics so many of us loved so much.

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Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown (Betsy-Tacy)
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