Betsy-Tacy (Betsy-Tacy Books) [Paperback]

Maud Hart Lovelace (Author), Lois Lenski (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: August 14, 2007 | Age Range: 8 and up | Series: Betsy-Tacy Books | Lexile Measure: 650L (What's this?)

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I read every one of these Betsy-Tacy-Tib books twice. I loved them as a child, as a young adult, and now, reading them with my daughter, as a mother. What a wonderful world it was!" -- Bette Midler, actor and singer

About the Author

Maud Hart Lovelace (1892-1980) based her Betsy-Tacy series on her own childhood. Her series still boasts legions of fans, many of whom are members of the Betsy-Tacy Society, a national organization based in Mankato, Minnesota.

In addition to illustrating the first four Betsy-Tacy books, Lois Lenski (1893-1974) was the 1946 Newberry Medal winning author of Strawberry Girl.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; Reissue edition (August 14, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064400964
• ISBN-13: 978-0064400961
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,845 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 48 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT BOOK! {:-) August 12, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

For my 8th birthday my Mom and Dad gave me the Betsy-Tacy Treasury which contained this book and Betsy-Tacy and Tib, Betsy and Tacy Go Over Big Hill, and Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown. I have just finished the whole thing and now I am 11. I have read it many others times and I find it amazing that I still appciate it at age 11. Whenever we go to the libary I look for smaller printed books but even though this has fairly large print I think it is a wonderful book. I found it when I was in organizing my family's books and started to read it and couldn't put it down. I loved this book and if you do you should read the rest of the Betsy-Tacy book series.

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a classic March 14, 2001

By Lalalalaura

Format:Paperback

This book begins with a little girl's fifth-birthday party; in my family it has become a tradition to give it to any little girl for her fifth birthday, and it's always wonderful to do so, because you feel you're sharing something really special.

Betsy and Tacy are imaginative and adventuresome and wholly appealing. Though the setting is far removed in time (far, at least for a small child), the characters and situations remain appealing and true, particularly the relationships between younger and older sisters.

This is just an ideal book to read to a child too young to read it -- the series grows with the person, so that after a few years the child can read on her own, and Betsy and Tacy can keep her company all the way through high school.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful Book December 27, 2005

By drebbles TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Betsy-Tacy is the first book in the delightful series by Maud Hart Lovelace. Five-year-old Betsy longs for a best friend and finds one when Tacy moves in across the street. Together they have many adventures, including going on picnics, selling sand, playing with paper dolls, going "calling" on neighbors, climbing The Big Hill, and going to school for the first time.

The Betsy-Tacy books were partially autobiographical and Lovelace perfectly captures the innocence and magic of childhood. Betsy's imaginative stories, such as riding a feather, are delightful. Even though they are children, Betsy and Tacy's lives are, as in real life, not always happy. The death of Tacy's baby sister, left tears in my eyes yet joy at the innocence of youth as Betsy and Tacy leave an Easter Egg in a tree with the belief that a bird will carry it up to Heaven and give it to Tacy's sister.

I loved these books as a child and I'm happy to say I still love them as an adult. This is a great book for young and old.