tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post5294702936940482229..comments2024-01-10T17:38:08.333-05:00Comments on Elizabeth Burns: Betsy Tacy Books, 1 - 4Liz Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16671844475303001610noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-62198903169207356812009-08-11T06:05:24.887-04:002009-08-11T06:05:24.887-04:00I'd love some help! I'm hosting a book clu...I'd love some help! I'm hosting a book club for my 4th grade daughter and her friends in 2 days on the first book, Besty-Tacy. I have some ideas, but would LOVE to hear any of yours about how to go about it. Discussion questions, treats served (bologna, tea unfrosted cake chunks anyone?). Thank you.Dawnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-49713128476196267332009-08-07T22:35:53.785-04:002009-08-07T22:35:53.785-04:00I've loved these since I was a little girl, an...I've loved these since I was a little girl, and now I am a children's librarian and you BET I recommend these. <br /><br />And my daughter is Elizabeth, named for her birth mother, Lizz, and me,Beth, her adoptive mother....and called Betsy so she has her own name. My Betsy loves nothing better than all the 'Betsy' books Mommy has....these, and the Caroline Haywood "B is for Betsy", and Dorothy Canfield Fisher's "Understood Betsy." Foreshadowing, I guess....I'd kept them all my life, and waited twenty years for this child.<br /><br />Can't wait to add new copies to our collection at work....and at home. :)Bethhttp://www.xanga.com/GracieBCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-13168267292617672942009-08-07T10:02:46.987-04:002009-08-07T10:02:46.987-04:00I love these books more than any others ever anyti...I love these books more than any others ever anytime, and I read books for a living.<br />Kathleen BaxterUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10803671204299959847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-77431820297572749102009-08-07T07:34:52.046-04:002009-08-07T07:34:52.046-04:00That's it! I'm rereading them. I'm try...That's it! I'm rereading them. I'm trying to recruit some young kiddos to join me in the fun... we'll see if I can convince them!Carmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08513120694616841370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-80371322603542408212009-08-06T16:41:11.055-04:002009-08-06T16:41:11.055-04:00I am loving these books! I am on Betsy & Joe, ...I am loving these books! I am on Betsy & Joe, and adore Betsy's gradual growth, how MHL lets her have flaws, and it's just a slow, realistic path to maturity through the ups and downs of teenagerhood, in a loving & supportive family & environment. The parents are great, and I'm amazed at times how "modern" they are; how often Mrs Ray takes Betsy's side against the teachers, for example, and the support for their daughter's education.<br /><br />Wendy, I like how Betsy sees the world at age appropriate at all times; for example, it's not till Cab has to drop out of school and go to work that it hits her how fortunate she is and how others arent, even tho she's known about Joe working his way thru school for years. <br /><br />I just got a bio of Maud Hart Lovelace out of the library and am having so much fun looking at the photographs.<br /><br />And I am so jealous that I read these after the convention so didn't go; but, on the other hand, reading about the convention is what got me to finally start reading these books.Liz Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16671844475303001610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-88803356539278623052009-08-06T12:27:32.395-04:002009-08-06T12:27:32.395-04:00Betsy, Tacy and Tib were my best friend when I was...Betsy, Tacy and Tib were my best friend when I was a child in the 1940's. The Ray Family was my second family. I've read the books to my children and grandchildren, and my great-granddaughter received Betsy-Tacy as a fifth birthday present. You have to continue on into the high school books and beyond. They're wonderful!Sheilanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-70712635036606991062009-08-06T11:31:14.489-04:002009-08-06T11:31:14.489-04:00I'm so glad you found these books, Liz -- it&#...I'm so glad you found these books, Liz -- it's never too late! <br /><br />One of the things I love about the books is that, especially for these first four, the books "grow" along with the likely audience. BT and BTT are written with episodic chapters and fairly simple sentence structure, fitting for a younger audience. As BTT approach 10 and then 12, in Big Hill and Downtown, the books change to more of a full-novel approach, where each chapter isn't really stand-alone. The vocab and storytelling become a little more complex, too, as is appropriate.<br /><br />I do hope that you will continue with the high school books and beyond. They're wonderful! They still have the expected touch of "datedness," which is to be expected, but the books are delightful. Maud Hart Lovelace continues to paint a portrait of a loving, supportive family and a group of terrific friends, but *without* painting a picture that is so rosy it becomes eye-rolling. Betsy Was a Junior, for instance, contains enough miserableness (directed by Betsy towards self, primarily) that it can be a little tough to get through until you realize how much Betsy learns by the end.<br /><br />SusanUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03481484214281212679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-51615057805169597162009-08-06T11:20:47.782-04:002009-08-06T11:20:47.782-04:00I've had wonderful feedback from all the littl...I've had wonderful feedback from all the little girls I've given these books to! My favorite story: I gave them to a friends' daughter when she was 7, and didn't see her again until she was 13. She and her dad were in town and we met for supper. She was having trouble placing me before we met, but when we did, her eyes grew huge, and she said, "Oh! You're the one who gave me the Betsy-Tacy books!" Wonderful, eh? And she's a very sophisticated child. She's not "too old" or "too jaded" for the books, and she lives in LA, the daughter of journalists and intellectuals!eirweneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17597044148890649069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-21080073879823003352009-08-06T11:17:44.081-04:002009-08-06T11:17:44.081-04:00I almost envy you finding these for the first time...I almost envy you finding these for the first time.<br /><br />The author is very careful to treat Naifi and the Syrians as different but still Americans. Big contrast with the Little House books, which treat Indians as inhuman.<br /><br />Betsy's life is treated in a rosy yet realistic way, which is probably why so many young readers love the books so much.Jessicanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-92141016909522045532009-08-06T11:15:28.863-04:002009-08-06T11:15:28.863-04:00Ohhh! If you had found these wonderful books a fe...Ohhh! If you had found these wonderful books a few months ago you could have joined us in Deep Valley (Mankato, MN) last month for an awesome convention. The over 200 attendees are still basking in the joy of talking and walking Betsy for a long weekend with others who "get it". Make sure you read Emily of Deep Valley, too. Maud's best Deep Valley book imho.Jannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-52461334710687114302009-08-06T11:10:04.893-04:002009-08-06T11:10:04.893-04:00Like Paige, the Betsy-Tacy books are also my comfo...Like Paige, the Betsy-Tacy books are also my comfort reading when ever I'm feeling blue. And they get better and better as you go through the series. I'm envious that you have the high school books still ahead of you to read --plus the Great World and Betsy's Wedding!<br /><br />For those who don't know, the last six in the series are being reissued in three 2-book volumes on 9/29, with original cover art by Vera Neville (who illustrated the older books in the series), you can see the new covers here: http://www.betsy-tacysociety.org/events.phpBook Club Girlhttp://www.bookclubgirl.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-21020782028872374522009-08-06T10:33:55.447-04:002009-08-06T10:33:55.447-04:00I'm also discovering Betsy-Tacy for the first ...I'm also discovering Betsy-Tacy for the first time, and they're quite adorable!Melissa Rabeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14022943945947170586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-53723203009512456622009-08-06T10:19:46.448-04:002009-08-06T10:19:46.448-04:00Oh, I meant to say--sometimes we have trouble when...Oh, I meant to say--sometimes we have trouble when we recommend these books to parents, specifically because they don't think their kids can handle Bee's death and they don't think it belongs in a children's book. I disagree, of course, for several reasons, but I think that goes to show that at least for some parents, BT is TOO gritty--I think books written for this age level today are more likely to be less upfront about tragedy, not more.Wendyhttp://sixboxesofbooks.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-20102162460974737642009-08-06T10:15:45.542-04:002009-08-06T10:15:45.542-04:00I'm intrigued by the parallel you draw between...I'm intrigued by the parallel you draw between baby Bee's death and Margaret's birth--I can't remember seeing anyone put it quite that way before, though I wouldn't say Betsy's grief over losing her youngest status is greater than Tacy's over losing her sister; Betsy's grief is immediate and short-lived, while we only see Tacy several days after Bee's death, and she's still grieving acutely.<br /><br />I'm sort of puzzled about why you wonder whether MHL's childhood was as "perfect" as this when (as you mention) there are lots of real problems--there's also Tacy almost dying, and poor Mrs. Poppy, and the conflicts between the children, and the kids getting in trouble fairly often.Wendyhttp://sixboxesofbooks.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-36889230657429558062009-08-06T10:07:30.573-04:002009-08-06T10:07:30.573-04:00I really love those books; they make me happy. Gla...I really love those books; they make me happy. Glad to hear you're finally reading them!The Floating Lushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15249102790688528853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-39388153557407771622009-08-06T08:27:25.976-04:002009-08-06T08:27:25.976-04:00Oh, I adore these books! I discovered them as an a...Oh, I adore these books! I discovered them as an adult but they immediately became all-time favorites. I even made a pilgramage to Mankato (the inspiration for Deep Valley). And I think that if I had to live with any fictional family, it would be the Rays. I love Betsy's strengths and flaws, and how she is both "girly" but also strong and determined. <br /><br />I can't wait to hear what you think of the later books! HEAVEN TO BETSY and BETSY AND THE GREAT WORLD are my favorites of the series.Deva Faganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18258363660299633982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-57457888134525525482009-08-06T08:26:08.777-04:002009-08-06T08:26:08.777-04:00My Goodness do I love these books! When I'm d...My Goodness do I love these books! When I'm down, having a bad week, I have certain "happy books" I turn to and the Betsy-Tacy books are high on my list. I love the way Lovelace doesn't hesitate to bring in real problems, but she still manages to maintain a joyful tone to the novels.Paige Y.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09823929357425078374noreply@blogger.com