Besty, Tacy, and Tib... Our New Friends.

I had heard about the Betsy Tacy books occasionally in my years homeschooling.  I was curious, but since our library doesn't have them, I didn't seek them out.  Then, a few weeks ago, I found the first four books at Family Christian Bookstore.  I bought all four for Megan to read.

However, she wanted me to read them to her.  After reading the first couple of pages and the Forwards written by Judy Blume and Ann M. Martin, I knew I wanted to share the experience with Megan.  She could easily read them on her own.  I debated having her do just that because we have an ever growing list of books I am reading to her anyway.  But in the end, I wanted to read them to her too much!

We are in the third book now.  The girls were five at the beginning of the first book.  In the current read they are ten.  I have already decided that I will purchase the books written after the first four that continue the journey of these precious characters.

Betsy and Tacy are neighbor girls that become friends when Tacy moves next door.  After a year, they meet Tib, who lives a short distance away.  The girls are always together, and the story of their friendship is so beautiful.  Though set in the early 1900s, these story of these girls and their friendship could ring true today.  They remind me of some of my friendships when I was young.

Each girl has a unique personality, and it cracks me up to see the mischief they find.  And yet, they never hurt anyone on purpose or backtalk their parents.  Before you think the girls are too sweet and not realistic, I have found the opposite to be true.  It is easy to get caught up in the story of these girls and their silly adventures.  Maud Hart Lovelace based the stories on her own childhood, and the realism comes through.  The books aren't dumbed down either or written in an overtly child-like manner.  The adventures of the girls are told as if they are telling them at the age they are in the story, but the story is engaging.  It doesn't feel like a children's book, or sound like a children's book.  It respects the reader.

I had never heard of these books until a few months ago.  As a child, I would have LOVED them, but I never saw them.  It is a shame, because these girls feel like friends.  I hope my nine year old daughter feels the same.  She begs for more than one chapter a night, and I have to remind her that we don't want to devour them; we want to savor them.

If you get the opportunity to read any of the Betsy Tacy series written by Maud Hart Lovelace, I totally recommend doing so!  You won't be sorry.