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Recently read: Maud Hart Lovelace edition
Nov. 7th, 2020 10:26 amI finished The Betsy-Tacy Treasury, a collection of the first four Betsy-Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace, published between 1940 and 1943 and inspired by the author's childhood in Monkato, Minnesota, at the turn of the 20th century. I picked it up to distract myself with some childhood-nostalgic comfort-reading, although it turned out to be surprisingly relevant to what I was trying to distract myself from— Tacy's family is quarantined for diphtheria in the second book, and Betsy, Tacy, and Tib embroil the neighborhood in a fiercely competitive election against their older sisters to be "the queen of summer" in the third. ("Of course," said Mr. Ray, "You must be good sports. You must all agree to abide by the result of the vote." lolsob)
One thing that struck me this time around is that the girls' hometown of Deep Valley (a thinly fictionalized Monkato) was more diverse than I'd remembered or expected— the local Syrian immigrant community plays a big role in the third book, Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill, and there's a passing reference to a deaf family in Betsy's neighborhood that taught the girls sign language. (It's not much, but not nothing, either!) Big Hill also feels very influenced by the fact it was published in 1942, what with its main messages being "xenophobia is bad!" and "America is the best!", so that was interesting on a meta level.
The fourth book, Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown, was always my favorite book in the series as a child, and is definitely still my favorite now. It's sort of cozily glamorous, with charming descriptions of the girls getting to see (and act in!) a Real Play at a Real Theater, have tea at a nice hotel, go window-shopping at a department store, and spend the whole day leisurely reading books at a library. I love Mrs. Poppy, the wealthy and lonely former actress who acts as Betsy's fairy godmother, and spunky Winona Root, who turns the Betsy-Tacy-Tib trio into a foursome.
Unfortunately, my library doesn't have the rest of the series - following Betsy & co. as high school students, and young adults - but it does have Emily of Deep Valley, a spin-off novel that I somehow never got around to reading before now.
One thing that struck me this time around is that the girls' hometown of Deep Valley (a thinly fictionalized Monkato) was more diverse than I'd remembered or expected— the local Syrian immigrant community plays a big role in the third book, Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill, and there's a passing reference to a deaf family in Betsy's neighborhood that taught the girls sign language. (It's not much, but not nothing, either!) Big Hill also feels very influenced by the fact it was published in 1942, what with its main messages being "xenophobia is bad!" and "America is the best!", so that was interesting on a meta level.
The fourth book, Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown, was always my favorite book in the series as a child, and is definitely still my favorite now. It's sort of cozily glamorous, with charming descriptions of the girls getting to see (and act in!) a Real Play at a Real Theater, have tea at a nice hotel, go window-shopping at a department store, and spend the whole day leisurely reading books at a library. I love Mrs. Poppy, the wealthy and lonely former actress who acts as Betsy's fairy godmother, and spunky Winona Root, who turns the Betsy-Tacy-Tib trio into a foursome.
Unfortunately, my library doesn't have the rest of the series - following Betsy & co. as high school students, and young adults - but it does have Emily of Deep Valley, a spin-off novel that I somehow never got around to reading before now.
