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Betsy-Tacy #2
Betsy-Tacy and Tib
Three of a Kind
Betsy and Tacy are best friends. Then Tib moves into the neighborhood and the three of them start to play together. The grown-ups think they will quarrel, but they don't. Sometimes they quarrel with Betsy's and Tacy's bossy big sisters, but they never quarrel among themselves.
They are not as good as they might be. They cook up awful messes in the kitchen, throw mud on each other and pretend to be beggars, and cut off each other's hair. But Betsy, Tacy, and Tib always manage to have a good time.
Ever since their first publication in the 1940s, the Betsy-Tacy stories have been loved by each generation of young readers.
129 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1941
About the author
Maud Hart Lovelace
47 books691 followersMaud Hart Lovelace was born on April 25, 1892, in Mankato, Minnesota. She was the middle of three children born to Thomas and Stella (Palmer) Hart. Her sister, Kathleen, was three years older, and her other sister, Helen, was six years younger. “That dear family" was the model for the fictional Ray family.
Maud’s birthplace was a small house on a hilly residential street several blocks above Mankato’s center business district. The street, Center Street, dead-ended at one of the town’s many hills. When Maud was a few months old, the Hart family moved two blocks up the street to 333 Center.
Shortly before Maud’s fifth birthday a “large merry Irish family" moved into the house directly across the street. Among its many children was a girl Maud’s age, Frances, nicknamed Bick, who was to be Maud’s best friend and the model for Tacy Kelly.
Tib’s character was based on another playmate, Marjorie (Midge) Gerlach, who lived nearby in a large house designed by her architect father. Maud, Bick, and Midge became lifelong friends. Maud once stated that the three couldn’t have been closer if they’d been sisters.
Maud’s birthplace was a small house on a hilly residential street several blocks above Mankato’s center business district. The street, Center Street, dead-ended at one of the town’s many hills. When Maud was a few months old, the Hart family moved two blocks up the street to 333 Center.
Shortly before Maud’s fifth birthday a “large merry Irish family" moved into the house directly across the street. Among its many children was a girl Maud’s age, Frances, nicknamed Bick, who was to be Maud’s best friend and the model for Tacy Kelly.
Tib’s character was based on another playmate, Marjorie (Midge) Gerlach, who lived nearby in a large house designed by her architect father. Maud, Bick, and Midge became lifelong friends. Maud once stated that the three couldn’t have been closer if they’d been sisters.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 417 reviews
May 12, 2018
Ah, the good old days back when children played outside, used their imagination, and were rarely bored! No TV, iPads or tablets, video games, or computers. What bliss!
If I had children, I'd want them to have a childhood just like this - only I'd rather they not attempt to learn to fly from the rooftop, or give each other haircuts, or mix everything in my kitchen to make an "Everything Pudding". But I do hope they have just as much fun as Betsy and Tacy and Tib, and prove to be just as adorable.
Betsy with her overflowing imagination, her ability to create entrancing stories effortlessly, and her "ideas" to divert herself and her friends. Tacy with her sweet temper and easy compliance and lovely red ringlets. Tib with her doll-like appearance and her good-sense and practicality. Julia and Katie the big bossy older sisters, who can be nice on occasions. Margaret and Hobbie the adorable babies who are too young to understand, and all the mothers and fathers who are too old to understand. This book is priceless.
It's cute and lovely and peaceful and summery; guaranteed to amuse you if you're grownup, and delight you if you're young. I hope my children will grow up reading good books like this.
Classical children's books are absolutely wonderful, and even though I didn't really grow up reading them, it's never too late and I take endless pleasure in discovering them now.
Betsy-Tacy and Tib is a short, sweet little chapter book set at the turn of the 20th century in Minnesota, and features the three title characters and their fun antics as they meet up to play and follow where their eight-year-old minds take them. It's soothingly lovely and wonderfully diverting. Wholeheartedly recommended.
If I had children, I'd want them to have a childhood just like this - only I'd rather they not attempt to learn to fly from the rooftop, or give each other haircuts, or mix everything in my kitchen to make an "Everything Pudding". But I do hope they have just as much fun as Betsy and Tacy and Tib, and prove to be just as adorable.
Betsy with her overflowing imagination, her ability to create entrancing stories effortlessly, and her "ideas" to divert herself and her friends. Tacy with her sweet temper and easy compliance and lovely red ringlets. Tib with her doll-like appearance and her good-sense and practicality. Julia and Katie the big bossy older sisters, who can be nice on occasions. Margaret and Hobbie the adorable babies who are too young to understand, and all the mothers and fathers who are too old to understand. This book is priceless.
It's cute and lovely and peaceful and summery; guaranteed to amuse you if you're grownup, and delight you if you're young. I hope my children will grow up reading good books like this.
Classical children's books are absolutely wonderful, and even though I didn't really grow up reading them, it's never too late and I take endless pleasure in discovering them now.
Betsy-Tacy and Tib is a short, sweet little chapter book set at the turn of the 20th century in Minnesota, and features the three title characters and their fun antics as they meet up to play and follow where their eight-year-old minds take them. It's soothingly lovely and wonderfully diverting. Wholeheartedly recommended.
January 7, 2019
Betsy and Tacy were born 100 years before me and yet I can see my own free-sprited and imagination rich childhood in their capers. It’s so sweet and so nostalgic and I’m only sad that I didn’t know them when I was still a little girl.
June 10, 2008
This book shows such an idyllic childhood, even in an era before vaccination was available for diphtheria. While my childhood experiences were significantly different, there was much familiar here. Maud Hart Lovelace really remember what it feels like to be a child.
I particularly enjoyed the story of the three haircuts. The Everything Pudding story was fun as well.
For adults who have missed this book, even if you grew up many years after Maud Hart Lovelace’s time, you’ll feel a sense of nostalgia, and any warm memories of childhood that you have are likely to be recalled.
I read the original hardcover edition of Betsy-Tacy which was fun to do, but I actually really appreciated getting a later paperback edition of Betsy-Tacy and Tib mostly because of the included author’s biographical information and photos.
I particularly enjoyed the story of the three haircuts. The Everything Pudding story was fun as well.
For adults who have missed this book, even if you grew up many years after Maud Hart Lovelace’s time, you’ll feel a sense of nostalgia, and any warm memories of childhood that you have are likely to be recalled.
I read the original hardcover edition of Betsy-Tacy which was fun to do, but I actually really appreciated getting a later paperback edition of Betsy-Tacy and Tib mostly because of the included author’s biographical information and photos.
December 11, 2019
A worthy follow-up to
Betsy~Tacy
, Maud Hart Lovelace's first book about two (eventually three) young girls growing up in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Minnesota, Betsy-Tacy and Tib is a humorous and heartwarming celebration of childhood friendship, and only increased my appreciation of the characters, the author, and the series.
Picking up roughly two years after the first title, when Betsy Ray, Tacy Kelly and Tib Muller are eight years old, it follows the three best friends through many hilarious adventures. From the dubious culinary achievement of the "Everything Pudding," to the (inevitably) disastrous consequences of making hair lockets to remember each other by, the episodes chronicled here are guaranteed to win a smile and a chuckle from all but the most hardened reader.
As is only fitting in a novel truly meant for children, adults are a continuous a source of mystery and confusion. Often angry at the unexpected thing, as when the girls' parents are horrified that they have gone "begging" at Mrs. Ekstrom's, rather than the fact that they have muddied their dresses; they are sometimes surprisingly sensitive to the feelings of young people, as when Mr. Muller turns the disassembly of the play-house in the Muller basement into a game.
Lovelace's simple narrative, together with Lois Lenski's charming illustrations, is practically a pean to the happy days of childhood, although more serious subjects occasionally find their way into the story. I was particularly struck, while reading Betsy-Tacy and Tib, by the fact that the three friends are all of different ethnic and religious backgrounds - a reality highlighted in the chapter where they discuss God and "being good." I appreciated the ecumenical aspect of the story, and found myself wondering whether Lovelace, who originally saw these books published in the early 1940s, during the Second World War, made a deliberate choice to be inclusive, or whether it happened naturally.
Addendum: Some time ago, my friend Constance commented on my review of The Princess Bride , and mentioned that to be a "literal Libby" in her family was to be "just like Tib." You'll understand when you read the Betsy-Tacy books, she told me... And yes - now I do!
Picking up roughly two years after the first title, when Betsy Ray, Tacy Kelly and Tib Muller are eight years old, it follows the three best friends through many hilarious adventures. From the dubious culinary achievement of the "Everything Pudding," to the (inevitably) disastrous consequences of making hair lockets to remember each other by, the episodes chronicled here are guaranteed to win a smile and a chuckle from all but the most hardened reader.
As is only fitting in a novel truly meant for children, adults are a continuous a source of mystery and confusion. Often angry at the unexpected thing, as when the girls' parents are horrified that they have gone "begging" at Mrs. Ekstrom's, rather than the fact that they have muddied their dresses; they are sometimes surprisingly sensitive to the feelings of young people, as when Mr. Muller turns the disassembly of the play-house in the Muller basement into a game.
Lovelace's simple narrative, together with Lois Lenski's charming illustrations, is practically a pean to the happy days of childhood, although more serious subjects occasionally find their way into the story. I was particularly struck, while reading Betsy-Tacy and Tib, by the fact that the three friends are all of different ethnic and religious backgrounds - a reality highlighted in the chapter where they discuss God and "being good." I appreciated the ecumenical aspect of the story, and found myself wondering whether Lovelace, who originally saw these books published in the early 1940s, during the Second World War, made a deliberate choice to be inclusive, or whether it happened naturally.
Addendum: Some time ago, my friend Constance commented on my review of The Princess Bride , and mentioned that to be a "literal Libby" in her family was to be "just like Tib." You'll understand when you read the Betsy-Tacy books, she told me... And yes - now I do!
December 8, 2015
This is the second book in the Betsy Tacy series, and the girls, led by Betsy, continue their adventures in their small town neighborhood. They are basically good little girls, but when you get three good little girls together there is bound to be some mischief. These timeless stories written 75 years ago are still a pleasure to read today.
November 4, 2022
Like Ann M. Martin wrote in Foreword: These were small stories, things that could happen to anyone, but when Maud Hart Lovelace told small stories she made them seem big. And, I eventually realized, the small stories were stories that could happen at any time.
Some stories, the adventures of the girls had something to teach, some were funnier. All of them made me smile and long for their world.
I loved the most: "Learning to Fly", "The Flying Lady" and "Being Good". They were 5-stars worth. The other seven were around 4-stars rate.
Please, please girls - don't rush to be grown-up.
Some stories, the adventures of the girls had something to teach, some were funnier. All of them made me smile and long for their world.
"We had all the fun," said Tacy. "We always do."
I loved the most: "Learning to Fly", "The Flying Lady" and "Being Good". They were 5-stars worth. The other seven were around 4-stars rate.
"That's what I'd like to be ... ten. You have two numbers in your age when you are ten. It's the beginning of growing up, to get two numbers in your age."
Please, please girls - don't rush to be grown-up.
September 11, 2014
Oh, Tib. She makes me laugh. I don't even know how many times some variation on the lines, "Tib was always saying things like that, but they liked her just the same," are used. This one and the first one are very similar as they almost feel like short story collections.
June 27, 2022
Just delightful. I'm starting to feel glad I never read this series when I was a little girl, since now I have them to enjoy as an adult. Life is a lot harder and more complicated now, after all, and finding cozy, comforting stories to take my mind off that fact is a rare treat. On to book #3!
Read
March 27, 2017This is a charming little book about three best friends in the early 1900's.
June 15, 2021
My daughter loved this one. I thoroughly enjoyed it as well. Her favorite chapter was when they made the "Everything pudding". I liked the wholesomeness of the book.
Read
April 27, 2023Since I wasn't feeling very good, easy reading is the best. This was another delightful, sweet, wholesome story.
Content notes: The girls make a club to be good, but they end up liking their invented punishment so much that they end up finding excuses for being bad. They seem to learn their lesson that it doesn't work.
Content notes: The girls make a club to be good, but they end up liking their invented punishment so much that they end up finding excuses for being bad. They seem to learn their lesson that it doesn't work.
May 7, 2020
It was funny when they found their sister's hideout. I also can't believe they cut each other's hair!
July 20, 2019
Fun read! Age appropriate for 7-12 yr old girls. Classic stories and scrapes these girls get into! My favorites are them cutting their hair and acting like beggars!☺️
May 30, 2011
"Betsy loved to think up things to do, and Tacy and Tib loved to do them."
This book was my introduction to the Betsy-Tacy series and I will always be grateful to my sister for introducing it to me. I especially like this one because the girls are so naughty in it. I never made Everything Pudding, but I did play Mirror Palace.
Update: It's always fun to discuss this one with the VSC, because we always laugh so much. It's impossible for me to to choose my favorite of The Tomes, but I agree with our discussion leader who suggested that BTT is the funniest one in the series.
Last read: 1-12-09
This book was my introduction to the Betsy-Tacy series and I will always be grateful to my sister for introducing it to me. I especially like this one because the girls are so naughty in it. I never made Everything Pudding, but I did play Mirror Palace.
Update: It's always fun to discuss this one with the VSC, because we always laugh so much. It's impossible for me to to choose my favorite of The Tomes, but I agree with our discussion leader who suggested that BTT is the funniest one in the series.
Last read: 1-12-09
March 22, 2022
I'm slowly working my way through this series and am enjoying the adventures and simple pleasures of these three friends who lived at the turn of the 20th Century. Betsy and Tacy are the dreamers and Tibs is the practical one who goes along with their shenanigans because she loves them.
In this book they quarrel horribly with their siblings and learn about forgiveness.
This is a sweet series that would be a great read-aloud for young girls.
In this book they quarrel horribly with their siblings and learn about forgiveness.
This is a sweet series that would be a great read-aloud for young girls.
May 16, 2020
I really enjoy the fun reading style and lightheartedness of the stories! My favorite parts were when the girls tried learning to fly and when they made Everything Pudding!! Such great little books!
August 27, 2017
Now they are 8! Not as poignant as the first, but still a good read.
October 9, 2021
Like the grown-ups in the book I was a bit worried that Tib's arrival would mess with the Betsy-Tacy magic, but it definitely didn't!
January 27, 2024
MHL does such an excellent job of capturing the thoughts and ideas of children. I love seeing the girls have more defined personalities in this book and this one had some really memorable stories!
Read
February 20, 2024So charming and brings back my own childhood memories of pretend adventures!
January 5, 2019
Just as sweet as the first book! The Everything Pudding had to be my favorite bit- so funny!! Simple writing with chapters of adventures with these young girls.
October 23, 2024
I can't seem to put these books down! They bring me such joy! Such delight! I think everyone of every age should read these.
April 13, 2022
Another fun and enjoyable book. A couple chapters in this one had me both gasping in horror and laughing out loud—and at least one was all too relatable. 😗
August 7, 2021
This was as much fun read with my daughter as first book. Now there is a new girl Tib and they all are 8 years old. What a cozy read and amazing illustrations. Love it.
December 31, 2019
“I wouldn’t like to be playing the piano today,” said Betsy.
“Neither would I,” said Tacy.
“Neither would I,” said Tib. “Of course,” she added, “we don’t know how.”
Neither Betsy nor Tacy would have pointed that out. Tib was always pointing such things out. But Betsy and Tacy liked her just the same.
I found this second book in the Betsy-Tacy series to be slightly less humorous than the first book but more nuanced. I love the way the author has subtly woven in some sweet life lessons, without any sermonizing…life lessons about embracing other cultures, religious tolerance, and just a hint of Edwardian-style feminism.
Embracing other cultures.
Betsy’s family is as American as apple pie, Tacy’s family has emigrated from Ireland, and Tib’s family has emigrated from Germany. Betsy is the one who constantly comes up with new, imaginative, nothing-is-impossible plans and schemes and games. Tacy instantly supports Betsy in anything that she comes up with, adding her own creative ideas to further the plan. And Tib never fails to point out the details which Betsy and Tacy neglected to factor in, all of which could ultimately affect the outcome of the plan. The three best friends love each other because of their differences, not in spite of their differences. Just beautiful.
Religious tolerance.
It was strange that Betsy and Tacy and Tib ever did things which grown-ups thought were naughty, for they tried so hard to be good. They were very religious. Betsy was a Baptist, and Tacy was a Catholic, and Tib was an Episcopalian. They loved to sit on Tacy’s back fence and talk about God. Tacy’s back fence was a very good place for such talk. There wasn’t a soul around to listen except the cow, and sometimes the horse, munching and stamping behind them. And above the crowding treetops there was a fine view of sky, the place where God lived.
A hint of Edwardian-style feminism.
“That’s a good little house,” [Tib’s father] said, patting Freddie on the shoulder. “Freddie, when he grows up, shall be an architect like Papa.”
“What about me, Papa? Will I be an architect too?” asked Tib.
“Nein, you will be a little housewife,” said her father.
Betsy and Tacy thought that was strange, for Tib had done as much as Freddie toward building the house. But it didn’t matter much, for in their hearts they were sure that Tib was going to be a dancer.
Tib’s father is not unkind; it’s just that he understands how the world works, and the children do not. This passage hints at a future day when a girl could grow up to become a dancer or an architect or a housewife or whatever she wants to become.
I am loving this series!!!
“Neither would I,” said Tacy.
“Neither would I,” said Tib. “Of course,” she added, “we don’t know how.”
Neither Betsy nor Tacy would have pointed that out. Tib was always pointing such things out. But Betsy and Tacy liked her just the same.
I found this second book in the Betsy-Tacy series to be slightly less humorous than the first book but more nuanced. I love the way the author has subtly woven in some sweet life lessons, without any sermonizing…life lessons about embracing other cultures, religious tolerance, and just a hint of Edwardian-style feminism.
Embracing other cultures.
Betsy’s family is as American as apple pie, Tacy’s family has emigrated from Ireland, and Tib’s family has emigrated from Germany. Betsy is the one who constantly comes up with new, imaginative, nothing-is-impossible plans and schemes and games. Tacy instantly supports Betsy in anything that she comes up with, adding her own creative ideas to further the plan. And Tib never fails to point out the details which Betsy and Tacy neglected to factor in, all of which could ultimately affect the outcome of the plan. The three best friends love each other because of their differences, not in spite of their differences. Just beautiful.
Religious tolerance.
It was strange that Betsy and Tacy and Tib ever did things which grown-ups thought were naughty, for they tried so hard to be good. They were very religious. Betsy was a Baptist, and Tacy was a Catholic, and Tib was an Episcopalian. They loved to sit on Tacy’s back fence and talk about God. Tacy’s back fence was a very good place for such talk. There wasn’t a soul around to listen except the cow, and sometimes the horse, munching and stamping behind them. And above the crowding treetops there was a fine view of sky, the place where God lived.
A hint of Edwardian-style feminism.
“That’s a good little house,” [Tib’s father] said, patting Freddie on the shoulder. “Freddie, when he grows up, shall be an architect like Papa.”
“What about me, Papa? Will I be an architect too?” asked Tib.
“Nein, you will be a little housewife,” said her father.
Betsy and Tacy thought that was strange, for Tib had done as much as Freddie toward building the house. But it didn’t matter much, for in their hearts they were sure that Tib was going to be a dancer.
Tib’s father is not unkind; it’s just that he understands how the world works, and the children do not. This passage hints at a future day when a girl could grow up to become a dancer or an architect or a housewife or whatever she wants to become.
I am loving this series!!!
September 11, 2012
9/2012 Stet
12/2007 Re-reading this book hardly counts as reading, since I know it like the back of my hand. The entire series is so well-written and just plain fun that revisiting it is a treat. Lovelace's essential voice is unchanged throughout the series, yet she writes in a tone designed to engage readers of the characters' ages especially. My favorite part of this book is where Tib's family's "hired girl" Matilda catches them at mischief:
'"The dining room looks all right now," Betsy added. "Doesn't it, Matilda?"
Matilda looked at the tidy dining room. She swept it with a stony glance.
"I hear," she said meaningly, "that Mrs. Ray's kitchen looked nice too after you kept house for her one day."
And she stalked back into the kitchen.'
One thing I noticed this time through is that in the books, the Big Hill is described as ascending past Betsy's back yard, but when I was in Mankato it went up past Tacy's. Is this my imagination, fellow convention-goers?
12/2007 Re-reading this book hardly counts as reading, since I know it like the back of my hand. The entire series is so well-written and just plain fun that revisiting it is a treat. Lovelace's essential voice is unchanged throughout the series, yet she writes in a tone designed to engage readers of the characters' ages especially. My favorite part of this book is where Tib's family's "hired girl" Matilda catches them at mischief:
'"The dining room looks all right now," Betsy added. "Doesn't it, Matilda?"
Matilda looked at the tidy dining room. She swept it with a stony glance.
"I hear," she said meaningly, "that Mrs. Ray's kitchen looked nice too after you kept house for her one day."
And she stalked back into the kitchen.'
One thing I noticed this time through is that in the books, the Big Hill is described as ascending past Betsy's back yard, but when I was in Mankato it went up past Tacy's. Is this my imagination, fellow convention-goers?
April 16, 2020
I am going through the Betsy-Tacy books at the instance of a friend. First, I continue to love the pictures. Second, this second of the series goes beyond the "feelings" of childhood life so well described in the first book. It becomes far more complicated. I love the chapters on the The Christian Kindness Club. I think an old fashioned reader (like me) would enjoy how it represents St. Paul's discourse in the letter to the Romans how the law gives rise to sin. Just so for the girls. Otherwise, the girls are growing up (viz., the fascination with Aunt Dolly and the desire to have an age with two digits). Ms Lovelace is a mistress of her genre.
October 23, 2018
Ah...the good old days are all over these books and I think that's why I keep requesting the next one in the series. These three buddies are now 7-9 years old and I can relate to many of their childhood adventures (remember when we didn't have technology, played fort in the hay mow, created our own secret clubs and cut giant chunks out of our own hair??? GASP)
Great stories...each chapter is a charming little adventure/mishap and I will pick these up if I'm ever lucky enough to find them at book sales, etc.
Great stories...each chapter is a charming little adventure/mishap and I will pick these up if I'm ever lucky enough to find them at book sales, etc.
March 10, 2015
"Three can make the planets sing." This is the opening quote for this book, a book that then goes on to prove that three need not be a crowd. These three wee girls are priceless and they belong together. And the troubles that three can imagine is much more divine! I love all that Ms. Lovelace writes as she transports me back to a time and place where I love to visit. Oh! And I adore the fact that the cat is named Lady Jane Grey!
May 27, 2017
Hewan's review: "Infinity stars. That was the cutest thing ever! They are growing up too fast."
Another great collection of adventures in Deep Valley. I loved the addition of realistic, practice Tib. The only odd bit was a chapter about the girls trying to be good Christians, as they had some awkward beliefs about God that I had to explain away to my kid, but it actually turned out quite hilarious to see their plans of piety backfire. We love these girls and their lovely little world!
Another great collection of adventures in Deep Valley. I loved the addition of realistic, practice Tib. The only odd bit was a chapter about the girls trying to be good Christians, as they had some awkward beliefs about God that I had to explain away to my kid, but it actually turned out quite hilarious to see their plans of piety backfire. We love these girls and their lovely little world!
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