Review
Betsy and Tacy are five year old girls – best friends and neighbors who live in a small Minnesota town around the turn of the century. At times their world is so alien to me and my daughter that they might as well be living on the moon. And I’m talking about more than just the way they are allowed wander the neighborhood with out fear of child predators. Betsy has to wear bulky winter tights because the impropriety of girls wearing pants outweighed the ridiculous impracticality of girls wearing dresses in freezing weather. Tacy has her hair finger rolled by her mother every single morning before school. In Betsy and Tacy’s world fathers go to and from work in horse and buggy and their mothers carry parasols and calling cards. The school’s play yard is separated by gender – a prospect that annoys the feminist in me and delights the girly girl in me.
All of this is a testament to the power of Lovelace’s writing and recollections of childhood. For me Betsy and Tacy are still among the most realistic and infinitely relatable children in literature. Despite these superficial differences of time and place, I found myself riveted by Betsy and Tacy’s simple little adventures. There is nothing extraordinary about either child, nor will you encounter profound insights into the minds and hearts of children. Instead we just have a simple story that values friendship and imagination. This simply won’t be everyone’s cup of tea – not everyone will appreciate the slow moving story or the antiquated setting. But I was completely won over. I read this with my five year old daughter (a perfect age to start this series) and she was also enchanted. We loved the accompanying illustrations by Lois Lenski. My edition also has some great biographical information about Lovelace along with some photographs of the people and places that inspired the book.
All of this is a testament to the power of Lovelace’s writing and recollections of childhood. For me Betsy and Tacy are still among the most realistic and infinitely relatable children in literature. Despite these superficial differences of time and place, I found myself riveted by Betsy and Tacy’s simple little adventures. There is nothing extraordinary about either child, nor will you encounter profound insights into the minds and hearts of children. Instead we just have a simple story that values friendship and imagination. This simply won’t be everyone’s cup of tea – not everyone will appreciate the slow moving story or the antiquated setting. But I was completely won over. I read this with my five year old daughter (a perfect age to start this series) and she was also enchanted. We loved the accompanying illustrations by Lois Lenski. My edition also has some great biographical information about Lovelace along with some photographs of the people and places that inspired the book.
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