Not my cup of tea. The photos at the end, which were the inspiration for the drawings throughout, were fun to see and my favorite part. ( )

These books bring back such sweet memories for me... times I spent with my grandmother playing and dressing up and cutting paper dolls... I love this series! ( )

First sentence: It was difficult, later, to think of a time when Betsy and Tacy had not been friends.

Premise/plot: Betsy meets Tacy, her new neighbor, at her fifth birthday party. The two girls become instant best friends, near sisters. These two are inseparable. They want to do everything together--always together. This book focuses on their time together--at home, at school, etc. The book concludes with the two meeting another little girl near their own age, Tb.

My thoughts: I have no memory of reading Betsy-Tacy growing up. I'd heard of the book series certainly. But if I'm honest, I thought it was literally about ONE girl named Betsy-Tacy. These books are set around the turn of the twentieth century. Yes, it was published originally in 1940...but Betsy and company would have been born in the 1890s.

The book is interesting in that it feels TIMELESS and time-specific. The two things shouldn't both be true. The book feels timeless because it captures childhood realistically--family life, friendship, thoughts and feelings about school. Some things never change. It feels time-specific because of the descriptions and illustrations. It feels delightfully historic. I like that about it. ( )

What an absolutely idyllic childhood. It's a shame I didn't read this when I was five or six. I would have loved it. Even as an adult, it's really cute and sometimes very funny (and other times very touching).
Quick, pleasant read. ( )

Very sweet book, and I think my nieces would really like it. I would have loved these when I was younger. This series is #100 on NPR's list of the best YA novels (they group series together so they don't take multiple spots and are looked at as a whole).

The girls are adorable, and I love that they use their imaginations. Best example of "play" I've seen in a while. ( )