If you're a fan of Betsy Ray and Tacy Kelly, then you will definitely enjoy this tale of the two girls as they go on their first solo adventures in Deep Valley, Minnesota. This book is a lighthearted chronicle steeped in the innocence of youth in the early 1900's. I read it as a child and enjoyed it again at age 30. Filled with humor and warmth, it's easy to relate to these young heroines and their everyday adventures.

I'm a ten year old girl and I thought this book was Great. It's an older book but the characters are fun. an A+++ book. It's great because the way that they have so much fun and adventures makes me want to be their friend!

I recently came across a new edition of this book. I owned it as a child back in the sixties. The first thing that came back to me was that every year, after Thanksgiving, I would read the chapter in this book about Betsy, Tacy & Tib's Christmas, starting with the shopping trip up through Christmas day. To me, this seemed to describe a perfect holiday, before it became so commercialized. It always got me in the Christmas spirit. So, when this book came into our library, I took it home & re-read it, especially the Christmas part. And you know what, it still works! If you want to feel the true spirit of a magical Christmas, read this book!

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech is my all-time favorite book I've read through my 10 years of living. I think this book is very touching, especialy at the end. All the characters have different characteristics, especialy Phoebe.
It's alltogether Happy,touching, and amazingly sad. I recomend this book to people who love to read books with all these things included. I have to say, I couldn't put this book down!!!! ^-^'s and :('s, Jammer Lammy.

this is one of the greatest collection of words i have read in my 13 yrs. it is an enlightening book w/ stories that relate to eachother it will keep you reading and reading until you are done i love it i recomend it to all ages!

This is a wonderful book! I would recommend it to readers of all ages. Though it has a terribly sad ending, I'm sure it will touch the souls of readers everywhere. It contains wonderful philosophies and a great motto;no matter how many birds of sadness are nesting in your hair, you should always get on with life. This is a wonderful book and I would recommend it to readers everywhere-especially tear-jerker lovers.

I bought this book for two french childs to test american literature with young non-english-spoken childs. I must admit I read it before. It's out of time and pleasant for anyone. But it's readable for any child around the planet.

When Maud Hart Lovelace first wrote the "Betsy-Tacy" series, did she know how much so many people, from children to adults, would love them? The series has at least one book that anyone of any age can relate to. 10-year-olds will love "Over the big Hill," high-schoolers will love the books about when Betsy was attending Deep Valley High, etc. And it doesn't end there! Even if you're not the age that Betsy was in one of the books, you can still love all of them! Maud has a way of capturing real feelings and experiences--even bad ones--and turning them into works of art. The "Betsy-Tacy" series really is a work of art, even if it was painted with a pen, not a paintbrush.

This is my personal favorite of the Betsy-Tacy series (although picking a favorite is akin to naming your favorite child). It chronicles a pivotal year for Betsy, Tacy and Tib, when they finally have "two numbers in their age". Betsy prophesizes that their tenth year marks the beginning of great things for the trio, like falling in love and traveling the world.

Providentially, the handsome young Alphonso the Thirteenth is crowned King of Spain, giving the girls a convenient target for their first crush. While busily writing a love letter to their idol, the three stumble upon a colony of Syrian immigrants, who aren't always treated so well by their neighbors in Deep Valley. Betsy, Tacy and Tib proceed to make many new friends and learn a few lessons about prejudice and the American dream in the process.

MHL's gift for weaving together uplifting moral lessons with high-spirited adventure makes this a truly special book. She always somehow manages to get across a spiritual message without being heavy-handed, sentimental, or pedantic. Above all, her books are great fun and a pleasure to read.

I read this book to my two year old, and we both love it! I think he loves it because hearing about a cowboy doing adventurous things probably appeals to the little boy in him, and I love it for the nostalgia (you don't see cowboy cartoons or serials these days), for the beginner education about who cowboys are and what they do, and the simple, clear illustrations.

One word of caution: don't expect to glean any character lessons or underlying meanings from this book. This Lenski book is mostly just factual and fun!

This is a classic book that our almost 3 year old daughter loves to look at again and again. She has learned many new words (curry, saddle, spurs, saddlehorn, etc.), has memorized most of the text, and is very attached to anything related to horses. The text is simple, the illustrations are wonderful, and the story is charming. Our daughter has lots of books and this is one that she seeks out from among all the others in her bookshelf. You'll love it too.

My 3-year old got this book for Christmas. He was so taken with it that (of course) we had to read it four times in a row before bed. Then he had to take his stick horse to bed with him in a sleeping bag (or his bedroll, as Cowboy Small would say)and lie on the floor to "look at the stars." The words are simple and the pictures are wonderful. A great book for any little cowboy or cowgirl.

as a young girl i loved the "betsy" books and it was a pleasure to pass them along to my daughter. only last night we discussed the books - she's introducing her fourth grade daughter to them this spring. the series is timeless and i love every book !

As a child growing up, I was an avid reader. I began reading the "Betsy-Tacy" books when the school librarian introduced me to the series. This is a wonderful series showing the life of the main chracter, Betsy. I can remember devouring each of the books. Now that I am a teacher and a mother, I can't wait to find and purchase the books for my daughter and my classroom library. In today's society of technology and media, this is a wonderful collection of old fashioned, classic stories.

Fantastic! I am a K-5 teacher. I haven't seen the book since I was a young girl. I would like to have all of Lois Lenski's books for my library. I love the morals, and life principles they teach. The children sit spellbound as I read to them. I now have Indian Captive, Strawberry Girl and Cotton In My Sack. If you could help me locate any other books Lois has written, I would appreciate it. Sincerly Rosalene Wiegand

Blue Ridge Billy by Lois Lenski is an old fashioned Smokey Mountain story that speaks to a host of values that modern day parents want to teach their children, too. Ten year old Billy obeys his father without question, serves his mother with devotion, cares for neighbors with loyalty, yet persues his own dreams of owning a musical instrument, a true luxury in his time and place. Hardworking, loyal, happy, Billy meet his everydays with many a song learned from his fellow mountain people. His daddy has too many pressures of life on his mind to appreciate Billy's love of music and tries to squash that love out of the boy. His mother understands, but is weighed down by life's cares and has no money of her own to help Billy. The farm chores are burdensome, but Billy loyally performs them though they take all his time and energy. He wants to earn money to save for a banjo, but who would ever have money to buy his homemade goods? His neighbors are just as poor as his own family. Suspicion, poverty, and dishonest gain are all around Billy, yet his neighbor, Sarey Sue, who has even less than Billy, has a dream that encourages him on. This book is filled with the words of folk songs, unfortunately no music accompanies them. While reading this book aloud to our children, we realized what luxury we have with some kind of music available in almost every room of our small house from bedroom to living room to kitchen. CD and cassette players, piano and recorder and guitars present a feast for our ears and spirits everyday. Read this book to appreciate your own life, reinforce the values of hard work and loyalty to family, and enjoy the rich heritage of the mountain people's contribution to our United States.

A lovely, short, rhyming book for children from toddler age to early readers. Children love the rhymes and the simple, pleasing illustrations. This is a bedtime favorite of my nephews aged 1 1/2 to 5. Nothing in here to give nightmares! I am so glad they are re-printing these Lois Lenski books we enjoyed in the 50's when I was a child.

The pace, the illustrations, and the easy to remember phrases are the type that will keep your child engaged and asking for this book over some of the more flashy newer titles. Buy this book, read it to your kids and they will remember it for a very long time.

This endearing yet simple story book written by the talented Lois Lenski features her signature illustrations and tells the tale of Mr. Small and his pride and joy, the little auto. Written in 1934 this book follows Mr. Small in his jaunty suit, bow tie and derby hat as he cruises around town in his shiny red convertible. The other traffic on the road includes a horse and buggy, a trolley car, and some startled chickens and ducks. We tool along down Main Street with Mr. Small, put the top up when it rains, fix a flat tire, and pay a visit to the filling station. Mr. Small and his little auto are utterly charming and the way this book captures the gentle atmosphere of a bygone day warms the heart. Kids will love it and so will the folks who read to them. Lois Lenski's picture books are never long on plot or action, but they are delightfully colorful and whimsical. Her books, no matter their publication date, seem to capture human nature that runs true throughout the stream of time. Look what she says about a man and his car. "Mr. Small has a little Auto. It is red and shiny. He likes to look at it." Travel around your own town on a sunny Saturday morning...you'll see Mr. Small is alive and well. Enjoy this book and all of Lois Lenski's other charmers.

An old-fashioned, quaint and charming book for young children. My boys (ages 3 and 1) pull it off the bookshelf a few times a week and bring it to me to read to them. The references to passing a horse and buggy, stopping for the trolley car, and waiting for the policeman to switch the "stop-go" signal are throwbacks to a simpler time. Delightful and highly recommended.

Betsy Tacy and Tib,three little girls growing up in Deep Valley,Minnesota.They have their laughs and they have their crys.Since this was based on Maud Hart Lovelace's life,you feel as if you are at the turn of the century,watching them have all the fun that children can possibly have.I have read every single book in the Betsy,Tacy,and Tib series and even all of Lovelace's other novels.I recommend this book to someone who likes books taking place in the "olden days"....but it doesn't seem very old fashioned!

Beginning with "Betsy and Tacy," I read this series years ago. Now, I have read and re-read every book in it many more times then I could possibly count. Each book is more unique and different then the one before and yet, each has the one thing in common that matters the most: the ever-lasting friendship of Betsy, Tacy, and Tib. After I first finished reading the series, I wished that the wonderful and talented author, Maud Hart Lovelace, had wrote more, (as if 11 books weren't enough). But, as the story of life, and of the wholesomely-spirited Betsy and her friends goes, every sweet simple thing must come to an end.

Betsy, Tacy, and Tib is a wonderful book in a great series. Maud Hart Lovelace did a spectacular job writing these stories. My mother read the books and loved them, my sister and I read the books and loved them, and now my little girls are reading them and loving them. These books never seem to grow old even though they are set during the turn of the 20th century. As a child, I not only read them, I wore the books out! I read and re-read the books, I couldn't put them down. I talked about them so much to my friends, they started checking them out from the Library and we would play Betsy-Tacy during recess. Now set in a period of a hundred years ago, they are still captivating kids today. My husband read the first four books in the series to our kids (Ages 7, 5, 3, and 1 at the time) and they love them all. My oldest begged me to let her keep my copies in her room so she could read them herself.

There are many great books in the series, this one in fact is not the first in the series. Check out the other books in the series, Betsy-Tacy, Betsy-Tacy Go Over the Big Hill, Betsy-Tacy Go Downtown, Heaven to Betsy, Betsy in Spite of Herself, Betsy was a Junior, Betsy and Joe, Betsy and the Great World, and Betsy's Wedding. The books take Betsy through grade school and high school, to Europe right before the 1st world war, then back to America for her wedding and the joys and troubles of married life. Some other books not in the Betsy-Tacy series but also by Maud Hart Lovelace and worth checking out are The Trees Kneel at Christmas, Winona's Pony Cart, Carney's House Party, and (my personal Maud Hart Lovelace favorite) Emily of Deep Valley.

The Betsy-Tacy series may be the most influential set of books I ever read. I reread them over and over, because they never lose their beauty. I have discovered that I compare my life now to Betsy's because I made her life my dream at a young age. I would quickly recommend all the books, beginning with Betsy-Tacy, to any child, although I have never met a male who has read them. I feel as if I grew up in Deep Valley too.

For my 8th birthday my Mom and Dad gave me the Betsy-Tacy Treasury which contained this book and Betsy-Tacy and Tib, Betsy and Tacy Go Over Big Hill, and Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown. I have just finished the whole thing and now I am 11. I have read it many others times and I find it amazing that I still appciate it at age 11. Whenever we go to the libary I look for smaller printed books but even though this has fairly large print I think it is a wonderful book. I found it when I was in organizing my family's books and started to read it and couldn't put it down. I loved this book and if you do you should read the rest of the Betsy-Tacy book series.

I don't quite understand why this series is only classified as engaging for females! Females have been reading and enjoying literature about boys for eons; why not expect that males would appreciate excellent literature about girls. My 6 year old son's eyes have lit up around Betsy and Tacy's deep and imaginative friendship. We have both enjoyed the first book immensely. My son is delighted to know that there are more books to enjoy in the series and so am I. He may not be interested in playing with dolls, but he has enough sense to see that the way Betsy and Tacy play with them is quite endearing.