Status
Available
Series
Publication
Thomas Y. Crowell Co. (1974)
Description
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.
User reviews
LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26
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
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!
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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!
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LibraryThing member SylviaSmile
A sweet, funny tale about three young girls who are given freedom for their imaginations to roam. They occasionally get into trouble, but it's never too serious, and their adventures harken back to a simpler time when children could go off by themselves without danger. Illustrations by Lois Lenski
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are charming. I would recommend the book to young chapter book readers, perhaps ages 6-9. Show Less
LibraryThing member Hamburgerclan
"We've got to learn how to fly! I'm sure we can do it!"--and so Betsy, Tacy, and Tib decide to do just that. First it's jumping off the hitching-block. Then it's jumping off the porch. Then it's jumping (excuse me: flying) off the big maple. "We'll be flying off the roof tomorrow," predicts Betsy.
--Catherine
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Or will they? And that's just one of the trio's wonderful misadventures.--Catherine
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LibraryThing member EllieGiles
This is a classic series for young girls about three friends, Betsy, Tacy, and Tib, whose life in a small town is enjoyed through the wonderful writing of Maud Hart Lovelace. This is a great series for young girls, and it was one of my personal favorites as a kid.
LibraryThing member callmecayce
This is the second Betsy-Tacy book and it's just as good as the first. I really liked the idea of Betsy and Tacy meeting Tib because of a card that they left in the chocolate covered house. I also enjoyed that this edition of the book included the real places from Lovelace's life that are talked
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about in the book. Show Less
LibraryThing member satyridae
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
'"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
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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?
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LibraryThing member alycias
Such amazing illustrations!!!
LibraryThing member Cheryl_in_CC_NV
Oh these girls try to be good, but they're so impulsive and imaginative, they get into all sorts of scrapes. And of course they learn lessons, but Lovelace is not at all didactic or preachy. I'm not sure that they're the right age though - aren't 8-year-olds likely to be a little more mature?
LibraryThing member nx74defiant
Great fun to re-read this, I remember well the cutting of each others hair. They had so much fun. I wanted to be as fearless as Betsy as a child. Betsy was the ringleader.
LibraryThing member fuzzi
Here in the second book of the Betsy-Tacy series we are introduced to their new friend, Tib, and learn about what it might have been like to be a young girl in the late 1890s. When Tacy catches Diptheria, she can't play for months, and her whole household is quarantined. So her friends send her
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messages using a fishing pole over the fence. Sweet and enjoyable, fine for elementary school children. Adults may enjoy it too, as the author does not "talk down" to her audience. Recommended, but read the previous book first if you can. Show Less
LibraryThing member cbl_tn
Betsy, Tacy, and Tib are eight-year-old Minnesota girls who are best friends. Betsy is the one with the ideas, and Tacy and Tib usually go along with whatever she suggests. They try to learn to fly and form a secret club. It’s all innocent fun, and the stories of their escapades will make many
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readers nostalgic for the carefree days of their own childhood. Show Less
LibraryThing member PatsyMurray
I do enjoy the sweetness of these young girls and the fact that there is always some very realistic danger faced in them. They are true to life, which offsets any tendency towards the saccharine.
LibraryThing member ms_rowse
Sometimes Betsy gets on my nerves, but I did enjoy this one too. I returned these books to the library and was ready to check out the rest of the series, but they were gone! Sad day! I probably won't go back and read the rest immediately, but maybe I will one day...
Will definitely suggest these to
Will definitely suggest these to
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my nieces, though. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Language
Original publication date
1941
Physical description
7.9 inches
ISBN
0690006322 / 9780690006322