Way Back Wednesday - Snowbound with Betsy

Snowbound With Betsy by Carolyn Haywood, was the first book in the Betsy series I read as a child and it has remained one of my favorite children's books.

The week before Christmas, a terrific snowstorm hits, and Betsy, Star, and their parents are snowbound, much to the girls' delight. There are snowmen to be built, Christmas presents to be made, and a tree to be decorated.

Not only was Betsy's family snowbound, but they also took in a mother and her little boy who became stranded in the neighborhood.

I can remember making birdfeeding cups out of orange rinds and peanut butter just like Betsy and her little sister, Star. I laughed so hard reading about the popcorn they tried to "dry out" in the oven, only to have popped corn all over the kitchen. I also remember making snow angels for the first time after reading how Betsy and her friends made them.

And when Christmas finally arrived, everyone received homemade gifts because it was impossible to get to the store to buy gifts. The children made new objects out of old objects they found in the attic. This has always been my inspiration for making homemade gifts every year for the holidays.

Snowbound with Betsy was written the year I was born 1962. When my older girls were little, I bought the newer "paperback" version of this book, but I really missed the original cover. When my youngest daughter was four, I was able to find a vintage copy of Snowbound on eBay - with the cover I remembered and loved.