When Carolyn Haywood (1898 - 1990) published "B" is for Betsy in 1939, she probably didn't think that 70 years later, several generations of children would have enjoyed - and are still enjoying - a little girl named Betsy. I loved Betsy - she is the reason I love to read because I got started with all her books. Betsy lived a very normal life, and I tried hard to mimick her very action.
In this first book, Betsy is scared about going to first grade, but it turns out school is a great place. She learns about tadpoles and the true meaning of Thanksgiving, makes new friends, and has more fun than she'd ever imagined.I was 7 years old and in the second grade when my favorite librarian, Miss Gash, recommended "B is for Betsy". After I finished the book, I proceeded to check out the other books in the series. Even though the stories are slightly outdated, the appeal of Betsy and her friends transcend time. I read these books to my daughters, and I plan to read them to my grandchildren as well.
I love your Way Back Wednesday posts. Same thing for me. The third picture of the paperback is the one I had. I actually won it as a prize in first grade and went on to read all the Betsy and Eddie books. Great stuff!
ReplyDeleteOh, how I loved Carolyn Haywood and the Betsy books! I started reading them when I was 5 and in first grade, and ended up checking them all out of the library. I remember one titled "Betsy's Menagerie" and learning what that word meant!
ReplyDeleteThank goodness I found this site!!! I read these books as a little girl ( in the early 80's) and wanted to share them with my little girl, who is now 7 years old. The trouble was, I could not remember the author or the exact title of any of the books, except that they were about a girl named Betsy. But now that I have founf them, I am headed straight to Amazon to buy the set!! Thanks for the help and hope my daughter enjoys these wonderful books as much as I did at her age.
ReplyDeleteMy second grade teacher read us "Betsy's Little Star", which prompted all the little girls in our class to read the books thereafter. When I became a second grade teacher, I began to read all the series to my class. They love them and look forward to the new adventures of Betsy, Billy and Ellen on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteDo you know any personal information on Carolyn Haywood? Did she ever marry?
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