Hope Road

Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown [Maud Hart Lovelace]

Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown by Maud Hart Lovelace ****

This book is part of the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace, a heartwarming saga featuring Betsy Ray, a girl growing up in small town Minnesota at the turn of the twentieth century. The books follow her from kindergarten to marriage. In this particular book, Betsy is twelve and on the brink of high school, but she and her friends Tacy and Tib are still enjoying childhood and all that comes with it. Betsy’s interest in writing is blossoming, and her world is expanding yet still endearingly safe, composed of seeing plays in downtown Deep Valley, seeing the town’s very first automobile, meeting a long-lost uncle, befriending a lonely former actress whose daughter died, and visiting the new Carnegie library. Visit Deep Valley if you want a refreshing respite in the innocence and charm of Betsy’s world.

Recommended age level: 8+. This is told from the perspective of a twelve-year-old, so it is easily understandable for a good reader of elementary school age. There are a few references to dramatic or schoolgirl romances, the death of a child, and family conflict, but these are brief and should be no cause for concern.