I have a sweet young patron who is an independent reader but who just isn’t interested in many traditional chapter books yet. Her mother and I have been trying a variety of books to see if one will capture her imagination and help her find her inner bookworm. We have tried a wide variety of subjects, authors, and styles. We have found that she does enjoy Beverly Cleary’s Ramona books, but for reasons that are particular to the family, these books are not a great fit for their home. So, I went looking for similar alternatives. 

I praise God for my dear librarian friend, Sherry Early! Her book review site, Semicolon.com, has been a gift to me as I try to find more books for my family and our library. Sherry and I share similar tastes and comparable values, so looking through her site is like having a cheat sheet for an exam. I love that she has honest and thoughtful reviews that save me from doing all of the homework. I still intend to read the books that I put in my library, but she shows me where to start, what to avoid, and what might be connected to something I already like. 

Sherry has a blog post for book recommendations like Ramona. On that list, I saw Hilda van Stockum, whom I absolutely love, and Carolyn Haywood who is new to me. When I went searching for the Betsy books, and I saw the modern cover, I was less than impressed. In fact, I almost didn’t take it seriously at all. But, I trust Sherry, so I did some looking into it. Carolyn Haywood has an author page at Biblioguides, and I loved what I saw. I also loved the peak inside. The illustration is completely charming. Thanks to Biblioguides and Sherry, I decided to order a few of the Betsy books, as well as Two and Two Are Four,  and I took them camping. Oh my goodness, was I ever delighted!

I read B is for Betsy by the morning campfire with two cups of coffee. It is a perfect book. Perfect. I did not want to put it down, and I kept reading scenes aloud to my family. There is one scene with a dog that is utter perfection. (There I go using that word again…) 

Betsy has never been to school and she is sure that she will not like it because Old Ned has told her sad stories of his time in school. So when Betsy wakes up on her first day of school, she is nervous and miserable. But Old Ned is wrong. The crossing guard, Officer Fitzpatrick, loves the children, Betsy’s teacher is sweet and kind, and Betsy meets Ellen, who becomes her best friend. As it turns out, school is actually wonderful! 

Set in the 1950s, this story captures the innocence and beauty of that time. The school scenes are old-fashioned and endearing. The neighbors and storekeepers would all feel at home in Mister Rogers’ neighborhood. And Betsy is as lovable as Elizabeth Ann from Understood Betsy or any of the friends from Betsy Tacy. 

There are twelve books in this series, and some have been reprinted. I was able to find three of the first four in hardback for about $5 each on used book sites. The second book, Betsy and Billy, was more costly but not hard to find. After that, they get much more challenging to find. The covers on the reprints are, as I said above, a terrible representation of the book. But the old books are easily $35-75 apiece. If you find them in the wild, grab them! If you don’t want them, sell them to me for an affordable price! 

So far, I have only read the first book and Two and Two Are Four. I cannot speak to the others, but I do plan to read many more and will update as I am able.