Girls named Betsy and a Summer story

We just had a wedding at our house and it made me think of Summer Story by Jill Barklem






This delightful book and the others about the world of Brambly Hedge delighted my daughter for many years.  All the Brambly Hedge stories are filled with the everyday stories of daily life of the mice who live in Brambly Hedge.  The illustrations call out to me and make me want to live there, too. 

You can find out more about Brambly Hedge and its creator Jill Barklem here http://www.bramblyhedge.co.uk/

And two books about girls named Betsy

B is for Betsy by Carolyn Haywood





Betsy starts first grade in this book, going to school for the first time.  She has a number of adventures with Eddie who becomes her friend.  She meets a friendly policeman, helps one of her classmates feel less afraid, and begins to learn the things that one learns in first grade.  This book was first published in 1939 so it describes a time that no longer exists, yet it still captures the flavor of being 6 years old.  I enjoyed reading the whole series of books about Betsy and Eddie to my children.  The books are fairly easy to read and can provide a transition for children from early readers to chapter books.  Carolyn Haywood was born on Jan. 3, 1898.  She died on January 11, 1990.  What an incredible amount of change she saw in her lifetime.  She wrote many books about Betsy, Eddie, and Ellen and other children as well. For 5 and up

Understood Betsy by Eileen Canfield Fischer



A different Betsy - slightly less spunky at the beginning than the previous Betsy but she becomes quite resilient and resourceful by the end of the book.  This is one of my favourite stories to read aloud.  It was written by the woman who brought Maria Montessori's ideas about education to America.


Betsy is sent to live with her dreaded Vermont cousins on her mother's side as a result of illness in the relatives on her father's side who have been taking care of her for many years.  Life is so very different in the country in rural Vermont compared to the city.  At first Betsy is uncertain and frightened.  School is a one room school house and children are not divided up by grades instead each one works at whatever level she can in various subjects.  Betsy finds that her skill at reading outloud brings pleasure to others, something she'd never imagined.  Chores, woodstoves, animals, and the simple pleasure of daily life begin to fill Betsy's life.  She is surrounded by love and blooms in her new surroundings.  For 6 and up