Betsy's world, including life as a freshman in Deep Valley High School, is just so interesting, exciting, and entertaining that I actually found myself almost wishing I had been a teenager in the early 20th century and lived in a town like Deep Valley.

Perhaps that accounts for the warm fuzzy feelings I get whenever I'm reading a book from the series. to a tall, dark stranger (T.D.S!) All this definitely makes Heavens to Betsy a fun read.Īs I've mentioned in the past, the Betsy-Tacy books are a childhood favorite of mine. She's even falling in love for the first time. And then there's the social realm of her life - Betsy's friendships expand to create 'the crowd' who together enjoy dozens of parties and festivities throughout the year. At fourteen she's wearing her hair up (instead of in braids), her skirts are longer (nearly covering her ankles), she's taking on new challenges, including writing contests, joining choir, and exploring a new church. It doesn't take long for the reader to realize Betsy is quickly growing up to be a lovely young woman. This story opens in the summer of 1906, which leads up to Betsy and Tacy's freshman year in Deep Valley High School. 'Discover Deep Valley' by Julie A.Heavens to Betsyis the fifth book in the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace.'Maud Hart Lovelace's Deep Valley' by Julie A.Betsy and Tacy go Over the Big Hill, 1942.Most books are now in print and available through the Betsy-Tacy Society and your local bookstores. She is buried at Glenwood Cemetery in Mankato. The author died March 11, 1980, in Claremont, California. Maud Hart Lovelace wrote 24 books, of which six are historical novels for adults. Marguerite Marsh, a Mankato assistant librarian in the early 1900s is the main character in the novel Emily of Deep Valley. Lovelace recounted more activities in turn-of-the-century “Deep Valley” in three additional books.

Mankato librarian Maud Van Buren appeared as Miss Sparrow in several of the Betsy-Tacy books. In Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown, Lovelace described her delight at the opening of the Carnegie Library. Lovelace decided to write one book about her childhood experiences, calling herself Betsy, and her friends Tacy and Tib. When their daughter Merian was young, Maud Hart Lovelace began telling Merian stories about her own childhood in Mankato. Following a short period of study abroad, she married writer Delos Wheeler Lovelace in 1917. While in her teens, Maud Hart sent stories to magazines and sold her first story at age 18.Īfter graduating from Mankato High School in 1910, Maud Hart attended the University of Minnesota. When she was 10, her father had her poems printed in a booklet. Even in childhood she was a storyteller and writer. The author was born in Mankato on April 25, 1892, to Thomas and Stella (Palmer) Hart.

Heaven to betsy maud hart lovelace