Betsy & Tacy Go Over the Big Hill

 

by Maud Hart Lovelace

Published 1942

I feel like a broken record–these books are so adorable and sweet!  In this book, the girls decide to crown a queen of spring.  However, Betsy and Tacy’s older sisters have already decided to do the same thing!  Drama ensues.

What I really love about these books is how beautifully and kindly Lovelace portrays family.  Betsy and her sister have always gotten along so well, that to see them in the midst of a serious argument is really quite distressing.  But the way that they make up, and the way that everything comes together in the end–perfect.

I am enjoying these books so very, very much, and cannot recommend them highly enough.  5/5.

The Disappearing Dog Trick

 

by Scott Corbett

Published 1963

In this third (?) book of the ‘Trick’ series, Kerby, Fenton, and Waldo (the dog) are looking forward to a fun backyard camping trip.  The parents are all off for a quiet evening of bridge and the boys are left on their own.

Disaster strikes when Waldo gets out of the house before the boys can put his new license tag on.  Luckily, the boys possess a special–possibly even magic–chemistry set.  With the aid of the mysterious Mrs. Graymalkin, they set off on a whirlwind adventure to bring Waldo home.

These books are funny and easy reads.  Paul Galdone’s illustrations are perfect.  4/5.

The Inimitable Jeeves

 

by P.G. Wodehouse

Published 1923

While this book does not include the first appearance of Jeeves, it is the first collection of short stories devoted solely to the famous butler and his lovable master.  If you have never read a Jeeves and Wooster book, stop whatever you’re doing right now and find one immediately.  These books are a treasure.

That said, I prefer some of Wodehouse’s later works of Jeeves, which are full-length.  While these short stories tie together loosely, each chapter is basically independent, and so, for me, the theme of “Bertie has a piece of clothing Jeeves doesn’t like.  Bertie has a problem.  Jeeves solves the problem.  Bertie gets rid of the despised piece of clothing” gets a little redundant.  But despite that, I still cannot read Wodehouse in public because I start laughing out loud and people look at me as though I’ve gone crazy.  He is a definite favorite.

4/5.

Saint Peter’s Fair

 

by Ellis Peters

Published 1981

Another gem in the Brother Cadfael series.  In this fourth book, the annual abbey’s fair is being held.  But with Shrewsbury still in the midst of England’s civil war, the fair can be a place for more than honest trading.  Also, feelings are still running high in the town, which has suffered from the war.

The story is exciting, the mystery is good, and the wisdom of Brother Cadfael–and in this book, particularly, Father Abbot–shines through.

5/5.

Betsy-Tacy and Tib

by Maud Hart Lovelace

Published 1941

Guys, I love these books.  I just can’t believe that I’ve missed them all my life.  They keep getting more and more adorable!  This is the second book of the series.  At the very end of Betsy-Tacy, the girls met a new girl, Tib, and in this book, the three of them go adventuring.  As I said, these books are just sweet and pleasant and very difficult to describe without making them sound silly and dull, and they aren’t.  They are very, very readable.

And Lois Lenski’s illustrations are perfect.  Bonus!!

5/5.