"B" is for Betsy

"B" is for Betsy
by Carolyn Haywood
(1939, 144 pages)

Children, parents, and grandparents will be touched by the simplicity and innocence of childhood which Carolyn Haywood brings to life through six-year-old Betsy. She has just arrived at school for the first day of first grade, and is feeling fearful:

"If I got up now and ran out the door," thought Betsy, "I could catch Mother. I could be out in the sunshine again with Mother and take hold of her hand. I could tell Mother that I don't want to go to school, that I know it is a terrible place, Old Ned said so." But Betsy knew that she couldn't do that.

How she gets through this first day and the rest of the school year is the subject of this charming story. Betsy's home and school life, her everyday problems and joys, are presented from her six-year-old point of view. Nothing "big" happens in this book, but children will connect with the commonplace yet meaningful experiences of Betsy's childhood. The author has provided the perfect illustrations for the story.