The first thing I want to highlight is that from the beginning the people in the town who knew the girls didn't think adding a third person to the mix would work. They felt that Betsy and Tacy had such a lovely friendship, and that adding Tib to the mix would disrupt the harmony. I found this interesting because when I was growing up my mother often said something similar, in fact, she discouraged me from inviting over more than one friend at a time to play. "Two's company, three's a crowd" is an oft used phrase I've heard over the course of my lifetime, and I suppose there's some truth to it. So often when three children play together two will bond and one will be left out, but not always, which was the case with Betsy, Tacy and Tib.
In this book all three of the girls are 8 years old, which having been a mother, I recall as being a lovely age. No longer a toddler, but still a child. It was a magical age. The fact that the girls got along so well could be due to what is revealed in this sentence, "Betsy planned things up and Tacy and Tib loved to do them." It does appear that Betsy has the stronger, take charge personality of the trio, and as we've already discovered, she loves to make up stories. Appearing to be more docile in nature, Tacy and Tib seem to be content to follow their fearless leader, even if it often leads them into trouble.
One thing that is revealed about Tib is that she often "points things out", as was the case when Betsy and Tacy commented that "they wouldn't like to practice piano", to which Tib agreed but then added, "We don't know how to play the piano". Ever the one to point out the obvious, it seems. The author is quick to point out that "Tib was always pointing things out, but they liked her just the same." A minor annoyance, it seems, but easily overlooked.
I really enjoyed Chapter 4, The House In Tib's Basement. It evoked memories of a small area of our garage where I once set up a play house. I had a small cupboard and a little wooden table and chairs (which I could kick myself over and over again for every getting rid of!), and as I recall, I used an old screen door to create two spaces, and used some old pillows and blankets to make a couch that could also be used as a bed. I'm sure there were other things as well, and I recall that in the light of day I thought it a fun idea to actually spend the night there, but it seems that by the time evening fell, it was never quite as inviting. Reading about the little log house the children worked together to build took me on a fun little trip down memory lane, which I always enjoy.
But it was Chapter 5, Everything Pudding, that was by far my favorite. One thing that I noticed right off, and found interesting, was that the children went to school in the morning, left at mid-day and walked home for "dinner", which we call lunch here at our house, and then returned to school and walked home a second time in the afternoon. In other books I've read over the years the children often took their lunch in pails and ate at school. I'm not sure if walking home for lunch was a common thing during this time which would have been around 1900?
But I think the thing I loved the most about this chapter was when the girls were left to "keep house", and the fact that it was snowing, "It was snowing which made keeping house all the nicer", which set such a cozy setting. That combined with hot cocoa and cupcakes, makes me want to make up a batch of cupcakes myself, although I think most of our chances for snow are growing less here, but cupcakes are always a good idea!
Another setting that was easy to step right into was in Chapter 9, The Secret Lane, when the girls discovered the tree lined lane and at the same time, the secret meeting place of Julia and Katie's "stuck up" club. The boiled eggs, sandwiches and cake spread out on a blue and white gingham table cloth, now that's a scene I could more easily replicate soon, and maybe I will. I already know a lovely spot right at the edge of the woods that would make the perfect setting.
And finally, in the the final chapter, Aunt Dolly, there was this line,
"I wonder what it will be like to be grown up? I don't think it will be as nice as being children. You have two numbers in your age when are ten, it's the beginning of growing up"
This took me back again to, as I mentioned earlier, to that magical time between the ages of 6-8 that I so cherished when my daughter was little. I do recall that her turning 10 was mixed with just a little twinge of sadness. For the rest of our lives, with the exception of those who live to be 100, our age is defined by two numbers and so I suppose it really is the beginning of growing up. Though I deeply enjoy the relationship I have with my daughter who is now 25, I can't help every now and then to long for the days when she was little. As children we can't wait to grow up, and once we do we realize how wonderful and carefree childhood truly was and we want to recapture it. You get a little of those carefree days again as you age, but not with the same innocence or energy you once enjoyed. Still, even at my age I like to entertain childhood pleasures now and then. The thing no one ever tells you is that deep down it's your body that ages, but I think there's a part of your soul that might just linger between the ages of 6-8, I like to think so, anyway.
So now it's your turn! What were some of your thoughts, favorite chapters, passages as you read through this second book in the series? I'd love to hear from you! Just leave your entry in the comments, and then join me here again next month as we discuss the third book, Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill.
❊
No comments:
Post a Comment