Hello, reader friends!
As it is nearing the end of February, today is the day we gather together for our monthly book club chat. Before we begin, I wanted to say that if you are interested in receiving a bit of snail mail from me, please read the following:
1. You MUST have read February's book choice.
2. You MUST answer the three following questions by sending me a message using the forms on the sidebar.
3. And in that message, along with your answers, you MUST send me your name and full mailing address. You have until March 5 to do so.
If all THREE of those things are done, then I will happily send a bit of snail mail your way.
QUESTIONS:
1. What do Betsy and Tacy call the house down the road where they "go calling" one afternoon?
2. When they do "go calling", what do they leave behind at the house?
3. What exciting thing comes from them leaving that thing behind?
To start off quite simply, I adored this book!
While I was familiar with this series growing up, I think I picked up a book or two here and there and just poked around in them a bit. But I never actually read one until now. And I just enjoyed it so much.
Obviously, this story was written for very young readers. This series was written in a way that the writing style and stories grow up and mature with the reader. Personally, I think that's such a fun and clever way to write a series for young readers.
What I loved most about this story was the sweet friendship between Betsy and Tacy, the way family was portrayed so beautifully, and all the many adventures the girls got up to. It was a true celebration, in my opinion, of the way childhood is supposed to be. Lots of imagination and pretending, lots of playing outside and creating worlds of your own, and none of the growing-up-too-fast stuff that is too common today. It reminded me so very much of my own childhood. Even though I obviously was of a different generation than Betsy and Tacy, so much of them reminded me of my sister and our friends and me and all the things we got up to.
Whilst I read this story, I did a bit of research on the author. Too many times, sadly, when I look up an author who has passed on and left classic stories behind, I come to find that their lives were quite messed up and lots of negative, often disturbing, things to read about them come up. I was glad to see this wasn't the case for Maud Hart Lovelace. She sounds like a rather lovely woman who lived quite a normal, meaningful life. She was married and had one daughter, and it was through telling her daughter stories of her growing up years that she came to write the Betsy-Tacy series. The stories, characters, and even the homes in the books are greatly inspired by her own girlhood years. And I was even more pleased to find out that should one ever find themselves in Mankato, MN, you can actually go and visit the homes of Maud and her friend, which are, of course, Betsy and Tacy's homes. Mankato was the inspiration for her town of Deep Valley. All of these little details just made the story that much more enjoyable and sweeter to me...I love when authors write stories that are inspired by their personal lives...and they aren't depressing or recalling some tragic event that they experienced.
There wasn't anything I didn't love about this book. Oh, and I must mention the illustrations...they can really make or break a story for me. When I read, I am imagining and playing out everything as I read it. Illustrations make this come to life even more, and sometimes, the illustrations aren't quite how I think a story should be pictured. But these, they were absolutely delightful. I imagine they would really capture a little girl's attention, too.
I am very much looking forward to continuing on with this series. And I would love to hear what you enjoyed about this story!
And now for March's book choice announcement . . .
For March, The Steeped in Story Book Club pick is . . .
The Last Bookshop in London
by Madeline Martin
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A quick blurb about the book from GoodReads:
Inspired by the true World War II history of the few bookshops to survive the Blitz, The Last Bookshop in London is a timeless story of wartime loss, love and the enduring power of literature.
August 1939: London prepares for war as Hitler’s forces sweep across Europe. Grace Bennett has always dreamed of moving to the city, but the bunkers and blackout curtains that she finds on her arrival were not what she expected. And she certainly never imagined she’d wind up working at Primrose Hill, a dusty old bookshop nestled in the heart of London.
Through blackouts and air raids as the Blitz intensifies, Grace discovers the power of storytelling to unite her community in ways she never dreamed—a force that triumphs over even the darkest nights of the war.
August 1939: London prepares for war as Hitler’s forces sweep across Europe. Grace Bennett has always dreamed of moving to the city, but the bunkers and blackout curtains that she finds on her arrival were not what she expected. And she certainly never imagined she’d wind up working at Primrose Hill, a dusty old bookshop nestled in the heart of London.
Through blackouts and air raids as the Blitz intensifies, Grace discovers the power of storytelling to unite her community in ways she never dreamed—a force that triumphs over even the darkest nights of the war.
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This is a book that I am very excited to share with you all. I've been a lover of all things around the time of World War II for the last decade or so. My Grandpa was in the U.S. Navy during WWII, and I grew up hearing lots of stories about his experience during that time. Of course, as a young child, I didn't really have too much of an interest in it to fully get immersed in all the historical memories and such, but now that I'm an adult, I wish I could hear more and learn more and know more about his stories from that time. Thankfully, I do remember a lot that he shared, but I've felt drawn to that time period for awhile now.
I've got a growing collection of stories and books that take place before, during and right after WWII, and this is one of them. I want to say that this book does have cozy elements, but it is a book written about a real time in history, during a World War, so there are elements that are a bit heavier. I am super sensitive and cautious about these kinds of things in books, and nothing in this story bothered me. But I don't want anyone going into this book expecting all sunshine and rainbows, because it does deal with wartime situations and events.
You can perhaps find this book at your local libraries, but as always, if you want a copy for your own personal collection, AbeBooks is my personal go-to. You can check out their selection here. And there's always Amazon as well.
We will be gathering for a discussion of The Last Bookshop in London on Thursday, March 27th. I will be announcing April's book choice on that day, too.
Please let me know if you have any questions. And do let me know if you will be joining in for this month's book club.
One thing I want to share before I wrap this post up is that I have made the decision (after a few little bumps in the road of my book club last year) to make the monthly book club choices for a book that I personally read the previous month. So while the book club will be reading a book one month and we'll be discussing it that same month, I have already read that book the month prior. This allows me to vet any book I am considering and also makes it possible for me to be able to answer any questions you may have about the contents, etc. about that specific book. I hope that makes sense and that you understand. I just found this to be incredibly necessary after a couple of books last summer weren't quite what I thought they would be, and had I known what I found out, I most certainly would not have chosen them for my book club. As always, if you have any questions, please send a message or leave a comment.
Happy reading, fellow book lovers!