This is an email from Germany! Believe it or not, the Betsy-Tacy series has fans in Germany!
Well, let me first introduce ourselves: We are Sophie (12) and her mother Susanne (somewhat older). We lived in the U.S. when Sophie was younger. After our move back to Germany we got introduced to the Mother-Daughter Book Club series and we read all the sequels. And that is how we discovered the Betsy-Tacy series. Sophie´s older sister Leonie (15) read the whole series by herself when she was younger. Sophie and I read all the books together, mostly Susanne reading aloud to Sophie, sometimes the other way around. It took us a year or two but recently we have finished and we had a little party. Sophie baked Betsy-Tacy cupcakes!
We have enjoyed the series tremendously, for its light and pleasant stories and also for all the insights we gained about the U.S. For example, American girls had earlier access to higher education than German girls. I thought the depiction of the Lebanese immigrant community was particularly interesting. Most surprisingly we also learned about Germany. I have not been aware of the fact how deep the division between the nobility and common people ran with some nobles like Betsy´s Munich friend in the early 1900s, and we had no idea whatsoever about Sonneburg.
In conclusion, the Betsy-Tacy series has been a wonderful enrichment to our lives, and we hope that we will be able to tour Mankato one day. All the best for the work of the Betsy-Tacy society!
Sincerely Yours,
Susanne Schiffler
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