(You can listen to this episode here.)

On this episode, Mary Grace and Deborah celebrate the beginning of a new school year by rereading “B” is for Betsy, Carolyn Haywood’s 1939 novel about a little girl navigating the complicated world of first grade. It was the first in a long series of books about Betsy and her friends. This was the first book that Mary Grace remembers checking out of the library and reading.

You can find the twelve books in the Betsy series on Goodreads here. As Deborah mentions, Haywood also wrote several other series, including one about a boy named Eddie and one about a boy named Penny. You can find these series on Goodreads here (Eddie) and here (Penny).

Here’s what Mary Grace wrote on her blog about rereading Dorothy Canfield Fisher’s Understood Betsy (it’s #7 on the list).

Here’s the original cover of “B” is for Betsy. It gives you an idea of the illustrations, which Mary Grace isn’t a big fan of.

Here’s the cover of the current edition, which Mary Grace and Deborah read:

Haywood’s New York Times obituary, from January 12, 1990, which, as Mary Grace mentions, erroneously says that “B” is for Betsy was Haywood’s first book, is here.

Here’s the cover of Haywood’s actual first book, When I Grow Up:

The Free Library of Philadelphia blog post about Haywood’s relationship with artist Violet Oakley and the group of women artists in Philadelphia who were known as the Red Rose Girls is here.

Here’s a photo of Haywood and Edith Emerson, a fellow student of Oakley, painting the ceiling of Vassar’s Alumnae House, which Oakley designed, in 1924. (Mary Grace said erroneously on the podcast that the photo was of Haywood and Oakley.) You can read about the project here.

Here’s the Free Library of Philadelphia blog post titled “Carolyn Haywood: All Sugar, No Spice.”

The Free Library of Philadelphia blog post about an unpublished novel about a boy whose father is in jail for selling heroin that was found in Haywood’s papers is here.

Deborah and Mary Grace recommend Beverly Cleary’s Ramona books for fans of “B” is for Betsy.

The podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms. You can listen to it on Buzzsprout here.

You can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and you can find Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.