Lovelace will be celebrated in Mankato

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Last update: July 5, 2009 - 10:54 AM

If you grew up on the Betsy-Tacy books, as so many of us in Minnesota did, then you might want to get to Mankato for the Maud Hart Lovelace convention July 17-20 at the Alltel Center.

The series of novels for children and teens was set in the early 1900s in the fictional town of Deep Valley and was based on Lovelace's childhood in Mankato; Lovelace based the character of Betsy Ray on herself, and Tacy and the other characters were based on her friends and relatives.

Food was an important part of the novels -- ice cream at Heinz's Cafe; onion sandwiches made by Betsy's father on Sunday nights; picnics that Betsy, Tacy and Tib lugged up the Big Hill on summer evenings. And food will be an important part of the convention, with a re-creation of Heinz's ice cream parlor, a picnic and a traditional Ray family breakfast before Saturday's walking tour of Mankato (including tours of Betsy's and Tacy's houses).

Keynote speaker will be Meg Cabot, author of "The Princess Diaries" and an avowed Lovelace fan.

To register, go online to web.mac.com/btconvention/BT_Convention/Betsy-Tacy_Convention.html.

At noon July 21, the Lowry Hill East Neighborhood group and the Maud Hart Lovelace Society will dedicate a memorial to Lovelace in Mueller Park in Minneapolis. As an adult, Lovelace lived in a house there that has since been razed.

HarperCollins will rerelease the entire Betsy-Tacy series this fall, with new introductions by Cabot, Laura Lippman, Anna Quindlen and others.

Also ...

• "Odd and the Frost Giants" by Neil Gaiman will be published in September by HarperCollins. The book was published last year in the United Kingdom for World Book Day and became a bestseller. Brett Helquist, illustrator of the Lemony Snicket books, will illustrate the U.S. edition.

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Here are some of Books Editor Laurie Hertzel's favorite sites and blogs. Got a literary link to share? E-mail Laurie.

Reading Minnesota A blog that features Minnesota writers, illustrators, publishers, bookstores, and reviewers.
Talk of the Stacks An author series from the Library Foundation of Hennepin County.
Poets & Writers The website for Poets and Writers Magazine--podcasts, author interviews, and writing resources.
Creative Writing A place to keep apprised of writing competitions in the United States.
Gather Minnesota Readers The Website for Minnesota Public Radio's books blog.
The Loft Literary Center The Website for the Loft, a local place for writers and readers.
Good Reads A way to track what you're reading, and what your friends are reading.
Lost Manuscripts Just what it sounds like - a blog (sporadically updated) devoted to missing and destroyed manuscripts.
Maud Newton Very hip, reviews, links, a little attitude.
bookreporter.com A plethora of online book reviews and reading guides.
Rain Taxi Rain Taxi Review of Books.