Understood Betsy

Description

A paperback edition of a classic middle grade novel, reissued in time for Understood Betsey‘s 100-year anniversary.

As satisfying in its evocation of an earlier, simpler way of life as Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House books, and psychologically more acute. The New York Times Book Review

Nine-year-old Elizabeth Ann has lived a sheltered life with her doting Aunt Frances. But when Frances can no longer care for her, Elizabeth Ann is forced to move to the wilds of Vermont and live with those horrid Putney cousins, who keep a farm and even make children do chores!

At first, fragile Elizabeth Ann is shocked by country living, but with her new responsibilities comes a sense of independence the young girl lacked in her previous life. Soon, she makes friends, takes on the nickname Betsy, and begins to enjoy the company of her newfound family. When Aunt Frances returns to collect her niece after a year apart, she discovers a stronger, prouder girl with a new name and a new outlook on life.

Dorothy Canfield Fisher’s Understood Betsy has delighted generations of young readers since it was first published by Henry Holt and Company in 1917. Kimberly Bulcken Root’s charmingly detailed illustrations capture the winning spirit of this classic.

Praise for Understood Betsy:

A book that will continue to warm readers well into the next millennium. Riverbank Review

[A] delightful and heartwarming classic. Children’s Literature

Author Information

Dorothy Canfield Fisher was a pioneer in children’s literature. In addition to writing more than fifty notable books for children, she was one of the earliest proponents of Montessori teaching methods. A judge for the Book-of-the-Month Club for twenty-five years, Mrs. Fisher lived most of her life in Vermont and was the first woman on the state board of education.

Kimberly Bulcken Root has illustrated many books for children. She and her husband, illustrator Barry Root, live with their children in rural Quarryville, Pennsylvania.