bethreadsandnaps's review against another edition
4.0
This is a warm middle grade story about Elizabeth Ann (Betsy), an orphan, who spends her life with her Aunt Frances until Betsy is nine years old. Then Aunt Frances has to take her mother to a warmer climate to heal (this is a classic, so back then you healed in warmer climates :) ). Aunt Frances is smothering, and she has household help. So Betsy hasn't had to do chores or make many decisions for herself.
Aunt Frances places her at a different relative's house while she's gone. Now living with Aunt Abigail and her children, Betsy learns how a different family from her own lives and how school and friends can be different than she's used to. It's so sweet to see how she adjusts to her new, less structured life with more responsibilities.
There is very little conflict in this book. I did appreciate the trying to clothe the local boy whose father didn't take care of him. That wasn't necessarily conflict, but again it showed to Betsy how other families function (not so well). The big/final "conflict" in this story was resolved in a paragraph, so perhaps there could have been more tension. :)
I know it's a classic, but there's some fat shaming in this. For example, a young girl is called a butter ball within the narrative.
All in all, the story has a great message, but it could have had more conflict/tension and less fat shaming.
Aunt Frances places her at a different relative's house while she's gone. Now living with Aunt Abigail and her children, Betsy learns how a different family from her own lives and how school and friends can be different than she's used to. It's so sweet to see how she adjusts to her new, less structured life with more responsibilities.
There is very little conflict in this book. I did appreciate the trying to clothe the local boy whose father didn't take care of him. That wasn't necessarily conflict, but again it showed to Betsy how other families function (not so well). The big/final "conflict" in this story was resolved in a paragraph, so perhaps there could have been more tension. :)
I know it's a classic, but there's some fat shaming in this. For example, a young girl is called a butter ball within the narrative.
All in all, the story has a great message, but it could have had more conflict/tension and less fat shaming.
harmonyml's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
celeste57's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I adore classic children’s books. I’ve inhaled them since my mom taught me to read when I was four. If I could get my hands on it, I read it. A Little Princess, The Boxcar Children, Heidi, The Secret Garden, A Wrinkle in Time, The Chronicles of Narnia, Gulliver’s Travels, and The Swiss Family Robinson were all early favorites. And yet, a lot of others slipped through the cracks of my childhood without my having met them. There are too many wonderful stories in the world to ever hope to read them all. But I’m slowly trying to cover all the ground I can. For instance, I didn’t meet Anne Shirley of Green Gables, or Laura Ingalls from the Little House on the Prairie, until I was an adult. Yet I loved them no less for the belated introductions. I can now add Elizabeth Ann to the roster.
I’ve seen the title Understood Betsy plenty of times. A copy has even resided on my bookshelf for a few years. But I can’t say the premise ever really drew me in. For some reason I decided on a whim to pick this up, and I couldn’t have been more surprised and delighted. The surface premise isn’t exactly unique; a pampered, coddled city girl finds herself forced to live with a country branch of her family for whatever reason. But the telling of the story in this case was wonderful. Something in the writing style was just pure magic, a joy to read alone and surely an even greater one to read aloud. The cadence of prose lilts and meanders beautifully The personality of the near-omniscient narrator shines through and adds an extra element of fun and charm to the story. And the love the dreaded “Putney cousins” feel for Betsy, as they call her, just blazes from the page. Life on their farm is quaint and cozy. And the way Betsy grows and blossoms over the course of her story is truly lovely.
Understood Betsy is one of those rare perfect books. There’s not a single thing about it I would change, unless it was to give it a sequel, just so I could have more time with Betsy and Cousin Ann and Aunt Abigail and Uncle Henry. This is a book that anyone could love, no matter their age, and it’s one that I definitely plan to reread often.
I’ve seen the title Understood Betsy plenty of times. A copy has even resided on my bookshelf for a few years. But I can’t say the premise ever really drew me in. For some reason I decided on a whim to pick this up, and I couldn’t have been more surprised and delighted. The surface premise isn’t exactly unique; a pampered, coddled city girl finds herself forced to live with a country branch of her family for whatever reason. But the telling of the story in this case was wonderful. Something in the writing style was just pure magic, a joy to read alone and surely an even greater one to read aloud. The cadence of prose lilts and meanders beautifully The personality of the near-omniscient narrator shines through and adds an extra element of fun and charm to the story. And the love the dreaded “Putney cousins” feel for Betsy, as they call her, just blazes from the page. Life on their farm is quaint and cozy. And the way Betsy grows and blossoms over the course of her story is truly lovely.
Understood Betsy is one of those rare perfect books. There’s not a single thing about it I would change, unless it was to give it a sequel, just so I could have more time with Betsy and Cousin Ann and Aunt Abigail and Uncle Henry. This is a book that anyone could love, no matter their age, and it’s one that I definitely plan to reread often.
francis_deer's review against another edition
5.0
This is an old favourite of mine, an equivalent to comfort food: I love to read about Betsy growing in confidence as she masters both smaller and bigger challenges.
Rereading it also made me notice how many female characters populate that book; Cousin Ann, in particular, is quite memorable.
Canfield Fisher established the Montessori method in the US and her beliefs in regards to this pedagogic approach twine through this book. In fact, this children book gives a nice first insight into the Montessori method.
Rereading it also made me notice how many female characters populate that book; Cousin Ann, in particular, is quite memorable.
Canfield Fisher established the Montessori method in the US and her beliefs in regards to this pedagogic approach twine through this book. In fact, this children book gives a nice first insight into the Montessori method.
crankylibrarian's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
An absolute delight. After leaving her fretful, helicopter parenting guardian, Elizabeth Ann discovers the joys of independence , self reliance and family fun with her small town relatives.
lectora21's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
falconerreader's review against another edition
5.0
One of my childhood favorites; probably a large part of what caused me to leave my beloved Oregon for college in Vermont.
spilled's review against another edition
3.0
This book was first published in 1917, and it's fascinating to see the way life is described with the same old battles: technology vs. simple living, co-dependence vs. pluck, overprotective parenting vs. go-run-around-in-the-dirt parenting. Also it's supposed to be for 10-year-old girls, and reads like an ad for Montessori education, but it was such a charming little story that I think Fisher totally sold me.
mary_juleyre's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
jselliot's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A definite childhood favorite. Where The Ordinary Princess was the first book that I consciously remember reading, this one came not long after. Bias and all, it's an incredibly cute story about a young girl finding independence and breaking out of the sickly role proposed to her by relatives that felt girls needed to be delicate, and moving onto be a more robust and self-assured person.