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4.24 AVERAGE
4.24 AVERAGE
A delightful kids' book, suitable for all ages. It holds up really well for having been first published in 1916, and is the story of a timid 9 y.o. girl who moves from the big city to live with her aunt in rural Vermont. It is a fairly short and simple story - a bit like "The Secret Garden" but without the suspense and the secret, and with butter-making and schoolwork instead of the gardening. Good description of growing independence, which was apparently influenced by Maria Montessori (my library copy had an essay on the author following the story).
4.5 stars
A delightful story from my childhood! I just love watching Elizabeth Ann change to Betsy, and the ending! I laughed, and smiled my through this wonderful story. The characters are so well written that each one feels real and living even if they aren't in the story more than a few sentences. The setting is perfect without too much to distract or too little to leave you floating around.
There are several euphemisms that I didn't know of before, and one use of the Lord's name when they weren't praying. For this reason I took off half a star.
Highly recommended.
A delightful story from my childhood! I just love watching Elizabeth Ann change to Betsy, and the ending! I laughed, and smiled my through this wonderful story. The characters are so well written that each one feels real and living even if they aren't in the story more than a few sentences. The setting is perfect without too much to distract or too little to leave you floating around.
There are several euphemisms that I didn't know of before, and one use of the Lord's name when they weren't praying. For this reason I took off half a star.
Highly recommended.
A sweet novel set in Vermont about an orphan girl who goes from being coddled with one pair of aunts to being given responsibility with another set of aunts/cousins. Fisher's parenting and education (montessori) beliefs are clearly illustrated in this nostalgic read. Good for Anne of Green Gables fans.
Absolutely loved this book. I only didn't give it a 5-star review because I feel those should be saved for mind-blowingly good books, like "To Kill a Mockingbird." "Understood Betsy" is just one of those easy-to-read classics, in the same vein as "Pollyanna," that leave you feeling warm and fuzzy. It makes me a little sniffly that they don't write children's books like this anymore.
This was a fun little book (probably middle readers, but from before those distinctions were common). I'm on the fence about whether a child would actually enjoy reading it, since it felt more like a treatise on parenting, combined with some fun information on historical daily life. As an adult, though, I found it much more enjoyable than I usually do middle readers books.
This is like totally some kind of Montessori school propaganda, those bastards!!
But it's also really sweet, it's kind of like Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm or Anne of Green Gables or something, but it's all about how to be self-sufficient and be educated at your own level and have self-confidence and stuff.
Plus applesauce.
But it's also really sweet, it's kind of like Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm or Anne of Green Gables or something, but it's all about how to be self-sufficient and be educated at your own level and have self-confidence and stuff.
Plus applesauce.
Read this to my 7yo daughter and we both really enjoyed it. There's some old-fashioned language and sometimes passages got a little long, but over all the journey taken by the young female protagonist is great for girls (and boys) of any age to hear.
One of my childhood favorites; probably a large part of what caused me to leave my beloved Oregon for college in Vermont.