Understood Betsy Paperback – December 1, 1996

A lesson in bringing up a little girl (or any child) to think for herselfTell a child it is frail and he/she will be that way - let them learn simp!e chores and they will learn independence..

My 9 year old and I just finished this as a read aloud, and it is definitely new favorite! Some archaic language, but not enough to make things difficult to understand.

This is an excellent novel set in the early twentieth century. The author was very well known in the first half of the twentieth century. The author is worthy for study. She had a great interest in the field of education. That interest is evident n this novel.This novel reminds me of other novels about children. It reminds me a little bit of "Anne Of Green Gables", but, as I recollect, is somewhat shorter. This is a little girl who has lost her parents. She embarks on a series of childhood adventures with various relatives. In he course of these adventures, she learns a great number of life lessons. She also learns a lot about herself. It is truly a delightful story.As a grandparent, I am looking for stories to read with my grandchildren and grand nieces and grand nephews. This story is perfect for such an endeavor. I believe it will suit a young lady more than a young man.I thoroughly enjoyed this reading experience. Thank You...

As a product of its time it was quite progressive. That got it 2 stars from me. I got this book based on recommendations, and read it to see if I thought my daughter would enjoy. Please bear with my description, as I wanted to enjoy this book, but did not. It stars off slowly, describing in great detail the living situation of the lead character Elizabeth (an orphan) and how doting and over protective her aunt Francis is. It goes into great detail about how the city dwelling aunts are pale and frightened, and unable to do anything for themselves. Their 'girl' who helps them is badly asthmatic and always coughing (mentioned several times) Then one aunt gets hospitalized and Aunt Francis goes to take care of her, and Elizabeth gets sent to live with the country dwelling aunts and uncle.From the second she is in contact with the country relatives Elizabeth begins to learn and understand and grow and blossom and overcome her fears and gain competence and confidence and become a most wonderful young woman. The country aunts and uncle and school are absolutely perfect with children and can do absolutely nothing wrong. When pale cowardly incompetent Aunt Francis finally returns to take Elizabeth back it is revealed she doesn't really want Elizabeth she just wants to go live her own life, and Elizabeth (of course) would rather stay with the perfect family in the country.Even for a children's book it is contrived and hollow. City= cowardly, sickly, and authoritarian. Country = competent, healthy, wise, and perfect.

Remembering I had this book as a child, I ordered it again and was delighted by it! Author Dorothy Canfield Fisher had met Maria Montessori in person, and was very impressed by her teaching philosophy. Clearly it was a match with her own outlook. Because orphan Betsy, coddled and over-protected by the first set of well-meaning relatives, thrives when sent to her "Putney cousins", sturdy farm folk in Vermont.The book is well-written enough for an adult to enjoy. There's not an ounce of sentimentality in it. A tiny kitten, clasped ecstatically by Betsy, regards the young girl with "bored, speculative eyes". At the farm in Putney Vermont, Betsy learns how to work hard, relate with integrity, not self-serving charity. Most importantly, she learns to see the world with acuity and to think for herself. Any child would identify with Betsy gaining her independence. And any mother struggling to not become a "helicopter mom" will find heartening support here.

This was one of my favorite childhood books. I was so happy when I stumbled on it while looking for some new downloads and couldn't resist the temptation to purchase. I enjoyed it just as much as I did when I first read it more years ago than I care to remember.Orphaned as a baby, Betsey is taken in by her flighty maiden aunts. Totally smothered by their overly protective, but well intentioned determination to mother her, Betsey grows into a frail and timid little girl who completely relies on her "Dear Aunt Frances " ..When one of the aunts is taken ill, Betsey is sent to live with cousins the aunts heartily disapproved of. There she begins a journey of self discovery and learns many lessons about life, people and relationships.I enjoyed the book because it turns the tables on the notion that the grown ups are always right.

Elizabeth Ann is an orphan and has a lot of relatives that want to take her in. Aunt Frances gets the chance to raise her, but alas, eventually a bigger problem arises and she must be off to more important things. Elizabeth Ann is then shipped off to the horrible relatives she has heard so many bad things about and it will be dreadful, she just knows it.I read this aloud to my 8 year old daughter. It worked well for that although at times the emotional content made me cry. She liked to hear about everything Betsy-related and I enjoyed the book also. I would recommend to anyone who may have children interested in a classic or who would like to hear/read about children their own ages (8-10?). Personally, it made me think about giving my daughter more responsibility. Bring a hanky (good tears mostly)!

We read this book for homeschool as a part of our Charlotte mason, Ambleside Curriculum for 2nd grade. But even my son in 7th grade ended up enjoying to listen to it with us. I loved the beautiful descriptions, the way it described life on the farm and in the country school house. We felt immersed in Betsy’s world and could vividly picture everything. It reminded us each of Anne of Green gables, and the same warm loving feeling you feel from Matthew to Anne.

No surprises but beautifully told.Also: this is the first time I've ever read a character who had difficulty with the same set of times tables that flummox me.

Charming old fashioned story. Enjoyable but also has something to teach the reader.

A treasure of a book. Got it for my child and ended up loving it myself reading it multiple times. Well worth the purchase! Get it, you won’t regret it! If you like Anne of green gables type of stories you will like this.