Book Guide

For all of her nine years, fragile Elizabeth Ann has heard her Aunt Frances refer in whispers to "those horrid Putney cousins". But when her aunt aunt can no longer care for her, Elizabeth Ann is forced to leave a sheltered life to live in the wilds of Vermont with distant relatives.

In the beginning, Elizabeth Ann is shocked by country living—pets are allowed to sleep in the house and children are expected to do chores! But with country living comes independence and responsibility, and in time Elizabeth Ann finds herself making friends and enjoying the company of her newfound family. When the year is up and Aunt Frances comes to get her niece, she discovers a healthier, prouder girl with a new name—Betsy—and a new outlook on life.

Understood Betsy has delighted generations of young readers since it was first published by Henry Holt and Company in 1917. 

From the dust jacket of the 1999 edition

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Dorothy Canfield Fisher

Dorothy Canfield Fisher

1879 - 1958
American
Dorothy Canfield Fisher—one of the most respected writer of our time—was a native of Kansas who returned to her family's home state, Ver... See more
Ada C. Williamson

Ada C. Williamson

1880 - 1958
American
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Understood Betsy Reprint

Understood Betsy
Reprinted in 2019 by Living Book Press
Available formats: Paperback
View on the Living Book Press site
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Understood Betsy Reprint

Understood Betsy
Reprinted in 2020 by The Good and The Beautiful
Reprint illustrated by Ecaterina Leascenco, Ada C. Williamson
Reprint Cover Art by Embla Granqvist, Christine Chisholm
Available formats: Hardcover

This unabridged version has updated grammar and spelling, and any instances of taking God's name in vain have been removed.


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Content Guide

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Resource Guide

Reviews

The Good and the Beautiful Book List

Understood Betsy
Reviewed by Jenny Phillips
Timid and small for her age, nine-year-old Elizabeth Ann has lived with her cautious Aunt Frances since she was orphaned as a baby...

Read the full review on The Good and the Beautiful Book List


Plumfield and Paideia

Understood Betsy
Reviewed by Sara Masarik
Fisher’s writing style may seem a bit strange to a new reader at first. Typical of Montessori style, Fisher writes this story for children in a tone that is consistent with how Montessori teachers would speak to their young charges. Fisher opens the story with careful descriptions of the characters and a conversational narrator voice which acknowledges the questions that young readers may have... At first I found the tone off-putting. my eight-year-old felt respected by it. My then eight year old disagreed with me and seemed to feel like Fisher was a friend taking the time to explain things that a reader might not intuitively understand...

Read the full review on Plumfield and Paideia


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