Understood Betsy
Dorothy Canfield Fisher
© 1916 Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Public Domain

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Elizabeth Ann is an orphan living with her aunt and great aunt in a midwestern city. She' been coddled and pampered until she's become as hypersensitive, fretful and as downright wimpy as her middle-aged Aunt Frances. That all changes when her Great Aunt Harriet falls sick. Suddenly, she's shipped off to the one branch of her family that she's been warned against—the rough-hewn Putney, a farm family in rural Vermont. Immediately, Elizabeth Ann is called Betsy, and is expected to take care of herself and pitch in to run the farm. Her Uncle Henry hands her the reins to drive the wagon before he's barely said hello. She sleeps in the same bed with enormous Aunt Abigail, and no one bothers to wake her up in the morning or ask her how she's feeling. Worst of all, Aunt Anne, who defines the term "no-nonsense," barely gives her a nod of recognition. Betsy gives the gruff Anne a wide berth, even though she's fascinated by her personality.

Understood Betsy has been recommended by a number of listeners—see if you like it too! We pick up the story with Betsy walking home after receiving some bad news in school.

Understood Betsy was read by Veronica 'Ronni' Lopez.
Ronni Lopez moved to Vermont from her native Texas where she was a featured actress with the resident professional company of The Dallas Theater Center. She is a strong advocate for Vermont Theatre and is also Producing Artistic Director of Catalyst Theatre Company. Ronni's reading covers a wide variety, from biographies to poetry written by children. She's especially fond of stories with hope as the central theme.

What do you think?

Did you like the story? Did you find it believable? Why, or why not?

What do you think of Elizabeth when you first meet her? Do you feel differently toward her as the book progresses?

None of the experiences that Betsy has are earthshaking: she has to drive a wago, rescue a friend from an ice hole, and figure out how to get home after she's lost at the county fair. Do they change her? In what way?

What did you like about the story? What do you like about Betsy?

Which Putney did you like best? Why?

Imagine what Elizabeth must have felt. How would you feel if you had to leave your family—the people you love—to live with people you didn't know at all, and who weren't all that welcoming and didn't act like the people you're used to?

Why does Betsy stop to think what Aunt Anne would do?

Why do you think Elizabeth begins to be called Betsy?

How does Molly treat Betsy? Does it remind you of another relationship in the book?

Describe the author's tone. Did  you like it? Why, or why not?

Fun & Adventure Beyond the Book

Eleanor Roosevelt named author Dorothy Canfield one of America's ten most influential women. Fisher was involved in the Montessori Method of teaching, and led the country's first adult education program. There are a number of websites where you can learn more about Canfield Fisher: here is some biographical information, here is a Vermont tribute to her and here is a timeline of her life and accomplishments.

There is a unique award named after Dorothy Canfield Fisher. It honors new American children's books, and the winner is decided by Vermont school children.                 

Here's a site where you can learn more about rural Vermont's culture and government in the late 1800s and early 1900s, or about its industry and commerce from the same period.

Other great resources include the Vermont Folklife Center and the Vermont Historical Society.

Learn more about "sugaring" and Vermont's maple syrup production.



If You Like This Book, Check Out...

Grace Greene, from the Vermont Department of Libraries, says if you liked Understood Betsy, you’ll probably enjoy these books as well:

Companion Titles:

The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett (Lippincott 1962)
Ten-year-old Mary comes to live in a lonely house on the Yorkshire moors and discovers an invalid cousin and the mysteries of a locked garden.

Unbroken, by Jesse Haas (Greenwillow 1999)
Following her mother's death in the early 1900s, thirteen-year-old Harry lives on Aunt Sarah's farm where an accident with her spirited colt leaves her a changed young woman.

Anna on the Farm, by Mary Downing Hahn (Clarion 2001)
In the summer before World War I, nine-year-old Anna is happy to spend a week at her aunt and uncle's Beltsville, Maryland, farm until she meets Theodore, who calls her a "city slicker" and spurs her to prove that she's just as clever and brave as he is.

Justin Morgan Had a Horse, by Marguerite Henry (Rand McNally 1954)
An unusual work horse raised in Vermont and known originally as "Little Bub" becomes the sire of a famous American breed and takes the name of his owner, Justin Morgan.