Understood Betsy

Understood Betsy

by Dorothy Canfield Fisher (1916)

Elizabeth's worst nightmare has come true! When her dear Aunt Harriet fell sick, she was sent to stay with relatives in the country. For years, her Aunt Frances has striven to understand every thing, every happening, every thought, every feeling that Elizabeth has ever known. With her head full of Aunt Frances' warnings against the "dreaded Putneys", Elizabeth begins a new life--with a new nickname: Betsy. Excessively sheltered for years by her timid aunt, Elizabeth faces many new challenges in a home where she is expected to do things that never would have entered her mind before.

 As Betsy adjusts to her new life, she makes friends, helps out a classmate, and learns to love and trust the Putneys. But the lingering question remains: How long will it be before Aunt Frances come to claim her niece? And will Betsy want to go, or stay?

Character Lessons:

Courage, Kindness, Right motives, Compassion.

Elements for Parental Consideration:

 A mention of Betsy sometimes inventing things to "tell"; "gump"; "great kid!"; "gosh"; "Lord"; "by thunder"; "darned"; "thunderation"; "mercy's sake"; "gay" = happy; "queer" = odd; "dope" used in reference to money; a boy says "I'd like to kill him!" in anger toward a man who sold his stepson's new clothes for whiskey; dancing by walk-on characters.

                                                                            

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Surprise House

 

Surprise House

By Abbie Farwell Brown (1917)

Mary Corliss and her family have just moved to the country to take possession of her late grand-aunt's old house. Aunt Nan, who loved practical jokes and astonishing inventions, has left several surprises for the family, which they continue to discover. 

 To Mary, it is a great disappointment nonetheless: her aunt had willed a large sum to her little brother, John, to pay his way through college, while leaving Mary the old library, and everything in it. At first, despite her love of books and poetry, Mary would have gladly traded places with her brother, but she soon discovers that Aunt Nan has left not a few interesting surprises around the library. 

 As she journeys through the works of Shakespeare, Mary comes to love her mysterious aunt. What will she find in the hidden recesses of the library? Will she truly never have the opportunity to attend college? 

Elements for Parental Consideration:

One "gee"; one "ginger"; "queer"=odd is used many times (20+); "pussy" is used in reference to a cat, "ass" in reference to a donkey; John says of a picture of Aunt Nan: "She looks like a witch!" (she wasn't, and his mother scolds him); mention of dancing; mentions of fairies and a girl liking to read about them; a couple mentions of magic; several teasing references to a cat being a "witch-cat" (it's not); for a party, a person dresses up as a witch, she and three other wave their hands over a pot and sing a "spell", then dish out presents to all the guests.

*Many References to Shakespeare and his plays; brief references to Alice in Wonderland, the Mad Hatter & Aladdin and his lamp. 

                                                                     

A Comment from the Reviewer:

While I found most of this story to be a funny, sweet, interesting tale, the final chapter (Chapter XII) was...not. That was when the people dressed as witches did their little pretend "spell" thing. That was it for me. Christians have no business messing in things like that, and reading about it will not be a good influence on children's minds. The darkness of Satanism is nothing to be lightly joked about and flippantly mimicked. Don't get me wrong--the first eleven Chapters are really sweet and funny, but the last took a dark turn. 

 Parents, if you're still interested, I have a recommendation: Chapter XI ends in such a way that a reader could stop after the first page or so (four paragraphs) of Chapter XII, without missing anything of importance--the plot wraps up there. It was the rest of the chapter that landed this book on the "Naughty" list. If you feel confident about the idea, this eleven-chapter story (emphasis on "eleven") would make a superb read-aloud. But, as the parent, that is completely at your discretion. 

                                                                                 

This title is available for free:

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The Gold Thread: A Story for the Young

 

The Gold Thread: A Story for the Young

By Norman MacLeod, D. D. (1861, or 1867)

A Chaplain to Queen Victoria

 Prince Eric is lost. His father, King Magnus, had instructed him to follow the gold thread on his journey to the Castle. Will he ever find it again? And if he does, will he let it go again, to chase down one of the many beautiful temptations that are offered? Join Eric as he encounters a struggling swineherd, is held captive in a dark castle, journeys through many trials, and faces temptations along the road.

Character Lessons:

Obedience, Honesty, Kindness, Selflessness, Respect, Doing Right.

Elements for Parental Consideration:

One "lazy" (Wolf, the swineherd to a pig; he also threatens to kill and roast them before their time); the swineherd sings about wandering "with nothing in my noddle" (Dictionary: noddle=head); he and Eric fight (Wolf later apologizes for starting it); mentions of robbing and killing, and that it is a great sin; mention that a man swear by the name of God; robbers suggest killing or starving Eric, or putting out his eyes (they don't); a mention that "they say" a certain woman is a witch.

                                                                                 

This title is available for free:

Multiple formats: gutenberg.org

Kindle format: amazon.com

PDF & more: Internet Archive