Understood Betsy
I’m not much of a book reveiwer but this one got me thinking. Understood Betsy is the story of a little girl (Elizabeth Ann, or Betsy) brought up by neurotic and over-protective reletives in a town in the early 1900s. When ill health means that these ladies can no longer care for her she is passed through the hands of another local family member and straight onto the train to yet more family - "the Putneys" - countryfolk who have more relaxed ideas of how a small girl should be looked after. Obviously with their aproach of "of course you can do it" the girl learns that she can and goes on to thrive where she had wilted under the "oh dear, yes, that’s far too hard for you isn’t it" treatment of her earlier years. Only when her townie aunt comes back to collect her does she realise how different and how much happier she is away from that cossetting but is then worried about how to protect her delicate flower of an aunt from the hurt of rejection! It’s all happy in the end though as any good children’s book ought to be.
We loved it in the same way we love all those idilic "growing up a hundred or so years ago in wild countryside" types of books. But I do think it has value apart from the obvious "fresh country air and chores are good for a gal" I think it reflects on 2 very different, if rather over exagerated, styles of parenting that are still around now. I wonder if Sonlight throw that one into the mix to poke parents more than to entertain the kids - there is always taht danger with home ed that the child can become the delicate flower so well understood by the doting mother whose very life revolves around the child’s every percieved need (especially for those of us who only get one baby to play with) I know I catch myself doing it and I see it occaisionally in others too (I suppose if I were a school mummy I’d see it there too but really I only have home ed families to look at!) and it brought a wry smile to see that charicatured in the town family with it’s oposite over exagerated in the country cousins. It worked though cos I am now more concious of the fact taht actually, she’s growing up (far too fast if you ask me!!!) and getting more and more capable of doing stuff that I would usually do for her without thinking. She’s capable of being a lot more responsible for her stuff than she is currently too but then there’s a distinct lack of role models for her on that front (eep!) And she can make a mean eggy bread meal without the slightest bit of help from anyone (well, okay, so I helped fish the eggshells out the first few times….)
I like the sound of that book.
Here it is her father who indulges and does things for her I won’t because she’s perfectly capable of doing them herself. She has him wrapped around her little finger.
She is indeed an indulged child. I’m hoping she isn’t/won’t be a spoilt one.
Comment by michelle — March 26, 2008 @ 11:25 pm
I’ll have to get hold of that one - sounds good.
Comment by Kirsty — March 27, 2008 @ 7:32 am
Michelle, I’m still tickled now by the rocks in the rucksack last year. Kirsty, we have it here but it’s not been read yet. We are currently enjoying Follow my Leader which is being read out of order due to an interest in Braille at the moment.
Comment by Barbara — March 29, 2008 @ 9:38 pm