Customer Reviews

What Katy Did (Dover Children's Classics)

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I believe I was 11 when I first read this book, and it became one of my favorites. I see similarities between it and Little Women except that it's easier to read.

In an age when vampires, zombies, and Harry Potter characters rule, it might be considered slow-moving and dull.

But in the fifties reading was all about the characters and finding the ones you could identify with and the ones that you couldn't empathize with at all. So-called preachiness wasn't verboten then--it was considered normal for an author to include moral lessons in a fictional story.

I admired Aunt Helen who taught Katy how to be a kind, long-suffering patient after the girl's accident. I loved seeing Katy evolve into a mature young woman after her years as a self-centered child and seeing Aunt Izzie change from a strict cold spinster to a far more kind and compassionate caregiver for Katy.

I loved the childhood dreams--when the children would sit in the loft and tell one another what they wanted to do when they grew up--very similar to the chapter in Little Women entitled Castles in the Air. I adored the chapter on the game they played while Aunt Izzie was out one night--Kikeri--which I'm sure by 21st century standards would be considered tame. What was it but some roughhousing and running around the house--maybe a slide down the bannister.

A simple, heartwarming story perhaps written for a simpler time but one would hope that some children of today could find something to enjoy here. This story was still relevant in the eighties--I remember reading it to my daughter along with What Katy Did at School, and then when she tired of having me read she went on to read Clover, Coolidge's book about Katy's sister, by herself. We also read Louisa May Alcott's books together.

I was given this book at the age of 10 and it quickly became my favorite. The misadventures and mistakes Katy made was appealing to me as well as her transformation after the accident.

This book taught me several lessons as a child that I have used in adulthood, such as:

Even though a person has good intentions, no one is perfect.
Everyone has a smooth handle and a difficult handle...you have to find the good in them.
Parents don't always tell children why they shouldn't do something, so we should explain more carefully.

I buy this book as gifts for children quite often and donated it to the school library. It is checked out often.

I would highly recommend this book!

This book belonged to my mother when she was a child and despite the fact that it has been around my whole life, I have only just read it. I wasn't sure I was going to stick through the first few chapters - Katy is a motherless girl of about 12 who is the eldest of 6 siblings. She started the book fairly selfish and silly (hence I almost gave up) but an accident and the resulting spinal injury about one third of the way into the book change her a great deal. While the girl Katy becomes is almost a saint, she is certainly more likable. There are two things I really like about this book - it does not shy away from discussing illness or death and it is set in the USA of the 1800's.

I believe this is the first of a series, but I'm not sure I'll follow through with the rest of the books. I am, however, glad I read this one.

This quaint story about a large family of motherless children is something of a sleeper; one suspects that the author was sharing/reliving her own childhood memories. Perhaps the events depicted are too naïve--the pleasures too simple--to appeal to modern girls who are used to teenage lingo and fast-paced action. Also it is somewhat confusing to sort out the many Carr children, whose names do not always indicate their gender. Our protagonist, Katy, grew up in a kinder, gentler era, when people respected the role of the family.

As the eldest of Dr. Carr's children Katy proves headstrong, rather reckless, with a vivid imagination; she dreams of becoming an author some day. Despite her private goal of behaving ladylike and graceful, her temper and lingering tomboy-hood result in a devastating tumble from a forbidden swing. Lacking the patience and prudence to behave as the ideal young woman, Katy fears she can never realize this goal now that she an invalid.

Tormented by both physical and emotional pain as a consequence of her selfishness and abrupt behavior, Katy must learn some difficult lessons in the school of Life during her prolonged convalescence. Lessons from two very different teachers. Every person should be so blessed as to have a Cousin Helen, who has mastered the delicate art of validating Others. This story should appeal to girls 12-16.