Recommendations based on Understood Betsyby Dorothy Canfield Fisher

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. The Wheel on the School

    by Meindert DeJong
    A small Dutch village comes together to bring storks back to their town. A heartwarming tale of community and perseverance.

    Lina is one of six school children in the small fishing village of Shora. When she writes an essay for school that asks why there are no storks in their village, she sets all the others to wondering. ... (Wikipedia)

  2. Homer Price

    by Robert McCloskey
    An imaginative young boy embarks on a series of comedic adventures.

    Welcome to Centerburg! Where you can win a hundred dollars by eating all the doughnuts you want; where houses are built in a day; and where a boy named Homer Price can foil four slick bandits using ... (Goodreads)

  3. Betsy-Tacy

    by Maud Hart Lovelace
    The adventures of two best friends, Betsy and Tacy, growing up in a small town in the early 1900s.

    Best Friends Forever There are lots of children on Hill Street, but no little girls Betsy's age. So when a new family moves into the house across the street, Betsy hopes they will have a little girl ... (Goodreads)

  4. Anne of Avonlea

    by L.M. Montgomery
    A young girl's coming-of-age in rural Prince Edward Island, full of adventures and misadventures.

    Anne is about to start her first term teaching at the Avonlea school, although she will still continue her studies at home with Gilbert, who is teaching at the nearby White Sands School. The book ... (Wikipedia)

  5. The Princess and the Goblin

    by George MacDonald
    A young princess discovers a secret world of goblins and befriends a brave miner boy to save her kingdom from their evil plans.

    Princess Irene's discovery of a secret stair leads to a wonderful revelation. At the same time, Curdie overhears a fiendish plot by the goblins. Princess Irene & Curdie must make sense of their ... (Goodreads)

  6. Little Lord Fauntleroy

    by Frances Hodgson Burnett
    Rich and poor boy switch places, discovering the power of kindness, goodness and love.

    In a shabby New York City side street in the mid-1880s, young Cedric Errol lives with his mother (known to him as "Dearest") in genteel poverty after the death of his father, Captain Cedric Errol. ... (Wikipedia)

  7. Eight Cousins

    by Louisa May Alcott
    A young girl's journey of self-discovery and transformation through the guidance of her seven uncles and one aunt.

    When Rose Campbell, a shy orphan, arrives at "The Aunt Hill" to live with her six aunts and seven boisterous male cousins, she is quite overwhelmed. How could such a delicate young lady, used to the ... (Goodreads)

  8. The Bronze Bow

    by Elizabeth George Speare
    A young man's journey of redemption, as he struggles with anger, violence and oppression.

    This book is set in first-century Galilee . The main character, a young Jew named Daniel bar Jamin, who lives at the same time as Jesus of Nazareth . Daniel's father was killed in front of him, as an ... (Wikipedia)

  9. Freckles

    by Gene Stratton-Porter
    A young girl's journey to find her place in the world, with the help of her guardian angel.

    The hero is an adult orphan , just under twenty years of age, with bright red hair and a freckled complexion. His right hand is missing at the wrist, and has been since before he can remember. Raised ... (Wikipedia)

  10. Little House on the Prairie

    by Laura Ingalls Wilder
    A family's journey of settling and persevering on the American Frontier.

    Meet Laura Ingalls, the little girl who would grow up to write the Little House books. Pa Ingalls decides to sell the little log house, and the family sets out for Indian country! They travel from ... (Goodreads)

  11. The Daughter of Time

    by Josephine Tey
    Detective investigates the mystery of King Richard III, uncovering the truth behind his reputation.

    Alan Grant, Scotland Yard Inspector (a character who also appears in five other novels by the same author) is feeling bored while confined to bed in hospital with a broken leg. Marta Hallard, an ... (Wikipedia)

  12. Horton Hatches the Egg

    by Dr. Seuss
    An elephant who agrees to incubate a lazy bird's egg, and discovers true friendship and loyalty.

    The book centers on a genial elephant named Horton , who is convinced by Mayzie, a lazy, irresponsible bird, to sit on her egg while she takes a short "break", which turns into her permanent ... (Wikipedia)

  13. Mrs. Mike

    by Benedict Freedman
    A young woman's voyage of self-discovery, learning to survive and thrive in the Canadian wilderness.

    The novel is based on the stories of Katherine Mary O'Fallon Flannigan (1899-1954). , , , According to her fictionalized account, in 1907 at age 16 O'Fallon travels to Calgary to visit her uncle and ... (Wikipedia)

  14. David Copperfield

    by Charles Dickens
    A rags-to-riches story of a young boy's adventures, trials, and tribulations.

    David Copperfield is the story of a young man's adventures on his journey from an unhappy and impoverished childhood to the discovery of his vocation as a successful novelist. Among the gloriously ... (Goodreads)

  15. The Long Winter

    by Laura Ingalls Wilder
    A family's courageous struggle to survive a harsh winter in the American frontier.

    On a hot August day in the 1880s, at the Ingallses' homestead in Dakota Territory , Laura offers to help Pa stack hay to feed their stock in the winter. As they work, she notices a muskrat den in the ... (Wikipedia)

  16. The Swiss Family Robinson

    by Johann David Wyss
    A family is shipwrecked on a desert island, using their ingenuity and resourcefulness to survive.

    The novel opens with the family in the hold of a sailing ship, weathering a great storm. The ship's crew evacuate without them, and William and Elizabeth and their four children (Fritz, Ernest, Jack ... (Wikipedia)

  17. The Story of Doctor Dolittle

    by Hugh Lofting
    A doctor's magical adventures with animals and his quest to save a distant land.

    John Dolittle , MD, is a respected physician and quiet bachelor living with his spinster sister Sarah in the small English village of Puddleby-on-the-Marsh. His love of animals grows over the years ... (Wikipedia)

  18. The Wednesday Wars

    by Gary D. Schmidt
    A coming-of-age story of a student facing the challenges of the Vietnam War era.

    In this Newbery Honor-winning novel, Gary D. Schmidt offers an unforgettable antihero. The Wednesday Wars is a wonderfully witty and compelling story about a teenage boy’s mishaps and adventures over ... (Goodreads)

  19. Half Magic

    by Edward Eager
    Four siblings discover a magic coin that grants wishes, but only halfway. They embark on adventures and learn valuable lessons along the way.

    Four children wish on a Half Magic coin that gets their mother Alison half-way home, rescued by Mr Smith. Mark's wish zaps them to a desert without island, where half-talking cat Carrie gabbles to a ... (Goodreads)

  20. Uncle Tom's Cabin

    by Harriet Beecher Stowe
    An anti-slavery novel exploring themes of morality, faith, and justice.

    The book opens with a Kentucky farmer named Arthur Shelby facing the loss of his farm because of debts. Even though he and his wife Emily Shelby believe that they have a benevolent relationship with ... (Wikipedia)

  21. Daddy-Long-Legs

    by Jean Webster
    A young girl's coming-of-age story, learning to navigate the world of adulthood.

    Jerusha Abbott was brought up at the John Grier Home, an old-fashioned orphanage . The children were completely dependent on charity and had to wear other people's cast-off clothes. Jerusha's unusual ... (Wikipedia)

  22. Betsy-Tacy and Tib

    by Maud Hart Lovelace
    The adventures of three best friends in a small town, exploring their world and growing up together.

    Three of a Kind Betsy and Tacy are best friends. Then Tib moves into the neighborhood and the three of them start to play together. The grown-ups think they will quarrel, but they don't. Sometimes ... (Goodreads)

  23. The Magician's Nephew

    by C.S. Lewis
    An epic journey through time and space, exploring the origins of Narnia and discovering its wondrous inhabitants.

    The story begins in London during the summer of 1900. Two children, Digory and Polly , meet while playing in the adjacent gardens of a row of terraced houses . They decide to explore the attic ... (Wikipedia)

  24. Miracles on Maple Hill

    by Virginia Sorensen
    A family moves to a farm in Maple Hill to heal from the effects of war. They find joy and healing in nature and community.

    Marly's father just returned from the war; he is suffering from mood swings and depression, and seems to be tired all the time. Lee, Marly's mother, moves the family to Maple Hill, a town where the ... (Wikipedia)

  25. All-of-a-Kind Family

    by Sydney Taylor
    Five sisters navigate life in early 1900s New York, learning lessons in love and family.

    Ella, Henny, Sarah, Charlotte, and Gertrude are five sisters growing up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 1912. The book follows them through a year of their childhood, as they deal with mundane ... (Wikipedia)

  26. The Witch of Blackbird Pond

    by Elizabeth George Speare
    A young girl's struggles to find her place in a Puritan Connecticut town.

    In April 1687, 16-year-old Katherine Tyler (known throughout the story as Kit Tyler) leaves her home in Barbados after her grandfather dies and a 50-year-old man tries to marry her. She relocates to ... (Wikipedia)

  27. Mara, Daughter of the Nile

    by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
    An adventure story set in Ancient Egypt, featuring a brave and courageous girl who rises to a heroic challenge.

    The story opens introducing the reader to Nekonkh, an Egyptian river boat captain on the Nile during the rule of Queen Hatshepsut . Nekonkh is on his way to Thebes, carrying his usual cargo and an ... (Wikipedia)

  28. Pollyanna

    by Eleanor H. Porter
    A young girl's journey of optimism and positivity, despite the struggles she faces.

    The title character is Pollyanna Whittier, an eleven-year-old orphan , who goes to live in the fictional town of Beldingsville, Vermont , with her wealthy but stern and cold spinster Aunt Polly, who ... (Wikipedia)

  29. The House at Pooh Corner

    by A.A. Milne
    Winnie the Pooh and his friends enjoy adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood.

    The title comes from a story in which Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet build a house for Eeyore . In another story the game of Poohsticks is invented. As with the first book, the chapters are mostly in ... (Wikipedia)

  30. Anne of Ingleside

    by L.M. Montgomery
    A charming story of a mother's love, set in a small Canadian town.

    Seven years after Anne's House of Dreams , Anne visits Diana Wright and her daughter, Anne Cordelia, in Avonlea following the funeral of Gilbert's father. When she returns home to the old Morgan ... (Wikipedia)