After the pattern of Anne of Green Gables, Pollyanna, Elsie Dinsmore, Little Women, and such like girl stories, Susan Coolidge brought her own childhood to life with the fictionalized What Katy Did. How many of the incidents are real and how many fictional I have no idea; but the personalities were evidently inspired by herself and her siblings, and not surprisingly, a practical, down-to-earth, and real flavor hangs about the story as a result.
How long are the Katy Did series books? They’re pretty brief; each about the length of Pollyanna, or the gospel of Mark.
Girls 7+ will enjoy the books. It generally takes boys a little longer to be mature enough to want to read a girl story. Katy has several brothers, however, who will make it a little more interesting for the boys.
You can jump to the end for the concluding remarks and links, and then come back up for more detail if you need it!
The Plot [spoilers ahead!]
Katy Carr, the titular heroine of the first books of the series, is a well-intentioned but thoughtless girl, oldest of a motherless family of 6. As is to be expected from a book about children, there are many fun games and escapades, but the plot thickens when Katy, in a moment of disobedience, falls off an unsafe swing and seriously injures her spine. The rest of What Katy Did traces her recovery and the influence the accident had on her character.
What Katy Did at School is the second book, following Katy and her sister Clover’s fortunes at boarding school. It’s just as interesting as the first book; the big plot crisis in this case is a piece of circumstantial evidence of bad behavior which Katy has to live down.
In What Katy Did Next Katy travels to and through Europe with a friend of the family and her daughter. I found some of it rather slow, and it certainly would not be a good book to start with, but if you’re already interested in Katy it’ll keep that interest. Things picked up about the middle of the book, when a certain young Lieutenant Worthington appears on the scene.
Clover is Katy’s younger sister, who travels to Colorado with her sick brother. Besides the various, frequently humorous, vicissitudes along the way, the story keeps you guessing as to which suitor Clover will end up with.
In the High Valley comes at the family from a slightly different angle, starting with a remotely connected friend-of-a-sister-in-law all the way in England. Said friend is remarkably prejudiced, rather dense, and not what you would suppose a very interesting individual. Her name is Imogen, for crying out loud. That said, hats off to Susan Coolidge, because the book is not a boring one. Most of it takes place in Colorado, where Clover and another sister have married and settled. From their point of view, the question of how to make Imogen—who comes from England to take care of her brother Lionel, a ranch partner—fit in, and what on earth to do with her when Lionel decides to marry the last Carr sister, is the main question of the book. In the end, one of the Carr brothers opportunely arrives on the scene. It’s the steady, unimaginative one with a mechanical turn of mind. Of course he and Imogen make a match of it, greatly to the astonishment but also the relief of his sisters—which is all rather funny, and I hope Susan Coolidge’s real brother didn’t mind!
As a general rule, the Carr children are well developed characters that are easy to sympathize with; but few of their friends and spouses have enough character development for the reader to connect with them individually. That was criticism: there are limits on how pleased you can be with a match if you feel like you don’t hardly know one of the two. This is partly why I think the first couple of books are better than the rest.
None of these plots are breathless page turners, but that’s not what you would expect from a girls’ book. They’re full of humor and good sense, and hold interest throughout; but the first two are the best.
8/10 for plot for the first two; 4/10 for the other three.
The Point
As often happens in a series, the first book has the most cohesive moral. Katy’s heedless character turns into that of the loving, generous, ideal older sister as she learns patience through pain. It sounds a little fake bluntly stated like that, but in the book it’s presented in a realistic, not a preachy, way.
Some books for children about children occasionally glorify childish pranks and disobedience. There certainly is a humorous side to most bad behavior, as all parents who’ve had to stifle smiles as they caught their children doing ridiculous things know, and there’s no problem with bringing that out, but that’s a far cry from justifying the behavior. The difference is usually in the presentation; whether the parents/authority figures are presented as ridiculous, or whether the childish misconduct is. Susan Coolidge is firmly on the right side of the line here, never encouraging disobedience.
Another point where many older children’s books slip up is their treatment of the Sabbath day. Sometimes the only good thing the book can find about Sundays is that they’re not as bad as they used to be in Grandpa’s days. At best, Sunday gets a quick gloss as a boring day of sitting still and waiting for real life to begin again. Coolidge, on the other hand, briefly but pleasantly traces a typical Sunday for her fictionalized family—not romanticizing the fact that obviously, a Biblically observed Sunday is a little slow for children, but also not leaving the reader with a flavor of discontent.
Taking the series as a whole, “the point” is rather a series of life lessons learned and communicated effortlessly along the way of the characters’ life journeys. This is a great way to learn and especially to reinforce truths.
8/10 for point for the first two, 6/10 for the others.
The Style
Susan Coolidge’s writing style is readable and refreshing. It’s rare that she turns a brilliantly colorful phrase, but the overall tone is pleasant and friendly.
8/10 for style.
Conclusion
8/10 first two books, 5/10 for the rest.
The Katy Did series books have uncomplex but relatable plots, with wholesome, practical morals making for a pleasant read—and a good read aloud too. Any girl is likely to enjoy the first two books, which are worthy reading for anyone, and if she wants more the next three round off the series nicely.
All the books in the series are available free from www.gutenberg.org: What Katy Did, What Katy Did at School, What Katy Did Next, Clover, and In the High Valley. There’s also a short story relating to the Carr family in Nine Little Goslings.
Got any questions? Let me know what you think in the comment section below!
Geneva D 
What do you think?