What Katy Did

By: Susan Coolidge

Narrated by: Lorelei King

Lorelei King reads Susan Coolidge's classic tale about feisty Katy and her adventures. Twelve-year-old Katy lives with her father, Aunt Izzy, and five younger brothers and sisters in the little town of Burnet. Tall, tomboyish and with a head full of plans and dreams, she just can't help getting into scrapes - she loses her homework, is late for school and gets her siblings in trouble when she persuades them to stay up past bedtime playing noisy games.

But she always means well - and when sweet, angelic Cousin Helen comes to visit, Katy is inspired by her serenity and kindness. When a terrible accident occurs and Katy's life changes more than she could ever have imagined, she will need all her courage and patience to put her good intentions into practice.

©2014 Audible, Inc. (P)2012 AudioGO Ltd

Abridged

This was a fine abridged version, but it isn’t labeled as such. That was very disappointing

Abridged?

Either this is labeled incorrectly (which I suspect) or it suffers greatly from telling instead of showing. Aunt Helen is SAID to be incredibly sweet and kind and lovable and inspiring, but never does anything in the story. It’s also pretty heavy-handed moralism.

Sweet and gentle book.

Would you consider the audio edition of What Katy Did to be better than the print version?

I have no idea. I read the book at Girl Scout camp when I was 8 or 9. It was part of the camp library and when it was time to go home, I surreptitiously exchanged one of my books for What Katy Did. My purloined copy is somewhere in a box since I've been dragging it around with me for 47 years, but I haven't read it since I was a teenager.

What was one of the most memorable moments of What Katy Did?

There are so many! The scene where Katy's little sister invites a schoolfriend over brought back childhood memories of my own.

Which scene was your favorite?

That would be spoiling the book for others.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed the narration and the way that the different voices made the characters seem alive. And, the book was written in a time when life was so different and medical knowledge so limited... it had me looking things up. Mostly, I wish I had a little girl to share the book with. It would be lovely to share the softer ways of the past with a child.

It doesn’t say abridged!

We listened to this for our curriculum and we’re very disappointed to discover that this is the abridged version. It does not not say abridged anywhere I can see on the audible app.