Ten-year-old Katie John and her mother and father have moved from California to a small town on the Mississippi River in Missouri. Her great-aunt died and left them her old, large house that's been in the family for one hundred years. At first, Katie hates the old house, cluttered with dust and old-fashioned furniture, and the town, where she knows no one. Her father is busy writing his book, and her mother is trying to sell the house so they can move to New York in the fall. Then Katie John meets Sue, a girl her own age from down the street, who tells her that her aunt's house is haunted. That sends the two girls on a series of investigations into the mysteries of the old place. Although the girls are quite different--Sue cautious and timid and Katie John impulsive and bold--they soon become best friends. Over the course of the summer, their friendship deepens as they explore the house, set up a business, and solve mysteries about the house and the area. Little by little, Katie John comes to love the small town and the big house and even comes up with a great idea for saving the house.
I can see why I liked this book so much as a kid and why it left such an impression on me. Katie John is a very likable heroine and is quite a bit like me as a child! Her summer experiences with her new best friend, Sue, reminded me of my own adventures with my best friend, Michelle, though we were in a modern suburban neighborhood. Katie John and her family run into some challenges, financially and otherwise, and there is some suspense here and there, but overall, the book has a light, fun tone. It paints a portrait of childhood summer fun with a best friend, of the kind that I hope kids today can still experience (I know my sons did). And I think that today's kids will still enjoy Katie John's adventures.
My only complaint was not with this wonderful novel but with my own memory because while I enjoyed reading it again, it was not the book I remembered it was! Now I have no idea what that book in my memory was ... a puzzle for another day. Let me know if you remember a kids' book from that era about a young girl (much like Katie John!) exploring the rural area around her new home who finds an old pioneer house and looks for clues to imagine the life of the woman who lived there.
134 pages, Harper Trophy
This book fits in the following 2022 Reading Challenges:
Mount TBR Challenge
Back to the Classics Challenge
Literary Escapes Challenge - Missouri
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Katie John I never came across but I can see why you enjoyed it. I think when we read a book we kind of have our own "read into it" and perhaps we'll never quite capture our childhood experience.
ReplyDeleteI never hear of anyone else who read these books! I enjoyed it again - I just wish I could now remember what that other book I remember was!
DeleteThat cover evokes strong memories for me of all the books from my early years. I have never heard of this one, which is strange since you and I are the same age.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the good old days! I can never find anyone who knows of this book or its 2 sequels!
DeleteI loved this series (I have them upstairs) and I wonder if Katie John finds the house in one of the later books. There are two things in these books that I am reminded of often - in the first book, doesn't the family take in boarders (that might be A Room for Cathy by Catherine Woolley, another favorite) and I think sometimes that in books this often embarrasses the offspring - has anyone does this as a Airbnb? Second, in the third book when all the girls including Sue get boy crazy and Katie John feels left out, my heart aches for her. My nieces who are 12 and 15 are very boy crazy and I can see them freezing out poor Katie John.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, in the fourth book, she and Edmund do go off exploring. Now that I check, I apparently only own three of the four books but I will investigate.
That's a REALLY good point! I thought I hadn't read any others, since this is the only one I still have, but it's entirely possible the old house was in another Katie John book - thanks for the insight! I think they do take in a boarder in this first book.
DeleteI loved the Katie John books as a kid. I read them many times over in 5th and 6th grade - so many years ago! Just this month, I thought of them out of the blue and ordered them on Amazon. I just finished the third book. Boy, was I surprised left and right how I lived my life - so much like Katie John! I was shocked when I saw the drawing of the farm house ... Because it looks just like mine!
DeleteWhat wonderful memories! So fun to reread them and remember what you loved as a kid. And so funny that you ended up living your life like Katie John!
DeleteNettie! Thanks for your Katie John write-up and reminding me of this favorite book.
DeleteI'm pretty sure Honestly, Katie John is the book where she & a male friend find the deserted house & eventually deduce the family left during the great depression. She also founds Boyhaters of America, which causes problems between them
DeleteThanks for the tip!! I'll check out that other book.
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