Kaatje is a warmhearted, lively ten-year-old girl whose impulsiveness and generosity often get her into difficulties—particularly with her twelve-year-old brother, Karel, who thinks all girls are as silly as geese.  Karel is not at all surprised when Kaatje falls into the canal and has to be fished out by a strange boy.  

But the same qualities that make trouble for Kaatje also gain wonderful new friends, Kaatje and Karel have an opportunity to take a trip on a cheese barge on the canal, visit the cheese market at Alkmaar, and have a thrilling time.

Sailing lessons, family picnics, the ice holiday, and many other high points make Kaatje's story a jolly one.  The wonderful Christmas when Kaatje changes her brother's mind about the ability of girls is a fitting climax to another of Mrs. Seymour's delightful stories about children in other lands.

From the dust jacket