"Katie! Katie! Where will your imagination carry you?" said Mrs. Bates to her six-year-old daughter one day, after Katie had flown off on another flight of fancy.

No one could tell on that day in 1865, at Falmouth, Massachusetts, just where Katie's lively imagination would carry her—or how far it would carry her. Only years would prove its true worth to her.

Katie was a dreamy little girl. She liked to imagine that many things were alive that didn't really live. Even before she could read or write, she loved to "make up" funny little verses and songs. She sometimes said her nightly prayers in rhyme.

Her love of poetry was accompanied by a sincere love of learning. She once said to a friend, "I want to write something that will be remembered after I am dead."

It did not seem possible that this dream of writing something to be remembered would ever come true. Katie's mother was the widow of a Congregational minister, with four young children to support. The whole family, however, recognized Katie's writing talent and her ability as a scholar. Everyone vowed that she should go to college.

Katie's older brother Arthur gave up his own plans for college, so that he might help Katie realize her dreams.

After Arthur went to work in a bookshop, he sent Katie books to read. To her, these books were the most wonderful gift in the world. She carried them to her "secret hidey-hole" under the lilacs, and pored over them for hours at a time

Katie entered Wellesley College at the age of sixteen. At that time, of course, she had no inkling that sometime she would become the popular head of its English Department. Even so, she greatly impressed her instructors and laid the foundation for her future.

And so it was that the ability and imagination of Katharine Lee Bates enabled her to rise from an humble beginning to a nationally-known writer and educator.

The climax of her ambition came on a trip to Colorado. There she was inspired to write the memorable poem, "America the Beautiful," which will ever live after her.

Elisabeth P. Myers has written a lively, entertaining story about Katie. It reveals Katie's winsomeness, and her sweet, "day dreamy" personality. It also reveals her determination to become an important person in the annals of her country.

From the dust jacket