"I'm sure you'll find Kate a very sensible child," says Miss Watson, from the County Office.
Is that all anyone will ever say of her, Kate wonders. How she longs to be pretty and cute! But who would ever think of her—a freckle-faced, red-headed orphan—as cute? So Kate settles for being sensible.
Then she goes to live with the Tuttles as a "family helper." And in this small seaside town in California, Sensible Kate Summers meets some wonderful people and makes some surprising discoveries—about herself.