Remembering her mother's words, an eight-year-old girl finds courage to go alone with her father to build a new home in the Connecticut wilderness and to stay with the Indians when her father goes back to bring the rest of the family.
An expedition under the bed reveals a variety of creatures--hairy green, spiny red, warty and winged--that are not scary, but they are all afraid of the newest arrival.
When Katie is left alone briefly at home, a big bear emerges from a book she is reading, and they venture out of the apartment to confront a variety of Katie's fears.