Customer Reviews

Five Little Peppers and How They Grew Book and Charm (Charming Classics)

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I recently re-read this book, which I'd enjoyed as a child (forty years ago). Today, it seems rather dismal to me - horrible poverty, illness, the pat happy ending and children who are horribly gushing over their mother. Yet, years back, what I most liked about the story was that, being a very independent and mature child myself, Polly and Ben succeed very well at taking on adult responsibilities.

Though I'm at a loss about explaining exactly how the author does so, I've found that this is a book which every reader interprets differently - and that shows an amazing depth. My own mother remembers reading it as a child, and being moved by the familial devotion and respect for the matriarch. As other posts here make clear, it can reach each of us on a different level.

This book is a worthy addition to any child's library. However, I'd leave a single caveat: do not use it to prompt "a talk," especially on the "look how good you have it today" theme. Let the era introduce itself. It was a time of great poverty for many, yet also one which idealised a form of "perfect" family relationships which no one could hope to have. The combination of gritty realism with idealistic dreams has a message that kids will grasp on their own, and probably quite inventively.

"The Five Little Peppers" are Ben, Polly, Joel, Davie, and Phronsie. Their father died when Phronsie was a baby and Mrs. Pepper struggles to earn enough money to support the family. Despite their poverty, they are a loving family, full of spirit and adventure. Ben and Polly do what they can to support the family, but a bout with measles threatens the well being of the entire Pepper clan, especially Joel and Polly. The family has other adventures and befriend Jasper King during one of them. This friendship will enrich their lives in ways they never thought would be possible.

It's always interesting as an adult to reread a book that I loved as a child. When I was young I thought how much fun the Peppers had and longed to belong to a large family. As an adult, I realize how poor the family really was and how quickly the children had to grow up. As a child I thought how terrible it was that Polly couldn't read for days on end because of the measles; as an adult I realize the Peppers couldn't even afford to buy books.

First published in 1881, "The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew" is old-fashioned (the doctor even makes house calls!), but still enjoyable. The Peppers are all delightful children, with Joel being the most honest of the bunch as he complains about having to eat the same food every day. Margaret Sidney was a talented author, who could make even inanimate objects, such as the stove, seem alive. The children's adventures may seem simple to today's young readers, who are used to Harry Potter and the like, but it's a refreshing change.

This book was the first in a series of 12 about the Pepper family. It was written in 1881 and takes place shortly after the Civil War(1860's-70's). The Pepper books follow the adventures of the 5 Pepper children and their widowed mother. The Peppers are poor but proud and the books extoll the importance of family and love and honesty and believing in yourself. These are wonderful books for children of all ages. They are sweet and funny and have an undercurrent of morality sadly lacking in most books written today. I started with my mothers childhood copy and have read and re-read the 4 books from the series I have been able to track down. I would recommend this and all the Pepper books to everyone. They are especially suited to be passed down from mother to daughter.

At the turn of the last century, five children and their widowed mother are left alone in the Brown House to make do in the daunting face of real poverty, with the fear of starvation always looming. And yet, the Pepper house is full of love. The five children, Ben, Polly, Davie, Joel and Phronsie, all help their mother in the day-to-day chores that make up their rough existence.

True to the mores of the time, Polly helps her mother sew so she can earn her pitiful pennies as a seamstress. The older boys do odd jobs and their chores. They frequently have nothing to eat but a cold potato, and when measles strikes the house, the almost deadly consequences just about tear the family apart. But their strength and love pulls them through--just in time to meet a family that will change their lives forever.

If you want your child to learn true family values, and to see and value the true spirit of giving, this is the book. Without preaching, without being cloying, without hammering the point home, "The Five Little Peppers" is a lasting testament to all that is good in people. Its charm is as strong today as it was generations ago.

How much you like this story and its sequels depends on your tolerance of Victorian fiction: the Peppers are very emotional in the Victorian manner, constantly crying or exclaiming in joy. And the youngest girl is sometimes too absolutely cute for words. But the novel itself is an excellent portrait of the average life of a poor family in the late 1800s and it is very much a typical Victorian children's story, complete with the family's rescue at the end. Widow Mary Pepper and her five children eke out a meager existence living on the proceeds of her sewing jobs. But the five children, Ben, Polly, Joel, David and Phronsie, are happy, mostly healthy, and make the most of what they have even if they must eat potatoes, mush and molasses most of the time. Then a chance encounter with a wealthy boy and his dog change their lives.

I would take off one point for this Charming Classics edition by pointing out the cover: why are there six kids? The book is FIVE little Peppers; who's the extra girl in front on the left?

This book by Margaret Sydney is one of my all time favourite books. I have my grandmother's well-worn copy and I still read it often. The simple but beautiful life of the Peppers would delight any child and reminds you of the better pleasures in life. I would recommend it to anyone!

This story is as wonderful as I remember it from childhood. Margaret Sidney's writing style is so delightful. This electronic edition lacks a table of contents-which I sorely miss because I like a map of where I've been and where I'm going. Also, the type print is really spaced out, so there are few words/per page, requiring continual page turning. Nevertheless, for free it is splendid, and I would recommend it without reservation!

I picked it up at a antic book shop, (one of the originals:dated back to 1948 or something) I managed to find one of the sequels, also one of the very old ones! I recomend this book to everyone everywhere. I especially recomend it to you if you are down in the dumps; it will really cheer you up, I promise! Email me if you want to. I'm willing to chat with anyone interested

I bought this book as a gift b/c I remember loving it as a child. This edition is very poorly edited & filled with typos. There are even several sections where whole paragraphs are repeated. Its obvious this publisher doesn't care enough to have someone proofread the editions they sell.

"The Five Little Peppers" are Ben, Polly, Joel, Davie, and Phronsie. Their father died when Phronsie was a baby and Mrs. Pepper struggles to earn enough money to support the family. Despite their poverty, they are a loving family, full of spirit and adventure. Ben and Polly do what they can to support the family, but a bout with measles threatens the well being of the entire Pepper clan, especially Joel and Polly. The family has other adventures and befriend Jasper King during one of them. This friendship will enrich their lives in ways they never thought would be possible.

It's always interesting as an adult to reread a book that I loved as a child. When I was young I thought how much fun the Peppers had and longed to belong to a large family. As an adult, I realize how poor the family really was and how quickly the children had to grow up. As a child I thought how terrible it was that Polly couldn't read for days on end because of the measles; as an adult I realize the Peppers couldn't even afford to buy books.

First published in 1881, "The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew" is old-fashioned (the doctor even makes house calls!), but still enjoyable. The Peppers are all delightful children, with Joel being the most honest of the bunch as he complains about having to eat the same food every day. Margaret Sidney was a talented author, who could make even inanimate objects, such as the stove, seem alive. The children's adventures may seem simple to today's young readers, who are used to Harry Potter and the like, but it's a refreshing change.