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    Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, with eBook
    Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, with eBook
    Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, with eBook
    Audiobook7 hours

    Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, with eBook

    Written by Margaret Sidney

    Narrated by Rebecca Burns

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Mrs. Pepper, a widow, and her five children lived in a plain little brown house where she struggled to feed and clothe her lively brood. The family had little in the way of luxury and hardly any of the things that many of us today take for granted. But they had such fun and good times together and loved one another so dearly that when a very rich little boy discovered the warmth and happiness that flooded the little brown house he felt himself lucky to be in it. And as it turned out, his coming brought luck to the Five Little Peppers too.



    The adventures of this poor but loving Pepper family—Ben, Polly, Joel, Davie, and the adored youngest, Phronsie—have charmed young audiences for more than a century. Overflowing with warmth, suspense, and many delightful surprises, this classic remains as compelling as ever.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateNov 23, 2009
    ISBN9781400181278
    Author

    Margaret Sidney

    Margaret Sidney's real name was Harriett Stone (1844-1924). She was born in Connecticut and authored twelve books about the Pepper clan. She is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Massachusetts.

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    Reviews for Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, with eBook

    4/5

    27 ratings18 reviews

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    • 5/5
      My absolute favorite series as a child!!
    • 5/5
      A Wonderful StoryThis is an excellent book for both children and adults alike. It's about a how a mother and her five children live, love and stick together through life's challenges. Nice surprise at the end. Good book for the 8-12 year old crowd. Excellent as a read aloud for younger children too.
    • 3/5
      Loved it when I was a child, but perhaps a bit moralistic now.
    • 5/5
      I read this many times growing up. It was always been one of my favorites. I was thinking about it recently, and decided to reread it. It is just as good now as ever. The characters are wonderful. The story is simple but encouraging. This book stands the test of time and will continue to be a great read for many years to come. This book just makes you feel good and hopeful.
    • 5/5
      This is one of our favorite books.
    • 5/5
      Even when I was a child (oh, so very long ago), there were very few children's books that I was interested in. Black Beauty was always a favorite, and later on, the Black Stallion, but this book just stayed with me. It still has the dust jacket, and was published in 1938, which is only apparent from the copyright announcement for the illustrations).It's an unlikely story, and even as a child, it seemed unlikely to happen in real life, and yet... I wanted to believe it. How nice to know that this little family that inhabited my childhood is in my home again.
    • 3/5
      Actually my mother's favorite childhood series. She had been planning on naming me after the two girl characters... Polly Saphronsie. Very sweet story and while some terms are quite dated, it would be similar to reading the American Girls series. A cozy read in childhood form.
    • 4/5
      I don't remember this from my childhood. I love visiting the pleasant land of Classic children's books too much to have considered giving this one up but it isn't the best for an adult. The first half reminded me of Dick and Jane type readers. There were boisterous siblings interacting while speaking in stilted language. The action centers on baby sister Phronsie. I had an audio book. I kept imagining reader-style illustrations. I got the feeling that the author had never been poor herself. Her Wikipedia bio seems to confirm this. The Pepper family seems to be her idea of what the deserving poor should be. Alcott and Dickens used more of their own life.
    • 3/5
      The first of a series, Five Little Peppers and How They Grew (first published in 1881) tells the story of the Pepper family (five siblings and their widowed mother), their joys, their struggles, their love for one another. Rather episodic in nature, and definitely of its time (there are elements of religious preachiness, strict gender roles and definite social stratification present), the chapters, while generally readable and enjoyable, are also at times rather far fetched, with some obvious coincidences (so much so, that there at least sometimes seems to be an almost fairy-tale like aura of disbelief encountered, which can be a bit disconcerting, as the book seems to have been primarily written as a piece of realistic fiction). Especially the serendipity presented at the end of the novel (when Percy, Van and Dick's father returns and is revealed to be Mrs. Pepper's cousin) does tend to feel a bit artificial and forced (and while I know that this was often part and parcel to family type stories of the 19th and early 20th century, I do wonder wether modern children reading or attempting to read Five Little Peppers and How They Grew might not feel as though they are being force-fed, that they are being told a story that kind of defies belief and one that assumes innocence and naiveté on the part of the reader). However, even more of an issue (for me at least) is the writing style, the narrative flow of this book, the words used, and the way many of the characters act (or rather, act out). I find the narrative style slightly scattered, unorganised and often overly dramatic, with especially the Pepper children regularly screaming, laughing loudly, crying, on their knees praying (constantly disclaiming or proclaiming their love, their fear, their pain, their joy). Of course, a novel where the characters are described as being mostly devoid of emotion would also not be natural, but in Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, the constant outbursts actually make many of the characters seem exaggerated, almost as though they are defined primarily by their emotions (or rather by their excess of the same). I would still recommend Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, especially to those who are interested in what I call vintage girls' fiction or vintage family stories, but I do wonder wether modern children would really enjoy this book, or wether they would also be (like I was and am) slightly put off by the obvious and heavy-handed coincidences and especially the overly exaggerated emotionality of much of the text. As for me, while I will most likely read the rest of the series, this will be more due to academic interest and not necessarily because I expect to greatly enjoy reading the sequels.
    • 5/5
      "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.
    • 5/5
      I love it although its very long.
    • 4/5
      A bit overly-sweet by today's standards. Poor family finds joy in everyday trials. The very first "big" (ie chapter) book I ever owned. this is where I learned what a velocipede is!! I found this vintage copy at Loganberry's.
    • 5/5
      I read and loved this book when I was a child - so I bought it for my children. They didn't love it like I did. I don't think my daughter even finished it.
    • 4/5
      The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sydney; Y/A; (4*)Going back to my youth to read this again, I enjoyed it every bit as much as I did then or perhaps even more. With 7 children in our family there was a great deal I could relate to.This is the story of a poor household consisting of mammsie, who takes in sewing for a living along with her 5 youngsters, a couple of which work outside the home to help support the family.The story is wholesome but not boring for very much happens to and with these lovely children. I love the concept of the family pulling together for the good of all and think that if more families were of this nature today (as mine was growing up in the 40s, 50s & 60s) the world would be a much better place.Highly recommended & 4 stars.
    • 5/5
      this was my favorite book growing up.
    • 4/5
      The was a very endearing book. The children enjoyed the adventures of the Peppers and were tickled at the long, lost relations ending.
    • 5/5
      One of my favorite reads from my childhood.
    • 3/5
      The Peppers are horribly poor, too poor for the children to go to school, too poor to celebrate Christmas, too poor to even buy an envelope to mail a letter in. Then the Peppers meet Jasper and their lives do a complete turnaround. Five years I've had the Five Little Peppers. I've finally completed it!