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A review by sassmistress
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
5.0
This book was lower on my list because I was expecting something this old to be... well, boring! Or with problematic "product of its time" content, since it was written in 1881. I found a copy in my mother's house and took the chance to read it, and I'm pleased to announce I could not have been more wrong!
This book would make a delightful family read aloud. There's a lot of depth to it that makes it enjoyable for many ages. Despite a relatively slow pace, the dialog is perfectly crafted to evoke the sensation of being in a household with 5 children! The tone of the book always maintains "of course everything works out fine and resolves quickly and to the good," but you still get plenty of tension and sudden surprises with sickness, childish disappointment, Christmas excitement, a burglary, the toddler wandering off, etc. These are masterfully danced around so that only the older readers will notice the real danger in the "what ifs", even as you know it's going to resolve well.
One caveat I will note is that the vocabulary level is very high. I had to look up a number of words that are not in common usage anymore. I still think it would be great for young listeners, as the language will wash over them and there's plenty of low-hanging fruit to entertain them, like grandma's poor hearing causing funny repetitions, the littlest ones almost giving away surprises, dramatic spills, etc.
I especially loved the joyful Pepper family dynamics. All five children are all "yes ma'am" and always eager to help. They are independent and capable, and the elder children especially make vital contributions to the household. The children complain some about their lack, but this is always redirected to gratitude and imaginative solutions. The children are honest and generous, giving the best sweets to their siblings and taking very good care of one another, each to their ability. Neighbors stop by unannounced and love on the family.
Content Warnings
I found very little to be objectionable about this book, so I'm trying to include all possible topics of interest! The children really are good as gold, the family relationships are delightful, and it's just a very positive book overall. Content notes below:
- It's a single-mother household because their father died, no further elaboration. They meet a boy who has no mother and does not elaborate further beyond a brief conversational tension.
- The family gets the measles. They are worried for a while that one child will become blind permanently, and another child has a high fever for a night that everyone is worried about. This will read differently to different ages--adult readers will see between the lines and realize that he very nearly died.
- The family praises the Lord and gives thanks. A child prays to be made willing to endure anything, to be made "good". Another prays to find a lost sibling, which is immediately granted. The Lord's provision in a time of need is implicit and explicit in a few places. "And children, we ought to be very good and please Him, for He's been so good to us."
- One boy says he'll be a minister when he grows up, and go "everywhere". His sister says he's not "good" enough. The boy asks if the minister is ever naughty, she says no, so he says he doesn't want to be one.
- Not all grown ups are good. One essentially makes a child cry by saying she's no help to her mother. In another case, the 3 year old wanders off with an organ grinder. He keeps walking to the next town, and tries to keep her from running away for help later. A stranger and his dog intervene and chase him off.
- There's some "secrecy" language like "it's a secret," and "never letting anyone know", but it's immediately apparent that it's a surprise present for one of the children. One other case: the kids agree not to include the littlest one's near accident (potentially fatal) in their next letter to their mother, so as not to scare her. The adults at their current house know, so it's not really a *secret*, per se, but I'm still not a fan.
- This book has a lot of "don't cry" when comforting others. Doesn't bother me, as it's meant well and intended to make the receiver feel better here, but I know that doesn't fit with everyone's parenting style.
- An adult says "that stupid Jane!", referring to the housekeeper, when he is flustered and can't find a glass of water.
- The 3 year old wakes up to catch burglary in progress. One robber tries to hit her but is stopped by the other. Brief excitement, and of course all ends well, but it is possible it could frighten an already-anxious child.
- Two boys go outside to fight each other after they argue about whether one could have stopped the burglars. One of the mothers catches them hitting each other and puts an end to it. No injuries are described and they claim it was "great fun" and one of them "hits splendidly".
- I found no language concerns (besides one "stupid"), romantic/sexual content, or racial insensitivity (or any nonwhite characters at all, to be fair). The closest I could find was referring to the children's faces as "black" when they finished poking around the oven, because they got sooty.
Santa content below:
- The 3yo wishes she had something to give Santa. Her sister says it pleases Santa most of anything if she's a good girl. She exclaims that she'll be good always.
- We get all the Santa talk with the littlest ones, but most of what's in view is the two eldest children working very hard for weeks to prepare a Christmas for them. It might slip by a VERY small child if your family does Santa, but the young ones clearly receive the presents in their stocking that the big kids worked on making for them.
- The eldest dresses up as Santa ("the jolly Old Saint") to surprise the littles but gives himself away when he himself is surprised by some unexpected guests.
- The oldest girl got a pet bird for Christmas. Just wanted to mention in case you're going to deal with begging 😂
- It's a single-mother household because their father died, no further elaboration. They meet a boy who has no mother and does not elaborate further beyond a brief conversational tension.
- The family gets the measles. They are worried for a while that one child will become blind permanently, and another child has a high fever for a night that everyone is worried about. This will read differently to different ages--adult readers will see between the lines and realize that he very nearly died.
- The family praises the Lord and gives thanks. A child prays to be made willing to endure anything, to be made "good". Another prays to find a lost sibling, which is immediately granted. The Lord's provision in a time of need is implicit and explicit in a few places. "And children, we ought to be very good and please Him, for He's been so good to us."
- One boy says he'll be a minister when he grows up, and go "everywhere". His sister says he's not "good" enough. The boy asks if the minister is ever naughty, she says no, so he says he doesn't want to be one.
- Not all grown ups are good. One essentially makes a child cry by saying she's no help to her mother. In another case, the 3 year old wanders off with an organ grinder. He keeps walking to the next town, and tries to keep her from running away for help later. A stranger and his dog intervene and chase him off.
- There's some "secrecy" language like "it's a secret," and "never letting anyone know", but it's immediately apparent that it's a surprise present for one of the children. One other case: the kids agree not to include the littlest one's near accident (potentially fatal) in their next letter to their mother, so as not to scare her. The adults at their current house know, so it's not really a *secret*, per se, but I'm still not a fan.
- This book has a lot of "don't cry" when comforting others. Doesn't bother me, as it's meant well and intended to make the receiver feel better here, but I know that doesn't fit with everyone's parenting style.
- An adult says "that stupid Jane!", referring to the housekeeper, when he is flustered and can't find a glass of water.
- The 3 year old wakes up to catch burglary in progress. One robber tries to hit her but is stopped by the other. Brief excitement, and of course all ends well, but it is possible it could frighten an already-anxious child.
- Two boys go outside to fight each other after they argue about whether one could have stopped the burglars. One of the mothers catches them hitting each other and puts an end to it. No injuries are described and they claim it was "great fun" and one of them "hits splendidly".
- I found no language concerns (besides one "stupid"), romantic/sexual content, or racial insensitivity (or any nonwhite characters at all, to be fair). The closest I could find was referring to the children's faces as "black" when they finished poking around the oven, because they got sooty.
Santa content below:
- The 3yo wishes she had something to give Santa. Her sister says it pleases Santa most of anything if she's a good girl. She exclaims that she'll be good always.
- We get all the Santa talk with the littlest ones, but most of what's in view is the two eldest children working very hard for weeks to prepare a Christmas for them. It might slip by a VERY small child if your family does Santa, but the young ones clearly receive the presents in their stocking that the big kids worked on making for them.
- The eldest dresses up as Santa ("the jolly Old Saint") to surprise the littles but gives himself away when he himself is surprised by some unexpected guests.
- The oldest girl got a pet bird for Christmas. Just wanted to mention in case you're going to deal with begging 😂