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The Pyes #1
Ginger Pye
The disappearance of a new puppy named Ginger and the appearance of a mysterious man in a mustard yellow hat bring excitement into the lives of the Pye children.
327 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1951
About the author
Eleanor Estes
45 books254 followersEleanor Ruth Rosenfeld (Estes)was an American children's author. She was born in West Haven, Connecticut as Eleanor Ruth Rosenfield. Originally a librarian, Estes' writing career began following a case of tuberculosis. Bedridden while recovering, Estes began writing down some of her childhood memories, which would later turn into full-length children's books.
Estes's book Ginger Pye (1951) won the Newbery Medal, and three of her other books (The Middle Moffat, Rufus M., and The Hundred Dresses) were chosen as Newbery Honor books. She also received the Certificate of Award for Outstanding Contribution to Children’s Literature and was nominated for the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award. By the time of her death at age 82, Estes had written 19 children's books and one novel for adults.
Estes's book Ginger Pye (1951) won the Newbery Medal, and three of her other books (The Middle Moffat, Rufus M., and The Hundred Dresses) were chosen as Newbery Honor books. She also received the Certificate of Award for Outstanding Contribution to Children’s Literature and was nominated for the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award. By the time of her death at age 82, Estes had written 19 children's books and one novel for adults.
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April 22, 2020
A few years after my parents bought their very first house together, an entire lot of low-income apartment buildings went up on the other side of the canal behind our house.
These apartment buildings became known to the residents of my neighborhood as the red apartments, (very clever indeed, as they were painted red) and this expression was typically uttered in derision and infamy, especially by us kids.
Yes, we were resentful, initially, that those apartments went up directly behind our house and cast their ugly shadows on our smaller homes, so the residents of that complex already had one strike against them, but the main problem was that a majority of the kids who lived there were often bad news.
They were the kids who started fist fights at our bus stop, they were the kids we would find hovered down by the canal behind our house smoking joints, and they were the kids who held me at knife point, once, at the age of 12.
The truth is, there were probably a lot of really normal people living in those buildings, but they were most likely the single, the newly married, or the retired ones, and we rarely encountered any of them. It was the teenagers we needed to look out for, and I would typically walk a wide arc around the entire complex on my way home, especially if I ever found myself walking alone.
I had a good childhood, but almost everything bad that happened to me as a kid was connected in some way to the residents of those red apartments.
I would often complain to my parents about the shifty characters who would step out of the shadows of those red buildings and the threats they posed to my person, but it was the 1970s, and my father was just shy of invisible, gone every day from 7am to 7 pm. My mother was visibly present, but always unavailable, whether she was washing dishes, cooking a casserole or reading Cosmo. Parents were rarely concerned with “Unsavory Characters” back in those days. You were on your own.
So, imagine my surprise this week at meeting Jerry and Rachel Pye, a sibling pair in Connecticut who have an “Unsavory Character” of their very own, a person who has crept out of nowhere and is determined to stalk them, mentally torment them, and then steal something quite precious from them.
These kids are not totally on their own; their mother does listen to their problem and at least offers to lock the doors (it's something), and a local police officer takes their stolen property at least seriously enough to file a report, but, for the most part, the lives of this brother-sister pair become altered when they are presented with this very real problem.
There isn't any violence in this book, and it was perfectly appropriate for my 9 & 12 year-old readers, but this Newberry award winning story from 1952 took me quite by surprise. I can't recall a single book for middle aged readers tackling this particular problem.
The threat here is very real, and I applaud Eleanor Estes for grappling with an issue that has probably plagued many young lives throughout the years. I felt validated by this story, and my daughters were completely engaged by it, despite it being almost 70 years old.
As far as I could tell, it hasn't lost any of its appeal.
These apartment buildings became known to the residents of my neighborhood as the red apartments, (very clever indeed, as they were painted red) and this expression was typically uttered in derision and infamy, especially by us kids.
Yes, we were resentful, initially, that those apartments went up directly behind our house and cast their ugly shadows on our smaller homes, so the residents of that complex already had one strike against them, but the main problem was that a majority of the kids who lived there were often bad news.
They were the kids who started fist fights at our bus stop, they were the kids we would find hovered down by the canal behind our house smoking joints, and they were the kids who held me at knife point, once, at the age of 12.
The truth is, there were probably a lot of really normal people living in those buildings, but they were most likely the single, the newly married, or the retired ones, and we rarely encountered any of them. It was the teenagers we needed to look out for, and I would typically walk a wide arc around the entire complex on my way home, especially if I ever found myself walking alone.
I had a good childhood, but almost everything bad that happened to me as a kid was connected in some way to the residents of those red apartments.
I would often complain to my parents about the shifty characters who would step out of the shadows of those red buildings and the threats they posed to my person, but it was the 1970s, and my father was just shy of invisible, gone every day from 7am to 7 pm. My mother was visibly present, but always unavailable, whether she was washing dishes, cooking a casserole or reading Cosmo. Parents were rarely concerned with “Unsavory Characters” back in those days. You were on your own.
So, imagine my surprise this week at meeting Jerry and Rachel Pye, a sibling pair in Connecticut who have an “Unsavory Character” of their very own, a person who has crept out of nowhere and is determined to stalk them, mentally torment them, and then steal something quite precious from them.
These kids are not totally on their own; their mother does listen to their problem and at least offers to lock the doors (it's something), and a local police officer takes their stolen property at least seriously enough to file a report, but, for the most part, the lives of this brother-sister pair become altered when they are presented with this very real problem.
There isn't any violence in this book, and it was perfectly appropriate for my 9 & 12 year-old readers, but this Newberry award winning story from 1952 took me quite by surprise. I can't recall a single book for middle aged readers tackling this particular problem.
The threat here is very real, and I applaud Eleanor Estes for grappling with an issue that has probably plagued many young lives throughout the years. I felt validated by this story, and my daughters were completely engaged by it, despite it being almost 70 years old.
As far as I could tell, it hasn't lost any of its appeal.
November 29, 2011
I read this because a couple friends and I are on a mission to read all the Newbery award winners, so I haven't read any of the other Pye books by Eleanor Estes. I mention that solely because I can't say whether reading them would have made me more or less interested in this book and, more specifically, Estes' narrative style.
I had a really difficult time getting into this book. Considering the Newbery track record thus far, I'm not surprised that was the case, but I did expect a little more from this book since Estes is relatively well-known. The focus of this story jumps around quite a bit -- Ginger the dog is always involved somehow, but the chapters focus sometimes on Jerry, sometimes on Rachel, sometimes on Ginger -- I can't really put my finger on which one of those I would call the main character and so I felt a little lost at first.
And then Ginger the dog gets lost and suddenly the story gets interesting.
Actually -- there's a chapter right before Ginger gets lost that I found surprisingly entertaining. Ginger goes on a hunt to discover where it is Jerry disappears to every day (school) and I found that I liked Estes' imagining of what goes on inside a dog's head. It's not quite as amusing as the dogs in "Up", but it is funny.
Rachel -- the little girl -- starts listing all the stories that make her cry, which include stories about old men. How random! But I love this:
|Warning: Nerd Alert|
And this last bit is entirely unrelated to the story, but it's one of the reasons I love reading old books. I was reading along, la-di-da, and then this caught my eye: "Papa carried Uncle Bennie pickaback most of the way up." Pickaback?! Is that where the term piggyback came from? I never much thought about it before, but piggyback doesn't really make any sense, does it? When do you ever carry a pig on your back? Or when do pigs ever carry anything on their backs? Hmmm... Well, it didn't take much digging to discover that the word pick-a-pack became pickaback became piggyback through a process called folk etymology, wherein people begin to replace a word whose meaning has been lost (pick -- to place or put) with a similar sounding word (piggy) regardless of whether or not the new word makes any sort of sense. Isn't that fascinating? Language is alive, people!
I had a really difficult time getting into this book. Considering the Newbery track record thus far, I'm not surprised that was the case, but I did expect a little more from this book since Estes is relatively well-known. The focus of this story jumps around quite a bit -- Ginger the dog is always involved somehow, but the chapters focus sometimes on Jerry, sometimes on Rachel, sometimes on Ginger -- I can't really put my finger on which one of those I would call the main character and so I felt a little lost at first.
And then Ginger the dog gets lost and suddenly the story gets interesting.
Actually -- there's a chapter right before Ginger gets lost that I found surprisingly entertaining. Ginger goes on a hunt to discover where it is Jerry disappears to every day (school) and I found that I liked Estes' imagining of what goes on inside a dog's head. It's not quite as amusing as the dogs in "Up", but it is funny.
There Ginger had been -- on the trail of Jerry, to find out where he went always. And then this! This fight with a cat. He had fallen into temptation after all. What a reflection upon his character! In his shame Ginger stuck his tail down tight. He felt like a traitor, a deserter... All right. It would not happen again because he was Ginger, the purposeful dog.Ha!
Rachel -- the little girl -- starts listing all the stories that make her cry, which include stories about old men. How random! But I love this:
The old man in the story was so feeble he spilled all his food on himself with shaking hands. He made such a mess his family made him eat on the bench behind the kitchen stove... Rachel could hardly bear to think of that sad story ever. When Grampa got that old, she would make him eat right at the table with them all and slobber as much as he wanted.I became quite enamored with the story about halfway through the book and just couldn't put it down. Perhaps I should have given myself an hour to get into the book from the beginning instead of reading a chapter a night, as I tend to do with the Newbery winners.
|Warning: Nerd Alert|
And this last bit is entirely unrelated to the story, but it's one of the reasons I love reading old books. I was reading along, la-di-da, and then this caught my eye: "Papa carried Uncle Bennie pickaback most of the way up." Pickaback?! Is that where the term piggyback came from? I never much thought about it before, but piggyback doesn't really make any sense, does it? When do you ever carry a pig on your back? Or when do pigs ever carry anything on their backs? Hmmm... Well, it didn't take much digging to discover that the word pick-a-pack became pickaback became piggyback through a process called folk etymology, wherein people begin to replace a word whose meaning has been lost (pick -- to place or put) with a similar sounding word (piggy) regardless of whether or not the new word makes any sort of sense. Isn't that fascinating? Language is alive, people!
November 8, 2017
We loved this story about a family who loves and respects animals. Jerry wants a dog but he is worried about his cat's feelings, when he has made sure that he doesn't think his cat will mind he goes about earning the dollar required to buy the puppy he has set his heart on. There is someone else who has a dollar waiting for this adorable puppy so the heat is on and there is a tense chapter or so when you you hope the outcome is happy as the other would be puppy owner sounds far from desirable.
This book would have been nice enough as an everyday account of family life but a mystery unfolds that really kept us guessing.
We appreciated the characters in this book really cared about animals and wildlife. We liked the fact they cared enough to consider the cats feelings about buying a dog, and they cared about birds and small creatures enough to put a bell around the cats neck. The children having being taught to consider the feelings of others cared about elderly peoples dignity, and a happy ending ensued.
This book would have been nice enough as an everyday account of family life but a mystery unfolds that really kept us guessing.
We appreciated the characters in this book really cared about animals and wildlife. We liked the fact they cared enough to consider the cats feelings about buying a dog, and they cared about birds and small creatures enough to put a bell around the cats neck. The children having being taught to consider the feelings of others cared about elderly peoples dignity, and a happy ending ensued.
June 24, 2008
This is a pretty old book, had they not heard of excitement yet when this was written? It's a boring story with a drawn out plot. In a word, Bleck. I will give Estes that the characters, all of them, were very lovable though so this could make a decent read aloud in a classroom.
August 27, 2014
The 1952 Newbery Medal winner Ginger Pye was a childhood favorite of mine, a book I can still remember my mom reading to my brother and me when we were very young indeed. My continuing love for it might be simple nostalgia, but I think the fact that it has lingered in my mind all these years is proof of the book’s simple power, and I enjoyed it just as much as an adult as I did as a child—in parts a bit more, because when Estes discusses such things as the first and third persons (in a very round-about, child-like manner), I am now in on the joke.
The Pyes are a unique bunch: Mr. Pye is a famous “bird man” (the children’s word for an ornithologist) who is always being called on to solve all the nation’s bird problems; Mrs. Pye is the youngest housewife in town, having literally bumped into the 35-year-old Mr. Pye on when she was only 17, thus causing him to fall madly in love with her; Jerry is a normal 10-year-old boy, interested in rocks and dogs; his younger sister Rachel wants to be a “bird man” like her dad and makes up the wildest explanations for things she doesn’t really understand, and finds them entirely sensible; and Gracie-the-Cat is a lazy old thing whose only great virtue, besides rat-killing, is her ability to unlock the front door. I should probably add Mama’s brother Bennie as well, as he visits every Saturday and is considered a hero in Cranbury because he is an uncle at only three years of age. All their lives change for the better when Jerry inducts a new pet into the household, the lovable puppy Ginger, whom he bought for a hard-earned dollar. But it seems someone else wants Ginger too, an Unsavory Character whose mysterious footsteps and dirty yellow hat are the only clues they have as to his identity....
There are certain passages of this book that have stuck in my mind like bubble-gum to the bottom of school desks. The story of how Mr. and Mrs. Pye met is one of them, Mr. Pye having knocked her over while he was foolishly trying to go up the “down” escalator, only to find himself head over heels in love: “Well, of course, since Mama was such a little thing and wore only a size two shoe, and, moreover, ate like a bird, Papa had to marry her.” And who could ever forget Rachel’s argument with her friend Addie Egan over the pronunciation of the word “villain,” especially Rachel’s assertion that “it must be vilyun because vilyun sounds more vilyunous than villun”? I could even remember Dr. Kelly’s pink and green kinds of medicines: “Both tasted awful but the green was worse because it also looked bad.” It’s little touches like this that make the book really breathe, and help create the impression that the Pyes are actual people living in an actual city called Cranbury, somewhere between Boston and New York.
The Pyes are a unique bunch: Mr. Pye is a famous “bird man” (the children’s word for an ornithologist) who is always being called on to solve all the nation’s bird problems; Mrs. Pye is the youngest housewife in town, having literally bumped into the 35-year-old Mr. Pye on when she was only 17, thus causing him to fall madly in love with her; Jerry is a normal 10-year-old boy, interested in rocks and dogs; his younger sister Rachel wants to be a “bird man” like her dad and makes up the wildest explanations for things she doesn’t really understand, and finds them entirely sensible; and Gracie-the-Cat is a lazy old thing whose only great virtue, besides rat-killing, is her ability to unlock the front door. I should probably add Mama’s brother Bennie as well, as he visits every Saturday and is considered a hero in Cranbury because he is an uncle at only three years of age. All their lives change for the better when Jerry inducts a new pet into the household, the lovable puppy Ginger, whom he bought for a hard-earned dollar. But it seems someone else wants Ginger too, an Unsavory Character whose mysterious footsteps and dirty yellow hat are the only clues they have as to his identity....
There are certain passages of this book that have stuck in my mind like bubble-gum to the bottom of school desks. The story of how Mr. and Mrs. Pye met is one of them, Mr. Pye having knocked her over while he was foolishly trying to go up the “down” escalator, only to find himself head over heels in love: “Well, of course, since Mama was such a little thing and wore only a size two shoe, and, moreover, ate like a bird, Papa had to marry her.” And who could ever forget Rachel’s argument with her friend Addie Egan over the pronunciation of the word “villain,” especially Rachel’s assertion that “it must be vilyun because vilyun sounds more vilyunous than villun”? I could even remember Dr. Kelly’s pink and green kinds of medicines: “Both tasted awful but the green was worse because it also looked bad.” It’s little touches like this that make the book really breathe, and help create the impression that the Pyes are actual people living in an actual city called Cranbury, somewhere between Boston and New York.
April 14, 2018
I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately, I found it to be quite slow. I will not read more of the series. 2 stars
May 21, 2015
This might be the last Newbery I read (okay probably not because I have a mission to read them all and I'm not a quitter) because I am totally OUTRAGED by this book. This mangled, sidetracking, lack of interest and shallow character filled story is the book that beat out "Charlotte's Web" the year it was released? Are you kidding me?!!!!?
This one example in and of itself goes to prove how extremely worthless the Newbery is. If I ever write a book and win one I think I'll be the first person in history to decline it, even though Estes should have. I mean freaking "Charlotte's Web"!!!!
Instead of writing my traditional random reviews like I usually do (I'm giving this book a two but out of spite I would prefer to give it a one) I'm going to take the time to compare this book to the greatest (not Newbery winning) children's book of all time (at minimum someone try to argue it's not in the top 5).
1. Life Lessons:
GP-Don't be an idiot and lose your dog and if you happen to be an idiot don't be an even bigger one and assume someone couldn't have stolen it just because they are right in front of you.
CW- We are all going to die but it's what we do and who we help on this planet that matters.
2. Characters:
GP- just finished this book fifteen minutes ago. Maybe Jerry and Rachael (I'm not kidding I can't remember and it's not worth walking to my car to grab the book to find out). They don't do anything special, literally your everyday run of the mill kids. There uncle Bennie who is three (yes pages are wasted on explaining this point that has nothing to do with the plot, why not just make him a younger brother?) And finally the title character Ginger Pye who literally isn't in 3/4 of the book. About the deepest thing we learn about any of them is that the boy wants to study rocks and the girl wants to study birds when they grow up. GP we discover is a dog.
CW- Fern a girl experiencing the loss of innocence as a child becomes a teen. Learning some hard lessons along the way but still having time to smile and talk with animals. Avery her comedic relief of a brother who does a much better job of portraying a typical boy than what's his face. Wilbur the pig on a journey to learn the hard truths about life and do so in a humble way. He really is just some pig. And like fifty more, shout out to Templeton, gains some kindness in the end, but finally Charlotte. If I was going to sit down with my own kids someday and tell them who they should be when they grow up I'd say "be selfless just like Charlotte from CW." This spider dedicates her entire life to others. Wow!
Setting:
I'm going to give them a tie here. They both have a few exciting places they visit. CW has a scene at the county fair and just hanging out in a barn is full of wonder. GP involves the swimming hole and a mysterious cave, and there is a scene where the kids are in a church by themselves. What kid wouldn't enjoy that? I feel like both stories have created a setting that is timeless.
Emotional Factor:
GP- could have cared less that the dog was lost because they literally just got him ten pages before. Not enough time to become attached.
CW- bawl my eyes out every time (don't even try to deny it, you do too) Charlotte lays down her life, gives everything she has and then perishes. Yes irresponsible kids might have to go through the pain of losing a pet, but we all have to experience death.
Confusion Factor:
GP-way to many tangents and random things happening that didn't add to anything.
CW- straight forward, memorable, can be told by heart by millions of people (this is verifiable, if you've read the book seriously tell it to someone, you'll find yourself using actual quotes from the book).
There is a reason why the Goodreads community has rated GP 3.6 with like 7,500 reviews while giving CW a 4.2 with over 750,000 reviews, "Charlotte's Web" is a clearly superior book. Way to go Newbery, you dropped the ball on this one (and countless others I might add, have I read a single five star Newbery yet???)
This one example in and of itself goes to prove how extremely worthless the Newbery is. If I ever write a book and win one I think I'll be the first person in history to decline it, even though Estes should have. I mean freaking "Charlotte's Web"!!!!
Instead of writing my traditional random reviews like I usually do (I'm giving this book a two but out of spite I would prefer to give it a one) I'm going to take the time to compare this book to the greatest (not Newbery winning) children's book of all time (at minimum someone try to argue it's not in the top 5).
1. Life Lessons:
GP-Don't be an idiot and lose your dog and if you happen to be an idiot don't be an even bigger one and assume someone couldn't have stolen it just because they are right in front of you.
CW- We are all going to die but it's what we do and who we help on this planet that matters.
2. Characters:
GP- just finished this book fifteen minutes ago. Maybe Jerry and Rachael (I'm not kidding I can't remember and it's not worth walking to my car to grab the book to find out). They don't do anything special, literally your everyday run of the mill kids. There uncle Bennie who is three (yes pages are wasted on explaining this point that has nothing to do with the plot, why not just make him a younger brother?) And finally the title character Ginger Pye who literally isn't in 3/4 of the book. About the deepest thing we learn about any of them is that the boy wants to study rocks and the girl wants to study birds when they grow up. GP we discover is a dog.
CW- Fern a girl experiencing the loss of innocence as a child becomes a teen. Learning some hard lessons along the way but still having time to smile and talk with animals. Avery her comedic relief of a brother who does a much better job of portraying a typical boy than what's his face. Wilbur the pig on a journey to learn the hard truths about life and do so in a humble way. He really is just some pig. And like fifty more, shout out to Templeton, gains some kindness in the end, but finally Charlotte. If I was going to sit down with my own kids someday and tell them who they should be when they grow up I'd say "be selfless just like Charlotte from CW." This spider dedicates her entire life to others. Wow!
Setting:
I'm going to give them a tie here. They both have a few exciting places they visit. CW has a scene at the county fair and just hanging out in a barn is full of wonder. GP involves the swimming hole and a mysterious cave, and there is a scene where the kids are in a church by themselves. What kid wouldn't enjoy that? I feel like both stories have created a setting that is timeless.
Emotional Factor:
GP- could have cared less that the dog was lost because they literally just got him ten pages before. Not enough time to become attached.
CW- bawl my eyes out every time (don't even try to deny it, you do too) Charlotte lays down her life, gives everything she has and then perishes. Yes irresponsible kids might have to go through the pain of losing a pet, but we all have to experience death.
Confusion Factor:
GP-way to many tangents and random things happening that didn't add to anything.
CW- straight forward, memorable, can be told by heart by millions of people (this is verifiable, if you've read the book seriously tell it to someone, you'll find yourself using actual quotes from the book).
There is a reason why the Goodreads community has rated GP 3.6 with like 7,500 reviews while giving CW a 4.2 with over 750,000 reviews, "Charlotte's Web" is a clearly superior book. Way to go Newbery, you dropped the ball on this one (and countless others I might add, have I read a single five star Newbery yet???)
October 24, 2016
I avoided this book, thinking it one of those dog stories (and I've read far too many of those - Terhune, et al.). But in this, the dog is absent for probably half the book or more! And even when he's around, it's not all about him. I guess a different title would have been more accurate. What I loved about this book was how much of it is reflective - lots of flashbacks and momentary recollections that round out the characters and give the reader lots of context and history about the setting and the family and how they think about life. These are remarkably thoughtful kids (and the dog too!). Right from the first page, we're into a debate on the comparative merits of various things. And note that the book's final word is "remembering".
Might have taken a star off for overuse of "disconsolately" - at least three times - but it's fine, you bet. I listened mostly to the excellent audio book narrated by Kate Forbes, but also consulted the original edition. I'm not sold on the childish illustration style. I wonder what a different artist would have done - have a look at Ezra Jack Keats's 1965 drawings for The Peterkin Papers, or maybe Joe and Beth Krush, or Elizabeth Enright's drawings for her Melendys books. I note that the sequel used Edward Ardizzone. An improvement, I guess, but not perfect.
Might have taken a star off for overuse of "disconsolately" - at least three times - but it's fine, you bet. I listened mostly to the excellent audio book narrated by Kate Forbes, but also consulted the original edition. I'm not sold on the childish illustration style. I wonder what a different artist would have done - have a look at Ezra Jack Keats's 1965 drawings for The Peterkin Papers, or maybe Joe and Beth Krush, or Elizabeth Enright's drawings for her Melendys books. I note that the sequel used Edward Ardizzone. An improvement, I guess, but not perfect.
November 28, 2010
If there was an option to give this book one and a half stars, that would have been the rating I'd choose. When I read the back of this book, I thought Ginger (the main dog) was going to be a hero or something, maybe rescue a few people from danger, perform astounding stunts, and then comes the day when the entire town has to band together to save their beloved friend.
Well, that didn't happen.
What did happen was that all Ginger did was find a pencil and bring it to the school. Then, he disappeared a chapter later and wasn't seen for the rest of the book. So, no rescue missions.
There were plenty of parts in this book that they could have left out. They didn't need to go caving, or to the zoo, or explain in great detail how their parents met. In the chapter about the "Perpendicular Swimmer", I thought at least Ginger was going to save someone from drowning, but all they did was swim. And find that hat at the very end.
I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who gets bored easily, and I have no idea how it won the Newbery Medal. Don't get me wrong- there are many Newberys that I do like; I just don't understand how this book got it.
Well, that didn't happen.
What did happen was that all Ginger did was find a pencil and bring it to the school. Then, he disappeared a chapter later and wasn't seen for the rest of the book. So, no rescue missions.
There were plenty of parts in this book that they could have left out. They didn't need to go caving, or to the zoo, or explain in great detail how their parents met. In the chapter about the "Perpendicular Swimmer", I thought at least Ginger was going to save someone from drowning, but all they did was swim. And find that hat at the very end.
I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who gets bored easily, and I have no idea how it won the Newbery Medal. Don't get me wrong- there are many Newberys that I do like; I just don't understand how this book got it.
December 6, 2020
Not my very favorite Cranbury story (that would have to be The Middle Moffat), but excellent and recommended. Funny and timeless. Discussed in the Newbery Club:
Steve, I agree: The episodes with Rachel were pretty much outside the main plot, I felt, and that enhanced my impression of how special they were. I particularly liked her inside-out logic, and how she fretted about 'turning into a Wally Bullwinkle.'
Re the art: I first encountered Estes' illustrations as a child reading The Middle Moffat. I loved them, but probably mainly because I loved the book and read it several times. I don't know if I'd like the style if I saw it for the first time now, as an adult... I'm guessing I'd have to struggle to do so.
I did also love the Krush's work; they were among the first illustrators I actually followed from book to book... I'm having a hard time seeing their style being used here but I bet it would have been fine. Still, Estes both wrote & illustrated, so I prefer keeping that cohesive vision, that unity of presentation.
Classic American Fiction: Joseph Altsheler seems like a fairly advanced read for Jerry at age 10! It looks like The Young Trailers was aimed at youth, though.
But what do the children have against "I books" - ? I assume they mean 1st-person narration, but gee, Huck Finn (for example) is an "I book" and it is excellent!
I want to try an apple sandwich (sliced apples on buttered bread).
Steve, I agree: The episodes with Rachel were pretty much outside the main plot, I felt, and that enhanced my impression of how special they were. I particularly liked her inside-out logic, and how she fretted about 'turning into a Wally Bullwinkle.'
Re the art: I first encountered Estes' illustrations as a child reading The Middle Moffat. I loved them, but probably mainly because I loved the book and read it several times. I don't know if I'd like the style if I saw it for the first time now, as an adult... I'm guessing I'd have to struggle to do so.
I did also love the Krush's work; they were among the first illustrators I actually followed from book to book... I'm having a hard time seeing their style being used here but I bet it would have been fine. Still, Estes both wrote & illustrated, so I prefer keeping that cohesive vision, that unity of presentation.
Classic American Fiction: Joseph Altsheler seems like a fairly advanced read for Jerry at age 10! It looks like The Young Trailers was aimed at youth, though.
But what do the children have against "I books" - ? I assume they mean 1st-person narration, but gee, Huck Finn (for example) is an "I book" and it is excellent!
I want to try an apple sandwich (sliced apples on buttered bread).
December 29, 2021
This is 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 for a sweet ending. It is the story of the Pye children and how they acquired, lost, and got their dog back. The book is quite dated with a reference to President Woodrow Wilson and the purchase of a dress for a dime (although even then it was cheap apparently since the dress shriveled up the first time it was washed). It just barely escapes being somewhat racist with a slightly negative mention of Romani (Gypsies) but It is also clear that this is in part some of the imaginings of the girl in the story, Rachel. Another dubious factor is the age of the mother at marriage: 17. Father is in his mid 30s. Again, more a sign of it being dated than anything else.
I decided to make a project of reading the Newbery titles to see how they have held up. It has an innocence that must seem dated to current readers as well. The kids run all over town, unsupervised. I suspect the clues who the baddie was are obvious enough to fifth graders but perhaps not to 3rd or 4th graders. Dog books are always popular so I would keep this but I cannot see it being of much use otherwise. Put on a Newbery shelf or Newbery displays or dog displays to increase its chances of circulating. 1952 Newbery Award.
I decided to make a project of reading the Newbery titles to see how they have held up. It has an innocence that must seem dated to current readers as well. The kids run all over town, unsupervised. I suspect the clues who the baddie was are obvious enough to fifth graders but perhaps not to 3rd or 4th graders. Dog books are always popular so I would keep this but I cannot see it being of much use otherwise. Put on a Newbery shelf or Newbery displays or dog displays to increase its chances of circulating. 1952 Newbery Award.
February 27, 2017
Newbery Medal Winner--1952
I think I would have liked this one more if it was more focused on the story of the missing dog. The first 100 pages or so are okay...but then the dog goes missing and other than a description of looking for him, the rest of the book is a bunch of unrelated events with a few "Jerry was still looking for his dog"s thrown in until (SPOILER ALERT) the dog is found. It's not even that mysterious, which was another thing I was hoping for. The author pretty much tells us early on who stole the dog.
I think I would have liked this one more if it was more focused on the story of the missing dog. The first 100 pages or so are okay...but then the dog goes missing and other than a description of looking for him, the rest of the book is a bunch of unrelated events with a few "Jerry was still looking for his dog"s thrown in until (SPOILER ALERT) the dog is found. It's not even that mysterious, which was another thing I was hoping for. The author pretty much tells us early on who stole the dog.
June 17, 2020
This book is now in my hall of fame! I can’t find the good enough words for it but I REALLY REALLY liked this book!
September 17, 2022
Ginger Pye (My Kindle Review)
“Ginger Pye” is a charming and adventurous story when the newest member of the Pye family is kidnapped and it’s up to child siblings Jerry and Rachel Pye to find him and his abductor. It becomes more than just finding a missing dog as the story goes on, making it a swell read with a great loving family, their cat 🐈⬛ and their smart dog 🐶. A- (91%/Excellent)
“Ginger Pye” is a charming and adventurous story when the newest member of the Pye family is kidnapped and it’s up to child siblings Jerry and Rachel Pye to find him and his abductor. It becomes more than just finding a missing dog as the story goes on, making it a swell read with a great loving family, their cat 🐈⬛ and their smart dog 🐶. A- (91%/Excellent)
April 24, 2018
Cute but a little wordy and also a bit dated.
January 19, 2019
Ginger Pye is clearly a chapter book written for younger children. As an adult, I found the writing difficult to connect with. The pacing is slow, the writing is repetitive, and the perspective switches far too often. However, I am definitely not the intended audience. Estes does an incredible job capturing what goes on in the heads of children. Rachel and Jerry Pye both have meandering rabbit trails their internal monologues follow. A number of times, I would suddenly realize we had gotten quite far from the plot thanks to the wandering thoughts of these children. But that's EXACTLY how children think. It was invigorating, if pedantic, to hear protagonists sound their age. I'm tired of reading children who sound like tiny adults.
Throughout most of this book, I had mixed feelings. This was a solid 3-star for many reasons: Jerry and Rachel sound like proper children instead of tiny adults. The bad-guy was labeled the "Unsavory Character" which cracked me up. I love the family dynamic of the Pyes - involved parents who take care of the community they live in and children who respect each other and treat each other well (though, they do get angry with each other from time to time). Jerry and Rachel even had a bedtime story game called Boombernickles where they make up stories about a man with that last name. There is a lot of wonderful content in these pages! Beautiful moments, wonderful asides, and many wonderful learning moments. I think Ginger Pye would be a fun book to read aloud in an elementary school.
So, where did we go wrong? How did we go from 3-star to 2-stars? Yes, the plot dragged and the ideas were repeated many times. This makes sense to me from the intended audience. But the real challenge for me is the ending. This ending didn't work for me at all. While I am glad there is a redemptive ending, I was left feeling unhappy, dissatisfied, and with a bad taste in my mouth closing this book.
Just because I didn't enjoy Ginger Pye doesn't mean I don't recommend Eleanor Estes. I've heard wonderful things about her The Moffats children's chapter book series, set in the same town as Ginger Pye, Cranbury, Connecticut. Her picture book The Hundred Dresses received the Newbery Honor in 1945 (losing to Rabbit Hill). It is a heartbreaking tale of friendship, making the most of things, and living your best life. To this day, it's still a 5-star read for me. I will definitely continue to seek out Estes' writing.
Throughout most of this book, I had mixed feelings. This was a solid 3-star for many reasons: Jerry and Rachel sound like proper children instead of tiny adults. The bad-guy was labeled the "Unsavory Character" which cracked me up. I love the family dynamic of the Pyes - involved parents who take care of the community they live in and children who respect each other and treat each other well (though, they do get angry with each other from time to time). Jerry and Rachel even had a bedtime story game called Boombernickles where they make up stories about a man with that last name. There is a lot of wonderful content in these pages! Beautiful moments, wonderful asides, and many wonderful learning moments. I think Ginger Pye would be a fun book to read aloud in an elementary school.
So, where did we go wrong? How did we go from 3-star to 2-stars? Yes, the plot dragged and the ideas were repeated many times. This makes sense to me from the intended audience. But the real challenge for me is the ending. This ending didn't work for me at all. While I am glad there is a redemptive ending, I was left feeling unhappy, dissatisfied, and with a bad taste in my mouth closing this book.
Just because I didn't enjoy Ginger Pye doesn't mean I don't recommend Eleanor Estes. I've heard wonderful things about her The Moffats children's chapter book series, set in the same town as Ginger Pye, Cranbury, Connecticut. Her picture book The Hundred Dresses received the Newbery Honor in 1945 (losing to Rabbit Hill). It is a heartbreaking tale of friendship, making the most of things, and living your best life. To this day, it's still a 5-star read for me. I will definitely continue to seek out Estes' writing.
July 5, 2010
Jerry and Rachel Pye make a companionable team, from their cheerful "Boombernickles" word game and outdoor explorations, to their acquisition of their family's new puppy, Ginger. But when the puppy disappears on Thanksgiving Day, the heartbroken children work together to solve the mystery of who could have stolen him.
Ginger Pye combines a warmly written, empathetic, and often funny portrayal of a loving family with an engaging mystery to be solved, and concludes with a quite satisfying resolution. The story abounds in engaging portraits of interesting characters in the Pye's small-town community, but Estes' character development of Jerry and Rachel is where her writing really shines. She perceptively captures the way children think about their world, and anchors these ordinary (but quite likable) children in a believable 1950's American town. This is a very enjoyable story.
Ginger Pye combines a warmly written, empathetic, and often funny portrayal of a loving family with an engaging mystery to be solved, and concludes with a quite satisfying resolution. The story abounds in engaging portraits of interesting characters in the Pye's small-town community, but Estes' character development of Jerry and Rachel is where her writing really shines. She perceptively captures the way children think about their world, and anchors these ordinary (but quite likable) children in a believable 1950's American town. This is a very enjoyable story.
April 22, 2017
So here's the thing. I read as many books as a child as I do to this day - reading was an enormous aspect of my life from the get go. So while I can't actually remember a whole lot about this book (and probably wasn't even old enough to judge the quality of the writing, let alone recall it), I have decided that if these books still come to mind so many years later... Well, that in itself earns them a high rating. Clearly, they touched me in a significant enough way at that point in my life, that they were indeed done well. Whether they actually are or not. The End.
July 9, 2024
An all time favorite that I have read many times. Such a pleasure for summer reading.
2020
Just read it again! Love this book so much!
2020
Just read it again! Love this book so much!
October 11, 2022
Our whole family loved listening to this book together. Highly recommended! It has a great balance of humor, wit, and sentiment and childhood with a dash of mystery for good measure.
February 27, 2024
This was a book we read for part of our school curriculum and it was a super cute intriguing read. I loved it and how unique the writing style was. A great story for the whole family.
June 6, 2018
My wife and I read this aloud to our 5-year-old daughter (who loved it), though the younger kids also listened pretty regularly. I loved the book at least as much as my daughter did, and I think my wife felt the same way. Estes was a winsome, unobtrusive, imaginative, and penetrating writer who obviously knew, loved, and respected children. The story about Jerry and Rachel Pye and their dog Ginger runs the emotional gamut, as evidenced by the last two sentences of the book: "Ginger twitched his ears and the loose skin on his back and legs to let Jerry know he was here and he was happy. Then he lowered his head down on his paws again and he let out a deep sigh that sounded almost like a sob, there was in it so much relief and pain and pleasure and remembering."
If you love children, you will probably like this book. If you love words, you will probably like this book. If you love children and words, your love for the book is all but guaranteed.
If you love children, you will probably like this book. If you love words, you will probably like this book. If you love children and words, your love for the book is all but guaranteed.
October 18, 2020
The Pye children - Jerry and Rachel - get permission for a dog. And they raise the money and get a special dog whom they name Ginger. And Ginger is an amazing dog. Until someone steals Ginger away. And the rest of the book is the quest to find their beloved dog.
It was an okay book. I liked it, but I didn't love it. I thought it was well written, but it was definitely for a younger audience. Rachel and Jerry are younger children who think like young children. I thought it moved slow. I liked the realism about the missing dog and how the story line moved. But the adult characters were not very believable.
So I didn't think it was very good.
It was an okay book. I liked it, but I didn't love it. I thought it was well written, but it was definitely for a younger audience. Rachel and Jerry are younger children who think like young children. I thought it moved slow. I liked the realism about the missing dog and how the story line moved. But the adult characters were not very believable.
So I didn't think it was very good.
January 11, 2024
Read a loud one on one with Peter and Anne had read last year and Marisa’s family enjoying. It definitely has that older style of writing where there is an overarching plot but many chapters stand on their own and lots of rabbit trails… which I didn’t love as much some of them. I loved the kids and Uncle Bennie and sweeping the pews and she nailed the imagination of kids very well. So glad Ginger came home eventually!
December 23, 2022
Aww....this was a spontaneous read, but I absolutely loved it. Made me feel like a kid again and is the perfect dog-person book. Reminded me a lot of The Saturdays and Because of Winn-Dixie.
April 30, 2018
Just finished reading this with my daughter. I had heard it was a great book about a beloved puppy that mysteriously goes missing. The chapters jumped all over the place and we had a hard time tracking at times. All in all, it was time spent with my daughter each night, so it was worth it!
September 1, 2020
We read this aloud as a family and it was a really sweet story. Two children lose their new puppy and it takes you through their search for him and adventures along the way. We made predictions together as we read as to what would happen next and we all really enjoyed it!
October 26, 2014
Caution: read complete review before judging Ginger Pye.
I almost never use the b-word myself, and didn’t allow anyone growing up to ever say she was bored in our house, either. So you know I am really serious when I say that most of Ginger Pye bored me (almost dangerously!) as I listened to the audio CD driving home from Atlanta. Repetitions, chapters about mundane moments, narrations that had nothing to do with the plot…I am glad I had an audiobook, because realizing the book had 300 pages might have ended it…even with it being a Newbery. Luckily, I was a captive audience in my car.
I must admit, however, to another redemptive ending (I had just finished Sounder not long before) that led me to reflect and to appreciate this book’s merits. Besides liking the ending* (There's a warning and spoiler below), I had already begun thinking that parts of the book were not only sweet, but also useful for children to read. For instance, when Jerry and Rachel go hiking with Sam Doody, whose great smile we hear described at least 10 times during the book, Rachel suddenly is gripped by an irrational but realistic fear of heights. Although I was still in the b-parts, I thought what a good tool this segment could be to discuss with children—a good item to tuck away in their memories if they ever feel similarly. Also, the relationship between the brother and sister was very positive. Of course, Rachel would help Jerry earn the money to buy Ginger. Of course, they help watch Uncle Benny every Saturday. Of course, they listen when their mother calls for dinner. Of course, Rachel always looks for the good in people. Nice things happen here, are even taken for granted, as they should be when children are children.
All is not rosy, however, even for children in 1950, when the book was written. The Unsavory Character (I did love that Rachel called “the man in the yellow hat” that term!) probably exists, and I won’t spoil the rest of the story even though it isn’t hard to predict.
I began wondering if this story would be a good read-aloud for today's elementary-aged children (even with their younger siblings). Would they find it boring, as I did many parts? I think they might not. Eleanor Estes might have had such a wonderful way of writing for children that they might just appreciate the mundane moments, the repetitions, and those chapters that had nothing to do with the plot.
The moments and chapters were enough to earn Estes the Newbery Award in the much less-sophisticated time of 1951. Please let me know if your children would give Estes their approval 63 years later. I am curious!
*Spoiler and Warning:
The ending strongly hints at animal abuse.
I almost never use the b-word myself, and didn’t allow anyone growing up to ever say she was bored in our house, either. So you know I am really serious when I say that most of Ginger Pye bored me (almost dangerously!) as I listened to the audio CD driving home from Atlanta. Repetitions, chapters about mundane moments, narrations that had nothing to do with the plot…I am glad I had an audiobook, because realizing the book had 300 pages might have ended it…even with it being a Newbery. Luckily, I was a captive audience in my car.
I must admit, however, to another redemptive ending (I had just finished Sounder not long before) that led me to reflect and to appreciate this book’s merits. Besides liking the ending* (There's a warning and spoiler below), I had already begun thinking that parts of the book were not only sweet, but also useful for children to read. For instance, when Jerry and Rachel go hiking with Sam Doody, whose great smile we hear described at least 10 times during the book, Rachel suddenly is gripped by an irrational but realistic fear of heights. Although I was still in the b-parts, I thought what a good tool this segment could be to discuss with children—a good item to tuck away in their memories if they ever feel similarly. Also, the relationship between the brother and sister was very positive. Of course, Rachel would help Jerry earn the money to buy Ginger. Of course, they help watch Uncle Benny every Saturday. Of course, they listen when their mother calls for dinner. Of course, Rachel always looks for the good in people. Nice things happen here, are even taken for granted, as they should be when children are children.
All is not rosy, however, even for children in 1950, when the book was written. The Unsavory Character (I did love that Rachel called “the man in the yellow hat” that term!) probably exists, and I won’t spoil the rest of the story even though it isn’t hard to predict.
I began wondering if this story would be a good read-aloud for today's elementary-aged children (even with their younger siblings). Would they find it boring, as I did many parts? I think they might not. Eleanor Estes might have had such a wonderful way of writing for children that they might just appreciate the mundane moments, the repetitions, and those chapters that had nothing to do with the plot.
The moments and chapters were enough to earn Estes the Newbery Award in the much less-sophisticated time of 1951. Please let me know if your children would give Estes their approval 63 years later. I am curious!
*Spoiler and Warning:
The ending strongly hints at animal abuse.
June 18, 2020
It was very good and I would DEFINITELY recommend it!!!
April 6, 2017
An old-fashioned book that probably seemed a bit old-fashioned even in the 50s when it was first published.
Repeating what I said in one of my updates: I'm impressed with how Eleanor Estes has perfectly captured what goes on in kids' heads. Even the little rabbit trails of the narrative seem to turn exactly how the mind of a child would go. Too many children's authors write children as if they are merely small grown-ups. Jerry and Rachel Pye are kids. And that's why this book works.
So, after all that, here's the frustrating thing.
But the kids loved it. Just loved it. Loved it so much they wanted me to immediately move on to the sequel, Pinky Pye. I'm not ready for that yet. In fact, I might suggest we go for The Moffats next if we must read some more Eleanor Estes. (By the way, The Hundred Dresses is a perfect little children's book, and especially perfect for little girls, of which I have two.)
Repeating what I said in one of my updates: I'm impressed with how Eleanor Estes has perfectly captured what goes on in kids' heads. Even the little rabbit trails of the narrative seem to turn exactly how the mind of a child would go. Too many children's authors write children as if they are merely small grown-ups. Jerry and Rachel Pye are kids. And that's why this book works.
So, after all that, here's the frustrating thing.
But the kids loved it. Just loved it. Loved it so much they wanted me to immediately move on to the sequel, Pinky Pye. I'm not ready for that yet. In fact, I might suggest we go for The Moffats next if we must read some more Eleanor Estes. (By the way, The Hundred Dresses is a perfect little children's book, and especially perfect for little girls, of which I have two.)
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