A Book Review: Ginger Pye

    I'm really excited for this week's post, because I'm reviewing a much-loved (as well as a personal) favorite in the world of children's literature. This is a bit of an older tale, but no less wonderful and well written! 

    This review does contain one major spoiler, but it's very vaguely touched on and doesn't offer any information that would actually ruin the ending.

    (The discussion questions will have spoilers, since they are supposed to be used after reading the book.)

Title: Ginger Pye

Author: Eleanor Estes

Series: This is the first in a two-book series about the Pyes.

Targeted Age Range: 9+

Synopsis: Meet the marvelous Pyes—

     There is Mrs. Pye, the youngest mother in town;
     Mr. Pye, a famous bird man, who handles all the nation’s important bird problems;
     Rachel Pye, who is so reasonable she can make unreasonable ideas sound like good ones;
     Jerry Pye, who knows about rocks of all sorts and plans to grow up to be a rock man;
     Uncle Bennie, who is Jerry and Rachel’s uncle—even though he’s only three years old.
     Lastly is Ginger Pye, the “intellectual dog,” who Jerry bought for a hard-earned dollar. The most famous pup in all of Cranbury, Ginger knows tons of tricks, is as loyal as he is smart, and steals the hearts of everyone he meets . . . until someone steals him!
 

Language: None, unless you count "jiminy crickets", "by jiminy", and a few instances of name-calling. There are a few times when some of the older kids in the neighborhood pick on some of the younger ones.

Violence: Characters are knocked around a little, and once Rachel Pye suffers from "bee-bite". It's mentioned that a dog in the story goes through some implied animal abuse. One crowd seems to want to observe a murder.

Romance/Sexual Stuff: None

Spiritual Elements: Though the book's not explicitly Christian, the Pye family seems to be religious and it's mentioned they pray and go to church. To amuse herself, Rachel Pye imitates a preacher with a heavy accent and later is worried she'll be cast out of church because of it.

Magic: None

References: There are references to the game onesie-twosies, character books, the fairytales The Snow Queen and The Tinder Box (as well as other fairytale tropes), various classic books and stories, National Geographic, the Ubangis, and subtle references to Eleanor Estes' Moffat books (The Moffats, The Middle Moffat, and The Moffat Museum).

Other Issues: A few white lies are mentioned.

Where To Buy: Ginger Pye is available on Amazon, eBay, Barnes & Noble, Alibris, Abebooks, Book Depository, and Better World Books. There is also an audiobook version via Audible.

My Age Range: I think kids aged 9 and up would enjoy this book the most.

Read Aloud: This book would be a great read-aloud! My family has personally done it that way and made a lot of good memories because of it.

My Opinion: I first discovered this brilliant, heartwarming gem through curling up with my mom and listening to her read it aloud. As a kid close to the ages of the characters myself, I found myself captivated by what they went through, all of their escapades finding (and re-finding) Ginger, and the story itself. I especially remember relating to Rachel, and finding it easy to see life from her perspective.

    Earlier this year my younger sister started to listen to Ginger Pye, and whenever I drop in to hear I always find myself smiling, reliving one of my favorite tales once again. At the same time though, I feel like growing older has changed my view of the story, which is something I'm not familiar with. New details have jumped out at me, old character quirks which seemed to make perfect sense earlier are almost impossible for me to relate to now, and I can't help but pick out different themes and moments that I glossed over as a younger kid. However that hasn't made the book itself less memorable or endearing.

    Simply put, Ginger Pye is a hilarious, joyful treasure for the young and the young at heart. Eleanor Estes (like with her Moffats books) has created a world that appears to be rooted in the past, yet feels as modern and relatable as any newly released novel. Most of all, it's a book that's a worthwhile adventure for the whole family to experience. If you haven't read this yet, please do. I know that there's something in it for everyone to enjoy.

Discussion Questions:

-What was your favorite part about reading Ginger Pye? Why did you choose that part?

-Which Pye sibling did you like better, Jerry or Rachel? Do you feel like you share any personality traits or quirks with either of them? If so, which ones?

-Jerry Pye's main goal is to find a dog...and keep it. What are some of the ways he tries to accomplish this?

-How did Rachel and Jerry search for Ginger after he disappeared? Do you think all of these efforts were helpful? Why or why not?

-How did learning the identity of Ginger's captor change Jerry and Rachel's perspective on "unsavory" characters?

-Do you think Jerry or Rachel changed in a good way because of Ginger's disappearance? If so, how?

    Thanks for checking out Ginger Pye with me. Like I said in the "My Opinion" section, I hope that you've read it, and if you haven't, please consider checking it out.

    Have you read Ginger Pye already, or even its sequel, Pinky Pye? If so, what did you think about the story and characters? If you haven't read any of these books, would you want to?

    Like always, I am open to review requests! Other than an idea from the lovely Issabelle, I haven't found a lot of reading recommendations that have come to me. Please don't hesitate to reach out...I'd love to remedy that! As always take a look at my Review Policy page before posting. It's very helpful for me and you to have a concrete list of what books I'm aiming to post about.

   Next week, join me for a look at the first novella collection I'll review on here...