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???)
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. While perusing the middle grade section in the library, I came across another book in the series that was about a cat. Because I was interested in reading about the cat, but not interested in reading the series out of order, I checked out this book, the first having to do with the Pye family. I didn't have high hopes for this book. The cover doesn't look particularly promising and the prose read a little too formally for a children's story. I still don't think this book would appeal to the ages (somewhere between 7 and 10, I think) for which it was intended as individual reading, but I think it would be a fun family read aloud. The chapters break down into nice little vignettes, each somewhat distinct and perfect for a fifteen minute bedtime read.The book begins with Jerry wondering whether or not the family cat would be jealous if Jerry were to bring a dog into the family. I loved the way the author took the children's thoughts seriously. There was nothing condescending about the ideas and beliefs that floated through the children's minds at times. Jerry was seriously concerned about the family cat. But having seen a puppy he particularly liked from a litter born in a neighbor's barn, he was determined to have that puppy. The puppy would cost one dollar and Jerry, his sister Rachel, and three year old Uncle Bennie, dusted the church pews to earn their dollar and tore over to the neighbors barn to purchase the dog. The dog is then fondly named Ginger, owing to his coat being that hue, and the reader gets to see the bond developed between the children and their dog. There was even a chapter told from the dog's point of view that I chuckled over and thought was good fun. So clearly, I found myself becoming attached to the dog as well.Sadly, the happiness does not last as Ginger goes missing a few months after the children brought him home. I was just as dismayed as Jerry and Rachel that this was case. Both children knew that one other person had been interested in Ginger as a puppy and that that person had a yellow had. The yellow hat popped up by their fence after they brought the dog home and again when the children were swimming at the reservoir. So the children deduced that their dog had been stolen and probably by the person who owned the yellow hat. The rest of the book focuses on the children's search for their dog and how they continue to love him and hope for his return. I felt like the children's feelings were real and poignant. And I feel like many children will be able to relate to the love for a dog.This book was published in 1952. The life of the children in this book is vastly different from children today, but it was refreshing to read of a simpler time in a small town. I can see from reading other reviews that I am in the minority in liking this book, but I think, for me, it was kind of like watching a t.v. show from the 1950's; the book had a black and white feel to it. So if you enjoy that kind of thing (like I do) then this is probably a safe read for you. If that is not your kind of thing at all, the you could probably safely skip this book.
What do You think about Ginger Pye (2000)?
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.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!
—Jen
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.
—Kathi
I have finished it. The book that was responsible for a week and a half of cringes, groans, sighs, and fist-banging. Seriously, I'm not exaggerating when I say this is the worst book I've read in my life. The writing is absolutely horrible. There were so many unnecessary flashbacks that had nothing to do with the story in the least that I literally cringed and wanted to scream whenever it launched into yet another page and a half rant about stuff that we could care so much less about. The style faintly reminded me of Beverly Cleary, specifically her Henry Huggins series, but those books are charming and perfect for young readers... young readers may enjoy this one, too, but I'll give them enough credit to know that the flashbacks are completely unnecessary. Nothing at all is realistic, except the ending, which strongly hints that Ginger was abused. And the illustrations...oh my, they're just... laughable. I was considering giving it 2 stars early on because I knew NOTHING could be worse than The Matchlock Gun in the Newbery Challenge. This was, and if there's anything that could ever take that place, I will be mightily, mightily surprised.
—D.C.
