Ben Pepper

Harriett Mulford Stone Lothrop (pen name Margaret Sidney)Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 479K words
Chapters: 48

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Ben Pepper by Margaret SidneyAuthor: Sidney, Margaret, 1844-1924,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Feb 5, 2011

Editor's review

Ben Pepper is one of Margaret Sidney's "Five Little Peppers" series and a typical example of nineteenth-century American family children's literature. The story revolves around the Pepper family and, through the eyes of young Ben, presents responsibility, sibling affection, and the trials of growing up in everyday life. The author's tone is gentle, with attention to detail and dialogue, conveying kindness and resilience through ordinary scenes. As a public-domain ebook, it preserves the original language and narrative pacing and works well as an introduction to English children's literature. Readers can observe the family-ethics narrative model of early American children's fiction and use the book for extensive English reading, building vocabulary and experiencing an older language style as the plot advances. Because the book dates from an early period, some ideas and expressions bear the marks of their time and are best read with that context in mind.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English-speaking readers who enjoy classic family-themed children's literature
Middle-school students who want to use a simple original text for extensive English reading
Researchers of nineteenth-century American children's literature
Families looking for an English classic to read together

Not a good fit for

Readers of modern fiction who prefer fast pacing and strong plots
Beginners with weak English who cannot yet read long original sentences
Readers sensitive to old-era values and unwilling to examine them

Reading tips

Read earlier books in the series first to become familiar with the characters' relationships, then start this one
After each chapter, retell the plot in three sentences to practice summarizing
Mark old-fashioned expressions first and look them up together after finishing a chapter
When reading together as a family, discuss how the siblings get along in the book

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable for English beginners to read directly?

Not really for readers with no foundation. The book is in original English, with rather long sentences and nineteenth-century vocabulary. It is better attempted after reaching an intermediate level, or started with a bilingual edition.

Can I understand it without having read other books in the series?

Yes, the main story is relatively self-contained. But the characters' relationships carry over from earlier books in the series, so understanding the makeup of the Pepper family first will make reading smoother.

Is this a paper book or an ebook?

It comes from Project Gutenberg as a free public-domain ebook, released as electronic text and available on its website. It is not a traditional publisher's paper edition.

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About the author

Harriett Mulford Stone Lothrop (pen name Margaret Sidney) Author · American · 1844–1924

Margaret Sidney is the pen name of the American writer Harriett Mulford Stone Lothrop. Born in 1844 and died in 1924, she is known for the children's literature series Five Little Peppers, which includes Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, Five Little Peppers Midway, Five Little Peppers Grown Up, Five Little Peppers at School, The Adventures of Joel Pepper, and Ben Pepper. Centered on the Pepper children, the series depicts their family life, growth, and friendships in a warm, plain style that attends to everyday details and children's feelings. She published about forty-five works in all and founded the Children of the American Revolution; after her husband's death, she ran his publishing company. Public information is limited, and the details of her life are chiefly connected with her works and these activities.