“Ginger’s eyes had always been beautiful, gay, sparkling, laughing and intelligent”

Jerry and Rachel Pye live with their mother and travelling bird-expert father in the fictional town of Cranbury, Connecticut which Estes based on her hometown, New Haven.  There is nothing Jerry wants more than a dog, and even has one picked out, as the Speedy’s dog has just had puppies.  When his mother agrees with his plans, he is ecstatic but he has one barrier to having his dream realized.  Money.

When Sam Doody, a kindly town bachelor asks Jerry to dust the pews for one dollar, Jerry knows his prayers are answered.  With three-year-old Uncle Bennie and Rachel to help, they finish the job and run off to the Speedy’s house to pick up the fox terrier-collie puppy that is waiting for them.  Bringing him home, they finally decide on the name Ginger Pye.

Ch. Cackler of Knotts ~ source Wikimedia Commons

Ginger Pye is a smart little dog, who makes friends with their cat, Gracie, finds out where the children go every weekday and climbs up to their school window in the classroom while carrying a lost pencil, for which earns him his own newspaper article, and performs many other clever exploits.

But when Ginger Pye goes missing, Jerry and Rachel’s world is turned upside down.  Ginger has never gone far from home.  Then who could have taken him.  They are sure it must have been the other person who had originally wanted him and wouldn’t accept any other of the puppies, the “Unsavory” person in the yellow hat whom they were sure was following them at times.  So much time goes by that it seems like they may never get Ginger back, but neither Jerry nor Rachel truly gives up hope and they continue searching for their beloved pet.

Brother and Sister – Edward Henry Potthast (1915)
~ source Wikimedia Commons

After the excellent series featuring the Moffats, Estes once again delivers a wonderful story about a family and the adventures of the children within it.  The story sent me back to a time where life was simpler, where you could run around the town all day with no worries except returning in time for dinner.  Estes also displays a deeply meaningful relationship between a brother and sister where each has learned to accept the others’ quirks and to get along marvellously!

I also liked how Estes developed the plot, in that she indicates to the reader who the culprit is but the children do not know.  With this small clue, the reader becomes completely invested in the mystery and cheers the children on as the get closer and closer to finding out the truth.  An excellent plot device!

Here are a couple of cute quotes from the book:

“This is not the real cave, is it?” asked Rachel.
“Can’t be,” said Jerry.
“Must be,” said Dick. “Sign says so.”
What a cave! Iron fencing all around it, a sign saying to keep out, even barbed wire along the top of the fence. They couldn’t see the entrance to the cave. They couldn’t tell how deep into the earth and rock it went. They couldn’t tell whether this cave was like the cave in Tom Sawyer or what it was like…
“In old times, it was better,” said Rachel. “They did not have cages around things.”  Chapter 11

Naturally Jerry remembered this too, though he didn’t remember anything before he was two, the way Rachel did.  In fact, a lady had once asked him what was the first thing he remembered and he said he didn’t know he was alive until he was five. (I laughed so hard over this!)  Chapter 9

“God is everywhere,” said Uncle Bennie [a three-year-old] with satisfaction, “Even on Saturday.”

I highly recommended this read for children and adults like!