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Five Little Peppers #10
Ben Pepper
Number eight and the final novel in the Five Little Peppers series.
Unbound
First published January 1, 1905
19 people are currently reading
185 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Sidney
160 books43 followersPen name of Harriet Mulford Stone Lothrop.
The Pepper family would soon become beloved by readers all over America. Young people avidly followed the adventures of Ben, Polly, Joel, Davie, and Phronsie. While faced with many plausible trials and obstacles they remain eternally optimistic in the face of adversity, and reflect the real life issues of so many of their readers. Their universally appealing wholesome values and lives are not burdened with a heavy moralising tone which was present in many other popular works of the day.
The Pepper family would soon become beloved by readers all over America. Young people avidly followed the adventures of Ben, Polly, Joel, Davie, and Phronsie. While faced with many plausible trials and obstacles they remain eternally optimistic in the face of adversity, and reflect the real life issues of so many of their readers. Their universally appealing wholesome values and lives are not burdened with a heavy moralising tone which was present in many other popular works of the day.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 24, 2012
Love Ben Pepper, but I have to admit there are some turns of phrases in the books that I am starting to dislike. If Joel prances once more or if Dr. Fisher cavorts as he walks again, I'm going to scream. That said, I do like the characters of the Peppers.
My one question, what did it used to mean to 'cut a little cheese' ? I'm starting to think that it means to do a dance step, but from our own slang, that phrase seems SO odd. And no, they're not cooking when they cut a little cheese.... will have to look up a slang dictionary to figure this out.
My one question, what did it used to mean to 'cut a little cheese' ? I'm starting to think that it means to do a dance step, but from our own slang, that phrase seems SO odd. And no, they're not cooking when they cut a little cheese.... will have to look up a slang dictionary to figure this out.
July 2, 2022
Ben Pepper is center stage in this lovely book
In every book in the Pepper series but the very first book and this book, the eldest Pepper sibling, Ebenezer Pepper, whom everyone calls Ben, is very much in the background. But happily for those of us who adore Ben, in this story, introverted Ben is front and center. He is a young man of enormous compassion, integrity and backbone. Everyone who meets him respects him. I was particularly delighted that we finally get the opportunity to find out why Ben chooses not to obtain the college education that Mr King is offering him but instead decides to go to work for Mr King's friend, Mr Cabot, a rich and successful businessman. Ben and Mr Cabot both agree that Ben should start at the very bottom of the business and work his way up, as Mr Cabot himself did when he began in business many years ago.
There is also a fascinating and important subplot in this book involving Jasper. Similar to Ben and Polly, every time Jasper has appeared in any of these books, he has always demonstrated a great deal of empathy, patience, and compassion. In fact, In this particular novel, Jasper and Ben are both extremely kind and supportive toward an orphaned little boy named Pip. Interestingly, in none of the other books in the Pepper series is Jasper shown as attending boarding school, as Dave and Joel and Jasper's two nephews, Percy and Van, consistently do. But in this book, suddenly Jasper is portrayed as attending boarding school and, oddly, for no reason that the author supplies, it is not the same boarding school as the one the younger boys attend.
In not a single book of this series has Ben ever been shown to be attending any school at all, or even being tutored at home at the King mansion, which Polly and Jasper are, in the first and second books of this series. In spite of that blatant omission, in this book the author operates on the assumption that Ben has achieved the equivalent of what we would call these days a high school diploma, since he is portrayed as qualified to go on to college should he do choose.
This book is a quick, fun read with lots of interesting subcharacters who had not been previously introduced in any other Pepper books. For fans of the Pepper family, and Ben in particular, this book is not to be missed.
In every book in the Pepper series but the very first book and this book, the eldest Pepper sibling, Ebenezer Pepper, whom everyone calls Ben, is very much in the background. But happily for those of us who adore Ben, in this story, introverted Ben is front and center. He is a young man of enormous compassion, integrity and backbone. Everyone who meets him respects him. I was particularly delighted that we finally get the opportunity to find out why Ben chooses not to obtain the college education that Mr King is offering him but instead decides to go to work for Mr King's friend, Mr Cabot, a rich and successful businessman. Ben and Mr Cabot both agree that Ben should start at the very bottom of the business and work his way up, as Mr Cabot himself did when he began in business many years ago.
There is also a fascinating and important subplot in this book involving Jasper. Similar to Ben and Polly, every time Jasper has appeared in any of these books, he has always demonstrated a great deal of empathy, patience, and compassion. In fact, In this particular novel, Jasper and Ben are both extremely kind and supportive toward an orphaned little boy named Pip. Interestingly, in none of the other books in the Pepper series is Jasper shown as attending boarding school, as Dave and Joel and Jasper's two nephews, Percy and Van, consistently do. But in this book, suddenly Jasper is portrayed as attending boarding school and, oddly, for no reason that the author supplies, it is not the same boarding school as the one the younger boys attend.
In not a single book of this series has Ben ever been shown to be attending any school at all, or even being tutored at home at the King mansion, which Polly and Jasper are, in the first and second books of this series. In spite of that blatant omission, in this book the author operates on the assumption that Ben has achieved the equivalent of what we would call these days a high school diploma, since he is portrayed as qualified to go on to college should he do choose.
This book is a quick, fun read with lots of interesting subcharacters who had not been previously introduced in any other Pepper books. For fans of the Pepper family, and Ben in particular, this book is not to be missed.
May 22, 2023
4 stars & 4/10 hearts. Ah! Loved this book! Ben is one of my top favourite Pepper Books characters (Jasper is my favorite, though he wasn't very Jasperish in this book). I loved to see his gentleness, care, and firmness with Pip, Polly, and Joel. As always, this book is not the best from a writerly point of view (hence no .5 addition), but I love them. :)
A Favourite Quote: “‘Oh, Ben, you do think of just the right things.’
“‘No,’ said Ben, ‘I don't think up such nice things as you do, Polly[.’]
“‘Well, your things are always best in the end, anyway,’ said Polly, unwilling to take so much praise, and preferring that Ben should have it.”
A Favourite Humourous Quote: “‘I'm going to get a paper and pencil for the score,’ said Ben, hurrying over to the desk in the corner. ‘There now, game number one, “J” beats. I might as well mark ditto down for game number two and all the rest.’
“‘Nonsense!’ exclaimed Jasper[....] ‘You'll probably beat me out of sight next time.’ “‘Probably,’ said Ben, sarcastically.”
A Favourite Quote: “‘Oh, Ben, you do think of just the right things.’
“‘No,’ said Ben, ‘I don't think up such nice things as you do, Polly[.’]
“‘Well, your things are always best in the end, anyway,’ said Polly, unwilling to take so much praise, and preferring that Ben should have it.”
A Favourite Humourous Quote: “‘I'm going to get a paper and pencil for the score,’ said Ben, hurrying over to the desk in the corner. ‘There now, game number one, “J” beats. I might as well mark ditto down for game number two and all the rest.’
“‘Nonsense!’ exclaimed Jasper[....] ‘You'll probably beat me out of sight next time.’ “‘Probably,’ said Ben, sarcastically.”
May 14, 2025
Outside of slightly overemphasizing how unusual it is for Ben to speak so much, this was filled with the same wonderful stories of the Peppers that I've loved for so long. A great addition to my collection.
August 19, 2022
Ben has long been a favorite character,but he doesn't get a lot of "story". It was very nice to read a story where he is more present. A nice read.
August 30, 2023
It was nice to see Ben get more of the spotlight when his character so actively avoids it, and the children had quite the variety of adventures.
May 3, 2015
Oh my, how I loved this books as a child. They were very dear to me and are firmly entrenched into my memory strong enough to have become parts of my character. There are is a veritable plethora of life examples and lessons to be learned through these works of literature that take us back to a simpler time and place, entirely different family values and senses or morality and ethics; there is much to be learned from these simple books. Most of all, family and love, loyalty and a moral compass much needed in today's society, camaraderie and ...well, the list is entirely too long. I think the books are relevant to the youth of today, if nothing else to provide an example that though some things change with time, a great many others do not.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews