Five Little Peppers And How They Grew

This children's classic, first published in 1881, which tells the story of the widowed Mrs. Pepper and her five children-Ben, Polly, David, Joel, and Phronsie, continues to resonate with readers today. Without being saccharine, the book reveals the true value of family. When the children, or Five Little Peppers as they are known in Badgertown, wish they could afford a special birthday celebration for their mother, Mamsie, she says, with a smile like a flash of sunshine, "I don't want any other celebration . . . than to look around on you all. I'm rich now, and that's a fact." This is the first in a series of books about the inhabitants of the Little Brown House.

Margaret Sidney's real name was Harriett Stone (1844-1924). She was born in Connecticut and authored twelve books about the Pepper clan. She is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Massachusetts.

Ann M. Martin is the Newbery Honor author of A Corner of the Universe and the bestselling Baby-sitters Club series. She lives in New York.