Flashback Friday: Ginger Pye

Ginger Pye is the name of the sweet and playful pup that Jerry Pye cleaned church pews saving his hard earned coins until he finally had saved a dollar to buy her. Jerry brings Ginger home, and he becomes part of the family, following Jerry around town. On Thanksgiving Day, Ginger disappears from the Pye's backyard. Jerry makes every effort to find Ginger, while also trying to figure out who the mysterious figure is who's been following them. 

Ginger Pye won the 1952 Newbery Award, and it's fascinating to see the reaction to it now. If you look at the reviews on Amazon or Goodreads, you'll find as many negative or mediocre reviews as positive ones. The story is definitely set in a different time, but the writing is from that time too. If you need high excitement or wild adventure, this probably isn't the book for you, but if you want a sweet story from an earlier era, Ginger Pye is a beautiful read. In reading it aloud to my own kids a couple of years ago, I found that it took a few chapters to captivate them, but they all loved it by the end. I think kids really do appreciate a simple and sweet story as much as a highly adventurous one. They sometimes just have to be exposed to them.