When Mr. Pepper dies, his wife (her children call her “Mamsie”) does her best to support their five children, mostly through her sewing.  The children also do what they can to help out.  The oldest children assume new responsibilities pretty early on, especially looking after their younger siblings.  However, all the children get new responsibilities and begin building lives for themselves as the series continues and the children get older.

This series is one of those that is mean to emphasize certain virtues for children, like working hard, keeping cheerful and uncomplaining even in the face of hardship, and not being spoiled when good things finally come.  Early on, the family is living in a “little brown house” and barely manages to keep themselves fed, but their lives improve when the mother becomes a housekeeper for a wealthy man, Mr. King.  Mr. King loves the children and looks after them as if they were his grandchildren, helping to provide for their education.  However, the two older children in particular plan careers for themselves, not wanting to be too dependent on Mr. King’s generosity.  It doesn’t seem entirely realistic that the Pepper children would be quite as well-behaved and uncomplaining as they are (well, except for Joel, who makes his feelings known when he’s unhappy), considering everything they’ve been through in their lives, but they are meant to be an example for child readers of how people want them to behave.

The five children are:

Ben – His name is short for Ebenezer.  He is the oldest of the children, 12 years old when the series begins.  Early in the books, he begins doing odd jobs to help earn extra money for the family.

Polly – Her real name is Mary.  She is 11 years old when the series begins.  Early on, she helps her family by cooking and taking care of the younger children.  Mr. King provides her with a tutor to help her education when the family moves in with him.  She loves music and learns to play the piano, eventually becoming a piano teacher when she is older.

Joel – He is nine years old when the series begins. He is an impatient, impulsive boy with quick temper.  However, he is compassionate and learns more self-control as he grows older.

Davie – His name is short for David.  He is seven years old when the series begins.  He idolizes Joel and follows his example in many things.

Phronsie – Her name is short for Sophronia.  As the youngest child in the family, she is everyone’s pet and Mr. King’s favorite child, although she is still sweet and not as spoiled as one might expect.  In the early books, she adds to the family’s adventures by getting lost, forcing everyone to look for her.  (Some readers complain that Phronsie also continues acting like a little kid for longer than she should, as if the author didn’t want to let her age along with the others because she was stuck in her role as the cute, sweet, littlest one.)

After working for Mr. King for awhile as his housekeeper, Mrs. Pepper ends up marrying Dr. Fisher, who tended the children when they caught measles.

Some of the later books in the series backtrack to when the children were young and poor and living in their “little brown house,” so you can read the books out of the order they were published in.

An interesting bit of trivia is that Five Little Peppers and How They Grew was a favorite childhood story of the Gilbreth family and gets mentioned in their autobiographical book Cheaper By the Dozen (many people will be familiar with the recent movies of that title, but the real-life family had absolutely nothing to do with football – read the actual book or see the older movie version from 1950 with Myrna Loy playing the mother).

Books in the Series:

Five Little Peppers and How They Grew (1881)

A widowed mother works hard to support her family of five children.  The children help in any way they can, eventually finding a wealthy benefactor.

Five Little Peppers Midway (1890)

Mrs. Pepper has been working for the wealthy Mr. King as a housekeeper, and she and the children live in his mansion in Boston.  Mr. King loves the children and treats them as family members although a cousin of his tries to make trouble.

Five Little Peppers Grown Up (1892)

Polly becomes a piano teacher.

Phronsie Pepper (1897)

Phronsie, the youngest of the children, is growing up and having her first romance, although Mr. King finds it difficult to accept that she’s not a little girl anymore.

The Stories Polly Pepper Told to the Five Little Peppers in the Little Brown House (1899)

A collection of stories that Polly tells to her younger siblings, mixed with things that happen to the family as she’s telling her stories.  The stories tend to have morals to them.

The Adventures of Joel Pepper (1900)

The story goes back to when the children were young and focuses on Joel.

Five Little Peppers Abroad (1902)

Although the book was published much later, it takes place after Five Little Peppers Midway.  Mrs. Pepper marries Dr. Fisher, and Mr. King takes the couple on a trip to Europe along with Phonsie, Polly, Mr. King’s son Jasper, and a couple of friends.

Five Little Peppers at School (1903)

Mr. King sends Joel and Davie to boarding school, and Polly also faces difficult girls at her school.

Five Little Peppers and Their Friends (1904)

Ben Pepper (1905)

Five Little Peppers in the Little Brown House (1907)

Our Davie Pepper (1916)