Five Little Peppers and How They Grew

All right.  This is hard to admit.  Yes, I read this.  This book was in a big pile of books that mom and dad brought out to Oregon in hopes of getting some cash from them at Powell's.  These books came from Erik's old room, my old rejects, my grandfather's stacks of books, and things Dad was either tired of rereading or thought was tripe to begin with.  

This book came from the stack of "bought once from the school book club or secret santa shop and never read" books that filled at least one giant plastic tub, and probably more.  Now, I have a thing about books in that I find value in anything that was given the time and respect of publishing.  So, I assume if it's bound it might have some worth, and therefore I have a hard time just dumping a book if I'm not sure it's not something I'm going to want to read over and over.  (Those are the only books I buy... the ones I like to read over and over... and a few that I think look awfully intelligent sitting on my bookshelves- those I've never read, but it looks awful impressive when I own "The Complete Shakespeare" or something pretentious like that.)  Anyway, I had never read this book and didn't know if it was one of those cute ones that I would like if I were 25 years younger, my fabled future offspring might enjoy, etc, etc, besides, it was billed as one of those "classic tales", and we can't discard a classic tale, right?

Wrong.  I read it- very quickly- and decided that some classic tales lose their charm faster than others.  (Funny that this book is now being sold with "charm.)  It wasn't the worst book I ever read, but come on... five poor little moppets meet by chance a spoiled rich kid who overcomes his selfishness and they all live happily ever after in a big giant mansion?  Oh, and the oldest girl by chance discovers walking down the street the spoiled little rich kid's uncle, who also happens to be the long-lost cousin of the munchkins' mother, which means- hurrah!- that they are all related to each other, except for spoiled rich kid (related only by marriage), which leaves the door open for rich kid and oldest girl to be married one day... which is not-so-subtly hinted at during their first ever meeting.  (They are TWELVE YEARS OLD.)  

Now, I'm not saying it's bad.  It's cute, in its own way.  But really, that's all it is- cute.  Come on.  There's a dog named Prince and everybody's name is endeared by adding "sie" to the end- i.e. "Bensie," "Mamsie," "Phronsie," (PHRONSIE)? and let's not forget Jasper, who becomes "Jappy."  How incredibly PC.  So anyway, a little too cutesy for me, and this is going in the garage sale/Powell's pile.  But it's not entirely without worth- you can read this aloud to your three-year-old, when they're sick with fever and won't remember you doing so.