Joel is the middle Pepper—and the most mischievous and irrepressible of all the Five Little Peppers who live with Mamsie in the Little Brown House. Although the family is poor, and each little Pepper has to share the work to keep things going, they have plenty of fun, laughter and good times. And Joel contributes more than his share of the pranks. Sometimes they come to a hilariously successful conclusion, such as the time Joel finds the robbers in his secret cave. More often, his antics lead to disaster, bumped heads, sprained ankles—as when Joel takes his little brother Davie for a sleigh ride. And saddest of all is the time Joel actually manages to set the house on fire.

But for all his escapades, Joel is fiercely loyal to his family, and his motives for getting into mischief are always so lovable and ingenuous that invariably he is forgiven. Ben, Polly, Davie and the baby, Phronsie, play a large part in Joel's story; and as you read this book, you, too, will share the joy and love of the gallant Pepper family.

From the dust jacket of the Grosset & Dunlap edition