Meet the marvelous Pyes—      There is Mrs. Pye, the youngest mother in town;      Mr. Pye, a famous bird man, who handles all the nation’s important bird problems;      Rachel Pye, who is so reasonable she can make un reasonable ideas sound like good ones;      Jerry Pye, who knows about rocks of all sorts and plans to grow up to be a rock man;      Uncle Bennie, who is Jerry and Rachel’s uncle—even though he’s only three years old.      Lastly is Ginger Pye, the “intellectual dog,” who Jerry bought for a hard-earned dollar. The most famous pup in all of Cranbury, Ginger knows tons of tricks, is as loyal as he is smart, and steals the hearts of everyone he meets . . . until someone steals him !   Winner of the Newbery Medal   “The book’s charm lies in its telling, in its humor, in its true awareness of the strength of feeling and imagination, of pain and ecstasy, that is part of childhood.” —Chicago Sunday Tribune   “Here is the book for which we have been waiting. . . . A story written with the same sympathy, humor, and understanding that have made the Moffats so dearly loved everywhere. An outstanding book.” — The Horn Book “Not many writers can give us the mind and heart of a child as Eleanor Estes can. . . . It is a book to be read and reread.” —Saturday Review of Literature   Eleanor Estes (1906-1988) grew up in West Haven, Connecticut, which she renamed Cranbury for her classic stories about the Moffat and Pye families. A children’s librarian for many years, she launched her writing career with the publication of The Moffats in 1941. Two of her outstanding books about the Moffats— Rufus M. and The Middle Moffat —were awarded Newbery Honors, as was her short novel The Hundred Dresses. She won the Newbery Medal for Ginger Pye.   1 THE PYES AND PETS Would Gracie-the-cat be jealous if the Pyes got another pet—?a dog? That was what Jerry Pye wanted to know and what he was dreaming about as he sat with Rachel, his sister, on their little upstairs veranda. Gracie had belonged to the family for eleven years. This was longer than Rachel, aged nine, or even Jerry, aged ten, had. She had been a wedding present to Mama, and she was known in the neighborhood as “the New York Cat.” Jerry was trying to imagine what Gracie’s feelings would be if the Pyes did get another pet—?a dog.      The one thing that Jerry Pye wanted more than anything else in the world right now was a dog. Ever since he had seen the new puppies over in Speedys’ barn, he was not only more anxious than ever to have a dog, he was most anxious to have one of these Speedy puppies. He had the particular one picked out that he would most like to have as his own. This was not easy to do for they were all wonderful.      Jerry had chosen this certain special puppy because he was convinced he was the smartest of the new puppies. Naturally, he would love any dog he had, but imagine owning such a smart puppy as this one! When he owned him he would teach him to heel, be dead dog, sneeze, scratch his stomach when Jerry scratched his back, beg, and walk on his hind legs. If he had this dog, that is. And he looked speculatively at Gracie-the-cat who had pushed open the screen door and was now lolling with an agreeable expression on the rope mat. He would not want to hurt her feelings and he thought some more whether it would or would not hurt Gracie’s feelings if he brought a puppy into the house.      It was a Friday evening and Jerry and Rachel had been sitting, reading, on the little upstairs veranda of their tall house. Rachel had The Secret Garden from the library, and Jerry had one of the Altsheler books, and neither one of these books was an “I” book. They both always opened a book eagerly and suspiciously looking first to see whether or not it was an “I” book. If it were they would put it aside, not reading it until there was absolutely nothing else. Then, at last, they would read it. But, being an “I” book, it had to be awfully good for them to like it. Only a few, Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island, and Swiss Family Robinson, for example, survived the hard “I” book test. These were among their best beloved in spite of the obvious handicap.      The children had read for a long time, but then it had grown dark. Now they were just sitting quietly, thinking, and watching the bats and bugs hurl themselves against the tall streetlamp which had suddenly come on and was casting a purple glow. Jerry was getting ready to bring up the matter of the dog to discuss with his sister Rachel, but first he liked to sit and dream about the wonderful idea that it was.      Rachel and Jared, called Jerry, Pye were very close companions. Of course they had many friends too; for instance, Dick Badger, who lived next door and who had a huge gray hound that knew how to scratch its stomach when you scratched its back, was Jerry’s best friend.      Rachel’s best friend was a girl over on Bugle Street named Addie Egan. All the boys and