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Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In a small country house, a spirited girl and her sisters make ordinary days matter.
At the Little Brown House by Ruth Brown MacArthur follows a lively young girl within a family of sisters. Their home is small and plain, but its warmth comes from the people inside. Here, growing up unfolds through household pleasures, shared chores, and the close company of family.
The countryside shapes the rhythm of their days, while neighbors bring warmth beyond the household. MacArthur gives small events room to matter. The story invites you to notice what a task, a disappointment, or a moment together can mean to a child, without hurrying toward fast action or sharp surprises.
What you’ll discover
- A spirited young heroine Follow a lively girl whose growing up sits at the heart of this gentle family story.
- The company of sisters Explore the closeness and friction that make sisters such important companions as a girl grows.
- A home with warmth Enter a plain country household where people, rather than possessions, give daily life its warmth.
- The rhythm of country life Find the quiet pleasures and lessons that come with chores, seasons, and the warmth of neighbors.
- Small moments that matter See ordinary experiences given the care they deserve in a child's world.
Who will love it
This book is for readers who love spirited girls, big families and small-town life. It suits anyone who enjoys funny mix-ups and kind neighbors.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Peace puts a stranger to work
- Flowers offer another way to earn
- Grief takes different shapes at home
- A shared table makes kindness visible
- Faith begins helping the family
- Kind intentions still need good sense
- The mortgage threatens their shared home
- Laughter runs beside sorrow and mystery
- The sisters rely on shared care
Who’s who
- Peace GreenfieldA brown-eyed, quick-tongued girl who invents money-making plans, mixes up long words and cannot stop helping others, however much trouble it brings.
- GailThe eldest sister, who acts as mother to the five younger girls and works to keep the family and the farm together.
- FaithA moody, talented sister who bakes fine cakes and must learn to leave her sorrow behind and work with the others.
- HopeThe gentle, bright sister who reads aloud, helps in the house and brings sunshine wherever she goes.
- CherryCharity, the bookish, steady sister who follows Peace into her adventures and often tries to talk her out of them.
- AlleeThe youngest sister, blue-eyed and loyal, who sings, trusts Peace completely and goes wherever she leads.
- Mr. StrongThe young minister and friend of the girls, who comforts Peace and helps the family through hard times.
- Mr. HartmanThe gruff neighbor and mortgage holder who teases Peace, quarrels with her and slowly becomes a friend.
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At the Little Brown House in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
At the Little Brown House
Peace Greenfield sells wildflowers to buy shoes and whistles beautifully at a show and a church service.
Medium level2–5 hours to read20 languages
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
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In short
What do you do when a tramp shows up at your gate and you are a small girl with big opinions? Peace Greenfield tells him he can have breakfast if he works for it.
At the Little Brown House at a glance
- Reading time
- About 4 h 40 min3 h 45 min fast, 5 h 35 min slow
- Length
- 67,000 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A dawn raid on flowers meets a tramp
The story opens on an early June morning in Parker. Three sisters try to creep out before Gail wakes. Peace leads the way, followed by Cherry and small Allee, whose dress hangs half buttoned. They want columbines and wood violets for the last day of school and for the new minister's reception that night.
On the road they wake a gray-haired tramp asleep behind the hedge. He speaks to the creek and the birds in fine, warm words. Later he finds the girls at their gate. Peace sits on the gatepost and questions him like a grown woman. She says the family never feeds beggars, but it does help the deserving poor. Then she lists every job on the farm, and Gail trims the list down to a pile of firewood. The man splits all of it.
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Which edition is right for me
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Details
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 5 h 15 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
MacArthur, Ruth Brown. At the Little Brown House. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/at-the-little-brown-house.
MacArthur, R. B. (2026). At the little brown house. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/at-the-little-brown-house
MacArthur, Ruth Brown. At the Little Brown House. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/at-the-little-brown-house.
@book{macarthur2026at,
author = {MacArthur, Ruth Brown},
title = {At the Little Brown House},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/at-the-little-brown-house}
}
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What is At the Little Brown House about?
It tells of six orphaned sisters who live on a mortgaged farm in the village of Parker. Spirited Peace dreams up schemes to earn money and help her family, while the sisters try to stay together.
Who are the six Greenfield sisters?
They are Gail, Faith, Hope, Charity, whom everyone calls Cherry, Peace and Allee. Gail is the eldest and acts as mother. Peace is the lively center of the story, and Allee is the youngest.
Who is the tramp in the story?
The tramp is a gray-haired man who first appears at breakfast on a June morning and returns at key moments. Peace thinks he may be a prince in disguise. His true story waits near the end.
The author
Ruth Brown MacArthur
American children's author
Ruth Brown MacArthur wrote this book in the early twentieth century in the American tradition of lively stories about girls, families and country life. Little is widely recorded about her, but the book shows her world clearly, with its farms, village churches, church suppers, streetcars and small-town neighbors, all told with humor and a warm heart.
More by Ruth Brown MacArthur
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