Thimble Summer

I feel pretty sure I read Thimble Summer when I was a little girl. I have a memory of disappointment; I was always hoping the thimble the main character, Garnet, finds would turn out to be magic. It wasn't. This book was one of my early attempts with and disappointments with realistic fiction (though I have learned to love it in recent years.)

The story is of a girl who discovers a thimble, a thimble that leads to a whole summer of good things. An orphan boy comes to live with Garnet's family, to help out during a time of drought on their farm. Garnet raises a pig that goes on to win the blue ribbon at the fair. It's good times for all.