Ella Minnow Pea

The entire story unravels on the island of Nollop, off the coast of North Carolina. Nollop is named after Nevin Nollop, a man who wrote a sentence containing all 26 letters of the alphabet: “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” Because of his feat, Nollop’s statue is erected in town as a monument to the island’s namesake. Ella Minnow Pea, the main character, writes to her cousin, Tassie, announcing the first of several terrible events on the island: a letter has fallen from the statue.

At first, what seems a simple fallen tile becomes a huge problem for the island. The Councilmen of the island deem the fallen tile a sign from Nollop himself, a sign that the letter shouldn’t be used by the inhabitants any longer. Ella welcomes the challenge, but Tassie warns of the possible implications, including the loss of precious books. Sure enough, the books are taken away for fear of containing a single, illegal letter.

Within days of the first ban, several people commit their first offences. The offender’s neighbors, Ella notes, told the authorities. People begin to turn on each other. The first person to reach his third and final offence is a young boy.