Sep 08 2008
The Penderwicks: A Summer of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall was one of the most delightful read-alouds the kids and I have shared. Rosalind, Skye, Jane, and Batty - the four Penderwick sisters - are off for a summer vacation with their loving, brilliant, but slightly absent-minded father. They expect a run-down bungalow; what they get is a delightful cottage on a grand estate called Arundel.
Arundel has beautiful gardens, a cute teenaged gardner, a snooty owner - and her son, Jeffrey. The girls and Jeffrey quickly become fast friends, and get in and out of several scrapes - all the while trying to figure out how to keep Jeffrey’s mom, the snooty Mrs. Tifton, from sending Jeffrey to military school.
Each of the Penderwick sisters is a competely drawn individual, with their own voice and quirks. I have three sisters, and could completely relate to Rosalind’s need to mother her younger sisters, Skye’s exasperation with little sister Batty’s antics, and Jane’s head-in-the-clouds romanticism and desire to write.
Since this is a book about four girls, and I have one girl and three boys, I was a bit concerned about how the book would go over as a read-aloud. I needn’t have worried - we all loved it, and even the boys are asking me when I’m going to buy the sequel, The Penderwicks on Gardam Street.
5 out of 5 stars
HA! I just finished reading this book this week. (My review of it will go up next week.) I enjoyed hearing your thoughts.
We enjoyed reading this book aloud last year, too. I’m still waiting to get the sequel from the library. I may have to go out and buy it.
I bought this book several months ago and don’t know when I’ll get it read. But reading good reviews keeps it on my mind.
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