The Penderwicks

Customer Reviews

• The Penderwick Papers  Jan 6, 2006 (195 of 212 found this helpful)

  So you're forty-one. You've never written a book before, but you think you'd like to try your hand at it. You suspect, perhaps rightly, that you'd be pretty good at it. Before giving it a go though you live your life and fool around with photography (and by "fool around" I mean "get your photographs into the Smithsonian's permanent collection"). Then you write a children's chapter book that draws on every source from Elizabeth Ende to Edward Eager (alliterative writers are a source of wonderful books) and your little novel is written. It then garners itself a National Book Award that same year. Such is the tale of Jeanne Birdsall and her remarkable book. Having read pointed criticisms as to whether or not "The Penderwicks" should really have won the aforementioned National Book Award I went into reading the title thinking something along these lines:
  
  "Harumph. Obviously `Autobiography of My Dead Brother' (which I haven't read either) should have won the award. It's so meaningful. This book is probably just a rehash of old classics with some utesy-cutesyness to turn off serious readers. I'll just read a little..."
  
  Five minutes later.
  
  "Huh. This is pretty good. Well-written. Let's just dip in a little more..."
  
  Eighteen chapters later.
  
  
  Which brings us to this review. Up against serious book after deeply meaningful book, I commend the committee of the National Book Awards for acknowledging what the Newberys, the Oscars, and pretty much all other awards offered to artistic works fail to recognize. Comedy is only easy to read. It is near impossible to create. It takes far more skill to write a meaningful piece of work that makes you laugh than a meaningful piece of work that makes you cry. Kill a puppy and the tears fall like rain. Make that same puppy do something that makes you laugh and it's a miracle of authorial genius. On top of all that, "The Penderwicks" has something that not many books this year will be able to claim: It's great for all ages.
  
  It never would have happened at all if the four Penderwick daughters and their father hadn't gotten a new cottage rental for their summer vacation. Arriving at heavenly Arundel, the headstrong Penderwick Skye proceeds to immediately discover and knock unconscious their new landlady's son, Jeffrey. After some apologies all is forgiven and Jeffrey meets each girl. There's twelve-year-old Rosalind who is a kind of mother figure to her sisters. Eleven-year-old Skye is deeply intelligent and has a temper that in any other book would make her a redhead. Ten year old Jane is the dreamy romantic Penderwick, prone to writing overindulgent adventure tales. Finally, there's four-year-old Batty, clad permanently in detachable butterfly wings and accompanied by the family dog, Hound. With Jeffrey by their side the girls must deal with Rosalind's crush, Sky's capacity for messing up, Jane's publication fantasies, and Batty's shyness. Top it all off with Jeffrey's mother, Mrs. Tipton, believing that her son should be sent to a military academy ASAP and you've got a fine frolicksome summer adventure to be read for years and years to come.
  
  I love pinpointing the moment a book wins me over. It's never when you would expect such a moment to take place. For me it was a rather quiet scene at twilight. It's a balmy summer night, such as you might experience in the Berkshire Mountains, and the girls are catching fireflies. Suddenly, it was perfectly clear that Birdsall had somehow or other managed to capture the lazy magic of a summer night in her writing. People have killed to do so much. With "The Penderwicks", you hold in your hand a crystallized encapsulation of all that is lovely about warm July evenings at home. Remarkable.
  
  Don't let my flattery fool you. The book, for all its charms, was not incapable of the occasional misstep. Not too long ago m

• An enchanting and lighthearted adventure  Dec 15, 2005 (43 of 45 found this helpful)

  When the Penderwick family's summer holiday plans are changed, the widowed Mr. Penderwick decides to take his four young daughters --- ages 4 through 12 --- to a cottage in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts. Instead, though, they find themselves on a beautiful grand estate called Arundel. For the close sisters, Arundel gives them a realm of possibility and each their own treasure-trove of memories and discoveries.
  
  There's practical Rosalind, who, while gladly looking after her three younger sisters, develops a crush on an older teen gardener named Cagney, much to her surprise.
  
  Next there's spirited, loudmouthed Skye, who refuses to back down against far bigger challenges than completing algebra problems.
  
  Then there's the imaginative Jane, whose artistic skills are put to the test as she writes her most important Sabrina Starr adventure yet.
  
  And last but not least, there's shy little Batty, who always wears her butterfly wings as she and her loyal Hound explore the magical gardens and surrounding lands together.
  
  Meanwhile, the Penderwick sisters also find a great companion in Jeffrey Tifton, the owner's son. Jeffrey --- along with the kind housekeeper Churchie, Harry the Tomato Man, and Cagney --- helps the holiday to be a wonderful one that includes tame rabbits and the best gingerbread they ever had. Unfortunately, the terrible, snobbish Mrs. Tifton and her smirky boyfriend Dexter Dupree look down on the children and their adventures. When the Penderwick sisters discover the miserable future that lies in store for their new friend, they realize they must help him --- or else this could be his last happy summer forever!
  
  This is a lighthearted children's book that is also somewhat realistic. Readers won't like how Mrs. Tifton treats the girls, but they will enjoy the sisters' special bond, such as when they have their secret MOOPS. As with summer holidays, the book ends too quickly but will continue to be just as memorable as the years go by.
  
  THE PENDERWICKS is Jeanne Birdsall's first novel and the winner of the 2005 National Book Award.
  
  --- Reviewed by Sarah Sawtelle [...]

• This book is sure to become a classic! Fine writing; memorable characters!  Feb 26, 2007 (18 of 18 found this helpful)

  I often buy books such as this delightful tale to read to my grandchildren, but I purchased this one for myself. I admit I'm a big kid at heart and I love to read children's books as well as write them. I find the diversity of plots fascinating; children's book authors have the best imaginations of any writers, in my humble opinion.
  
  Other reviewers have given you detailed insight into the plot, so I won't go there, but I found the four sisters captivating in their inventiveness and humor, while their new friend, Jeffrey and the rabbits were quite entertaining in a different way. I also loooooved the dog, Hound, and wish he'd been mentioned in the title. Another favorite character is Churchie, the kind housekeeper.
  
  I giggled almost all the way through this book, but it had its poignant moments too. You'll delight in the ingenious ways the girls try to help Jeffrey escape a bleak future planned for him by his "less than likable" mother and her irritating boyfriend.
  
  Ms. Birdsall certainly has a way with words, and her character and scene descriptions bring the book alive. Certainly she has had a brilliant past in her photography career, but if this book is any indication, she will be one of the "movers and shakers" in the literary field as well.
  
  On a personal level, I was pleased to learn that the four Penderwick sisters shared a close bond, because it was reminiscent of me and my three sisters whiling away our childhood in Ohio. I, being the youngest, thought I would see myself like Batty in the book. But as it turned out, I'm more like Jane with a touch of the "spirit" of Skye. These girls and other characters were so realistically depicted I'm sure readers will see themselves in one or more of them, as I did.
  
  Congratulations, Jeanne Birdsall, on this wonderful debut novel; you deserved to win the 2005 National Book Award for this enchanting book that's bound to be treasured by children all around the world ... for generations to come.
  
  SIDENOTE: You may have noticed that Amazon has made some changes to its website. If it looks the same to you right now, look out for a new format that will be rolling out gradually in the weeks to come. If you can see the changes, especially the review format, I'd like to know what you think. Please leave me a comment with your opinion.
  
  "Love the new look" or "Hate the new look" comments are perfectly acceptable.
  
  My e-mail address is at top of this review. Thank you for your time."
  
  
  

• An enchanting book  Jun 21, 2005 (15 of 15 found this helpful)

  The Penderwicks is far and away the best children's book I have read in some time. JK Rowling could get some advice on character development from Jeanne Birdsall. She does such an amazing job developing rich and engaging characters, you do not want to put the book down, and indeed I didn't. The only question I have is, when will she write the next one?

• A fun book for all ages!  Oct 19, 2005 (23 of 25 found this helpful)

  I initially purchased this book for the kids at the library where I work because it takes place in The Bershire Mountains where we live and because it sounded like an old fashin read for young people. After finishing it yesterday in the wee hours of the morning I discovered several new reasons to recommend this book for all ages! It is a wonderful story about resilience and adventure. It has some very, very tame and gentle romance for readers who are a little bit older. It is exciting and at the same time understated. My favorite character had to be Jane, the next to the youngest Penderwick. I wasn't fond of Skye, but she had to be there. The book would not have been the same without her. Mr. Penderwick was the kind of father everyone would have loved to have had and the ending was charming, if not a bit sappy...but who cares?! It is a happy book for kids in this day and age of war and terrorism and juvenile/young adult books where someone is always dying, or addicted, or getting raped.
  
  This book would be a great read-aloud for a class room or a family. Definetly refreshing, I cannot wait for the next installment!