The Penderwicks

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy, by Jeanne Birdsall (2005)

When the family’s established summer vacation plans fall through, Mr. Penderwick makes alternate arrangements and heads to the Berkshires with his four girls. The botanist and college professor is again on the road without his wife, who has passed away from cancer several years before. The eldest daughter, Rosalind, while only 12, has assumed the role of family matriarch. She helps her free-reigning father with the headstrong Skye, age 11, and the cerebral budding writer, Jane, age 10. Rounding out the Penderwick set is four-year-old Batty and the family dog, Hound.

The Penderwicks have rented a cottage on the stern Mrs. Tifton’s Arundel estate and the adventure begins almost immediately as Skye literally runs into Tifton’s son, Jeffrey. The boy is a gifted musician, who tries the patience of his unyielding mother. The mother and her new love interest believe that Jeffrey should honor the family tradition of becoming a military officer, an idea that the boy abhors.

Four weeks is enough time for plenty of summer play including soccer, nursing crushes on boys, crashing Mrs. Tifton’s garden showing and experiencing the family drama unfolding in the Arundel mansion. While a few of the story elements are a bit far-fetched, it hardly seems to matter as the characters are so delightful and the story line is fun to follow.

Birdsall has penned a fine first book and crafted a cast of characters that will make readers ask for more. Highly recommended for grades four through six.