The Penderwicks Book Review

Book Review
Title: The Penderwicks
Author: Jeanne Birdsall
Awards: National Book Award Winner, 2005

When I first started reading The Penderwicks, I thought immediately of Estes' Pye and Moffat series, as well as Eagar's "Magic" books. I had to doublecheck the copyright date to ensure that the book was indeed just published in 2005. Birdsall was obviously influenced by those books and it shows (in a good way in The Penderwicks).

Similar to those classics, The Penderwicks chronicles the adventures of a family of kids and their friends. In this case it is the four Penderwick sisters: Rosalind, age twelve - the dependable one; Skye, 11 super smart and quick to temper, Jane, 10, the imaginative writer, and Batty, 4, shy but with her own strengths as well. There is also their dog Hound, the girls' father and a few friends they make on their three week summer vacation.

The Penderwick family's adventure starts when they have to make a last minute change in their vacation plans and end up rentig a cottage in the mountains sight unseen. The cottage turns out to be a guest home on the estate of the huge Arundel Mansion.

The girls become friends with Cagney the 18 year old gardner (who Rosalind quickly develops a crush on), Jefferey the son of the Mrs Tipton the estate owner, Churchie, Arundel's housekeeper, and Howard the tomato man.

The principle bad guys are Mrs. Tipton herself and her boyfriend Dexter Dupree, as well as an angry bull.

The characters are quirky and interesting; the kid's adventures are exciting but lighthearted enough, and all turns out well for everyone in the end. I truly enjoyed this book.