The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale Of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, And A Very Interesting Boy (2007) - Plot & Excerpts
Bullet Review:This was a lot of fun, very reminiscent of quirky, family adventure books I read as a child. I would heartily recommend to this age group or anyone who is a child at heart who loves fun.That said, there were a few eye-twitching parts/moments that keep this from a higher rating.Although I rated it 3 stars, this is not me hating on the book! It is me saying it was "Okay". A book I would definitely recommend, but not want to pursue further books in the series.Full review:The Penderwicks - Rosalind, Skye, Jane, and Batty (what an eclectic bunch of names!) along with Dad and Hound - are vacationing in a cottage at Arundel, the home of Mrs. Tifton and her son, Jeffrey. While they are there, numerous adventures and escapades occur - the discovery of Jeffrey, bunnies, a raging bull, a Garden competition, a birthday party, a secret crush, etc. But the threat above all is this: will Mrs. Tifton send her son to Military School to be like his grandfather?Eons ago (at least, it feels that way now), I wanted a fun summery read and was recommended this (thanks, THT!). Unfortunately, as these go, by the time I bought it, I wasn't itching for a summer read - and it went unread for 3 years. Now, I was traveling and I just HIT that vein where I wanted to read short, fun books and weed through my collection of books such as this.I found this book a fun read, though at times, it sent my eyes a'twitchin'. Don't get me wrong; this was a fun, light-hearted read, and it felt like those books I would read as a child - a classic "any time period" feel where kids acted goofy and silly and sometimes dumb, where summer was full of adventure and possibility.That said, I'm an adult now, not 12, so there were things that I just couldn't blow past. For instance, many of the kids felt oddly aged. Rosalind felt much older than 12, especially crushing on the much older Cagney. Now yes, when I was 12, I was more than capable of crushes, but coupled with the way she acted like the Mom (even more than the Dad acted like a dad), it just felt weird. Speaking of Dad, he was barely present in the book, unless to give encouragement or to be called upon when the girls acted like, well, brats. (Because, yes, some of what they did was truly bratty and wouldn't have happened if there was even a modicum of parental attention.) He was in this so little, I almost wondered why bother writing his character at all (which was, of course, goofy, eccentric dad - yawn!).I didn't care for how Mrs. Tifton and Dexter were treated. I got the impression Mrs. Tifton would be in her 50's and 60's, so I was shocked when she was described as being near Mr. Penderwick's age (roughly 30's). Also, I felt that she was very justified in being irritated by how often the girls would run into her gardens and, well, wreck things. Honestly, when she said the girls were brats and unruly and unsupervised - she was right. The dad rented the cottage, not the entire mansion. And while Dexter's reaction to Jane's book may seem rude, the fact is, it's probably more realistic than we'd like to admit.In general, good people are good to the Penderwicks, bad people are bad, in that childish black/white characterization. It's passable for a child, but irritating for adults.But I feel I need to stop myself now. Because I'm making this book sound horrible - and it's not. It's fun. It's timeless (minus mentioning a laptop, which was quite weird to be honest, since the book felt as if it could have been written in the 1950's!). It's just a bunch of kids having quirky adventures over a summer time. You can't really bring too much thought and inspection into something like this - you ruin the beauty of a story like this.And so I rate this 3 stars; it was "good". I enjoyed myself, but still had qualms. Would I recommend this and/or buy this for a child of the appropriate age? You betcha! Would I read/buy another book of this series for myself? Probably not. That ship has sailed - but at least, I can recommend this to the child and the childlike at heart.
What a fun and charming book! This book has been on my TBR list for a while, and I have to admit that at first, it was the cover that drew me in, and then I definitely wanted to read it after finding out it was a children's book about a family of four sisters. The Penderwicks is the perfect read for a sunny summer day. Once I began reading this, I was instantly drawn into the family's adventures, and to be honest, I was reminded of Little Women in that each of the sisters had her own distinct personality and set of characteristics. These are characters that I know I won't soon forget, and I'm anxious to read the next Penderwicks story (apparently Birdsall is in the process of writing a total of five Penderwicks books). There's Rosalind, the oldest, who reminded me quite a bit of Beth from Little Women. Skye, a feisty tomboyish girl, who never hesitates to speak her mind. Jane, a dreamy ambitious writer, who, at the age of 10 has written four of her own books starring her heroine, Sabrina Starr. Batty, the youngest at four, who likes to wear a set of wings to pretend she's a bug, who has an enormous imagination, and who likes to count her dog, Hound, as her closest ally. Even the father, Mr. Penderwick, Jeffrey, the boy who resides at Arundel, and Jeffrey's mother, Mrs. Tifton, have memorable characteristics. The antics of the Penderwicks' summer vacation were enough to keep me entertained for the day or two that it took me to read this quick read. This is perfect for young readers, especially with little glimpses of Latin and algebra here and there (just enough to get the gears turning without being overly complicated). I often had to remind myself that this book has a current-day setting, but I'm not complaining about that by any means. This is a story celebrating the simple pleasures in life, including friendship and family, and often, the children play outside and use their imaginations to entertain themselves, which was refreshing. While being a feel-good story, the characters do run into some conflicts, including Jeffrey, with a mother who seems to think she knows what her son wants better than he does, and Mr. Penderwick, who is criticized for not being a "good enough" parent. Everything ends happily, but not in an eye-rolling way.Another thing that I particularly enjoyed was how funny this book was at times. There were lines and situations that had me laughing out loud, such as the time when four-year-old Batty is outside playing "vampires" with Hound, upon whom she has tied a black towel like a cape and is screaming about the water in his bowl being blood. A lovely addition to the world of children's literature, I'd recommend this one to anyone looking for an easy, breezy, yet extremely entertaining escape and to those who cherish classics like Little Women and Anne of Green Gables.
What do You think about The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale Of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, And A Very Interesting Boy (2007)?
A cute story. At times Birdsall captures pure, funny, quirky moments, one of my favorites being of four year old Batty and her dog:"Mr. Penderwick looked out the window to where Batty was playing vampires with Hound. Hound was on his back, trying to wiggle out of the black towel Batty had tied around his neck. Batty was leaping over Hound's water bowl, shrieking, "Blood, blood!"Sometimes she falls easily into cliche. Sometimes she avoids it. This book makes me wish for summer and wish for sisters.
—Christy
What a wonderful treasure!I really couldn't tell you exactly what it was about this book that made me want to come back to it at every spare moment. It's not like there is some huge climax, or that I'm waiting to see if my favorite character makes it to the end of an adventure alive - it's not that sort of book. And yet, it is. The Penderwicks are an absolutely wonderful, lovable and endearing family made up of four sisters (from ages 4 to 12 1/2), their loving father, and their happy and protective dog, Hound.The book tells the story of the four girls' summer vacation at a cottage on a huge estate. And while most of the book consists of tiny stories and daily events, we see as the book progresses that author Jeanne Birdsall has managed to create adventures and climaxes fitting for the Penderwicks, that build and span the entire book - each character achieving their own arc. So, while perhaps the Penderwicks aren't out to save the world, they have adventures of their own that need to be tackled - anywhere from helping their new friend stand up to his self-centered mother, to rescuing a runaway rabbit. And all the while, Birdsall has filled these characters with wonderful heart and individuality, so that by the third chapter you won't be getting the sisters confused with each other, and you will be anxious to hear more about each of them.The story seems truly timeless - it's a modern story, but you'd really never know it aside from the mention of a car and a few mentions of a computer. It could be as relevant today as if it were written one hundred yeas ago, or one hundred years from now. I hope you'll read it! It's truly excellent!
—Ann
Ah...this was okay. The writing was fine, and the characters had promise. Unfortunately, a quarter way through the book everyone and everything became way too predictable and contrived.At times the characters felt believable and at others not so believable. To me the best characters are the ones who seem to act on their own accord, write themselves, and manipulate the author. And there were times when the Penderwick sisters felt like those kind of characters. But then...Then there were other times (too many times) where the puppet strings became all too obvious.National Book Award winner??? Not by my standards, but then I'm not on the voting committee. I have four kids, which means I read lots of children's literature, and though I didn't hate it, it came far from wowing me.
—Shaun
