The Penderwicks : : a Summer Tale of Four Sisters, two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting boy

Locations
Call Number: Y Fiction / Birdsall, Jeanne, Kids Book / Fiction / General / Penderwicks
On Shelf At: Downtown Library

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown Kids Books 4-week checkout	Y Fiction / Birdsall, Jeanne	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown Kids Books 4-week checkout	Y Fiction / Birdsall, Jeanne	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown Kids Books 4-week checkout	Y Fiction / Birdsall, Jeanne	4-week checkout	Due 05-11-2024
Malletts Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Fiction / General / Penderwicks	4-week checkout	Due 05-12-2024
Westgate Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Fiction / General / Penderwicks	4-week checkout	Due 05-21-2024

While vacationing with their widowed father in the Berkshire Mountains, four lovable sisters, ages four through twelve, share adventures with a local boy, much to the dismay of his snobbish mother.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

Library Journal Review
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Summary / Annotation
Table of Contents
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Excerpt
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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Sweet and Old-Fashioned submitted by Sara W on June 21, 2011, 2:50am A cute, light-hearted tale of sisters and summer adventures. I found Hound and Batty the most delightful. This was like a more adorable "Little Women" without an Amy.

My favorite! submitted by gracej on June 21, 2011, 7:16pm I love the Penderwicks because I can relate to them so much. The characters, big sister Rosalind, math and science loving and not mild-tempered Skye, fanciful writer Jane, and little animal and fun loving Batty, are so real that you feel like you are in the book with them. I am currently reading the third book and it is great. This is a great and hilarious book and I would recommend it to everyone.

Best Book submitted by bpascoe on July 7, 2011, 11:03am This book was so good!!!!!

Best book ever submitted by derin on July 7, 2011, 1:39pm This is my favorite. Can't wait to read the others!!!

Amazing submitted by sophie104 on July 15, 2011, 12:48pm The author make you feel what she feels. The series is great and I can't wait to read the third one!

The Penderwicks! submitted by drewy234432 on August 8, 2011, 7:56am I looove this book!!! The Penderwicks is an adorable book about four unique sisters- Batty, Jane, Skye, and Rosalind- and the adventures that they have with their new friend, Jeffrey, on vacation. Whether its shooting ketchup covered arrows at a target of Jeffrey's mean stepfather-to-be, meeting the gardener's fuzzy rabbits, or exploring the mansion's treasure trove of an attic, the 5 of them are always up to something fun. The Penderwicks is absolutely perfect!

The Penderwicks submitted by leehannah on June 16, 2012, 8:39pm I really enjoyed this book because it's very action-packed and interesting. This book is filled with adventures, tragedies, events, and much more! After reading a couple pages, I couldn't put the book down. I want to read the second book to the series after I read the first. The cover honestly didn't look that appealing but I had to read the book for an assignment, so I picked it up and read. But, I never put it back down until I finished.

realistic family interactions submitted by camelsamba on June 28, 2012, 10:24pm This book relates the summer vacation of a family of four girls, their widowed father, and a few assorted characters at the estate where their rental is located. The days unfold into a series of escapades, many skirting on the edge of disaster (sometimes perilously close). As I started reading the book, I wrote down the names and ages of each character, sure I wouldn't be able to keep them straight. That concern faded away within a few chapters, as they each had such distinct personalities and preferences. The Penderwicks is a sweet story, with a fairly realistic portrayal of family interactions, and a somewhat aspirational portrayal of summer adventures (because really, do you know anybody who has that many close calls in 3 weeks? but wouldn't you love it to happen to your family?)

Amazing submitted by shalinigurl on July 6, 2012, 10:39am I love this first book and Jeffery is awesome. I think it's really cool the situation he's going through and how he convinces his mom that he doesn't want to go to a Military school but a music school where he learns and does pure music! The moment where he confides with the Penderwick girls that he's running away i hilarious though sad too.

Incredible submitted by Motomori on July 15, 2013, 3:50pm Incredibly amazing!!!

Love it! submitted by edwardsrl on June 24, 2014, 4:04pm The Penderwicks was one of my favorite summertime books! It's wonderful for young readers and older readers alike!

Amazing submitted by Fiona on June 28, 2014, 4:51pm This entire series is fun and entertaining and a good choice for summer. I have read each one multiple times and highly recommend them but I think this one will always be my favorite in the series.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious submitted by shreyan2004 on June 30, 2014, 2:13pm I thought this book was very fun to read. This funny story can get sad, also, especially when Jeffrey talks about his mother planning to marry Dexter Dupree, a mean character who wants to send Jeffrey to a military school. The four personalities of the sisters work well together. I am glad that the book has such a happy ending! Read to find out what it is. I'd recommend this book to kids ages 7 to 11.

cute submitted by airgood on August 1, 2014, 9:14am Very cute story and perfect for reading in the summer. The book has a great combination of lightheartedness, sadness, adventure, friendship, and family.

Penderwicks submitted by readingqueen76 on October 5, 2014, 4:41pm My friend says its like little women. So i recomened it to ages 9-11.

The Penderwicks's trip submitted by AJ Chen on October 6, 2014, 6:07pm The Penderwick family is going to Arundel Hall,where the sisters find magic all around them.First they meet Churchie who makes wonderful gingerbread,then the icy-hearted Mrs.Tifton, then Dexter Dupree.Their cottage is cozy and warm.Then they meet Jeffrey,who saved Batty's life, then Hound(their dog) finds Batty again with smell.

the wild penderwicks submitted by Makie Kaehr on June 16, 2015, 6:47pm I liked this book because it was funny and it felt like I wanted to be with them doing all those wild things. Even though I`m older than Batty, I think she is like me because I care about animals, and I am also the youngest in my family. The middle sister(Leina) is like Skye, and the oldest(Anna) is like Rosalind. I think anyone will have enjoy this book!

like little women submitted by KlezmerGirl on August 30, 2015, 5:15pm this book is like little women its about 4 sisters & there summer vacation. its very fun to read & i suggest it to all but especially little women fans!

Amazing! submitted by BooLove on June 18, 2016, 1:53pm This book is great! You have to read it!

My Favorite Books! submitted by bookworms on August 24, 2016, 4:37pm The Penderwicks is a fabulous story about four sisters summer adventurers in Arundel where they meet Jeffery and his horrid mother Mrs. Tifton. Skye is the smartest sister, Jane is very fond of fantasy and books, Rosalind is kind and practical, and Batty has a great love for animals. Together they save Jeffery from a horrible military academy. This is a must read for all 10 year girls!

great submitted by carolinepbg on June 26, 2017, 6:57am great kids bookclub pick

Wonderful submitted by melaniekv on June 27, 2017, 7:26pm My mom suggested this a while ago and I didn't think much about reading it, but this year my friend, who is an english teacher told me to read it and I really enjoyed it. It has happiness and sadness and humor. It is a great read and I would really recommend it.

amazing! submitted by geoff maturen on June 17, 2018, 5:31pm The characters seem so real when you read it! Feels nostalgic and warm.

Favorite read aloud submitted by beckbook on July 17, 2018, 10:22am As a teacher, this was one of my favorite read alouds to my fourth graders. The story is sweet and feels a bit like a throwback to a classic but still moves quickly and provides enough drama and action to engage kids. It's also very well written.

Amazingly funny, the right amount of gentleness handling real life conflict submitted by ak2864411 on July 27, 2019, 6:28pm I read this and I think it is a very good book. It is hard for me to get interested in a book and this drew me right in.

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sister, Two Rabbits, and A Very Interesting Boy: A Book Review submitted by yanxia cao on July 20, 2020, 10:50am The Penderwicks is a book about four sisters and their adventures one summer at Arundel. Their usual summer vacation destination, Cape Cod, was sold out at the last minute, and by luck, a cozy cottage in Arundel was available. The four sisters, Rosalind, Skye, Jane, Batty, and their father were in for an adventure of a lifetime.
Times there are perfect. Playing soccer, feeding rabbits, baking brownies--a relaxing time for three weeks to just have fun. The sisters even meet a new friend, Jeffrey, who lives next door in the mansion. He’s a lonely kid who longs for adventure, and the perfect companion for the Penderwick sisters. To his mother though, Mrs.Tifton, the Penderwicks are a bad influence on his son. The Penderwick sisters have to prove to Mrs.Tifton that they are good kids and can be a good influence on Jeffrey. The only way to do that, is to stay out of trouble. Especially the day of the garden party. That should be easy, right?
Rosalind questions her status with Cagney, the gardener. Skye faces the wrath of Mrs.Tifton, becoming her least favorite Penderwick sister after snooping around when not supposed to. Jane lacks motivation for her new book, starring Sabrina Starr. Batty frets about humiliation and disappointment from everyone around her when she does something traumatizing that will probably haunt her for the rest of her life. Jeffrey has to figure out a way to convey his real feelings to his conservative mother and his maybe-almost-stepdad, Dexter. Problems are the essential key to a good book, and this book is no exception.
I rate this book a 6 out of 10 stars mainly because I had such high expectations when starting. It is, after all, a National Book Award Winner. Sadly, I felt that those expectations were not met. So many people I know had recommended it and given it loads of praise, but I found the book to be overrated. Jeanne Birdsaw conveys the message and plot very well, but it was too predictable. There are countless books like this with basically the same characteristics. Jeffrey, for example, is portrayed as a boy fighting for his dreams. This theme is so common in lots of books. I would have liked something new and fresh instead of the same old theme.

Amazing! submitted by Penguinels on August 28, 2020, 9:55am I loved it and continued to read the whole series!

The Penderwicks submitted by AET on June 13, 2021, 7:44pm I love this book! The girls are all so adventurous and Jeffrey is brave for standing up to his mother. I adore the plot and Jeanne Birdsall's way of writing is fabulous! Great job, Jeanne! I will be checking out the other books in the series!

Penderwicks submitted by smgop on July 17, 2021, 10:19am A fun novel for 4th graders.

Intriguing Family submitted by kathscot on July 17, 2021, 11:54am Don't you wish the Pnderwicks were real? It would be so fun to spend time with them. There is a lot of adventure in the three weeks, but even better there is a lot of love. Even though they are quite different from each other the girls are fiercely loyal to each other, their family and their friends. I plan to read all 5 books.

Forever a favorite submitted by T R W on August 2, 2021, 9:55am I read this and immediately fell in love (my love for it only grew throughout the next books). It's not a book for those who want wild fantastical the-world-is-at-stake stories, but it is a perfect book for anyone who wants a beautiful, loving, fun, cute, interesting story. Sure, they have an unusual number of close shaves. But that makes it suspenseful! It's a definite feel-good book. I'm 12 and still am constantly rereading these books, but I read them my first time at around 8.

My favorite book! submitted by mckeetho on June 27, 2023, 9:40pm I love this book because it really represents that there are 4 sisters and they all start somewhere and makes me think about how 4 sisters can bond. It's really funny. Batty is the littlest and my favorite. I'm 8 and have read this book at least 5 times, and will be reading this entire series for the rest of my life.