THE PENDERWICKS
Author Jeanne Birdsall
Published 2005
The Penderwicks is an amusing story about four sisters, responsible Rosalind 12, tomboyish Skye 11, overly dramatic Jane 10 who wants to be a writer, and the youngest Penderwick sister Batty who at 4 is the baby of the group. Their widowed father takes his daughters and dog, Hound (Batty's companion), on summer vacation to Arundel Estate to stay in a cottage on the grounds. There they meet the picky, old, snobbish, owner Mrs Tiffton, her boyfriend, Dreadful Dopey Dexter Dupree and her kind and musical son, Jeffery who is 10 and who all the girls make very good friends with.
The girls are not bad but they just can't seem to avoid getting themselves, and in turn, Jeffery into all kinds of trouble.
They also meet eighteen year old boy, Cagney, who is the gardener at Arundel that Rosalind swiftly obtains a crush on.
I loved it so much because of all the chaos and the suspense of never knowing what's coming up next. It was so good that I made Mum order the second book in the Penderwicks series.
Review by Hana, 11
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteAll my girls enjoyed this book. We've got the other two books in the series too. In my opinion, they aren't quite as good as the first but still entertaining.
That's good to know Sue. I have ordered the second book but will hold on the third until I know how they enjoy it. We used it as a read aloud after Christmas and they nagged me daily to keep reading it to them, by the end I was hoarse! Thankfully I enjoyed it nearly as much as they did.
DeleteLisa,
DeleteI forgot to thank Hana for her excellent review!
We thought the third book relied too heavily on an unbelievable coincidence, but if you're a famous author maybe you can get away with that. It seems Jeanne Birdsall did!
A great review Hana! Very clear, doesn't give too much away, but entices us in. You have a nice writing style. Thank you for sharing. I think I'd like to read this, let alone my kids!
ReplyDeleteShe started off re-writing the novel but, I had to explain how a review works and she seemed to get he concept. In fact she was positively happy when she realised it was LESS work ... lol
DeleteIf the library doesn't have it Mari let me know and I'll lend you ours. I really enjoyed it too.