Levi and I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall. Even Luke started calling any read-aloud 'The Penderwicks.' I am glad that we chose this book for our Read-Together Mission.
Although I was unsure about the book during the first chapter, I quickly warmed up to the Penderwick sisters and their Latin-spouting, botanist father. The story moved along nicely, and each chapter was full of adventure. The sisters had distinct and wonderful personalities. I am positive this book would have found its way to my favorites shelf had I read it as a younger girl. As it is, I was delightfully transported back to childhood. I loved the MOPS (meeting of Penderwick sisters), the 'Monday, Wednesday, Friday bed,' and the descriptions of the gardens. (I do, however, want to know why so many books in this genre seem to have motherless children. Is it my imagination?)
Levi looked forward to our reading time together and had no trouble following the story. I was a little concerned that it might be somewhat 'old' for him or possibly to 'girlish,' but that didn't seem to be the case. We had some wonderful discussions, and he still asks about it. The author left the story open enough to beg for a sequel, so we will be patiently waiting...
As usual, we wrote down a few of the words that caught our fancy:
jubilant
proficient
simultaneously
pondered
loathed
Both Levi and I would recommend The Penderwicks for perfect summer reading. Thanks, Jennifer, for recommending it to us!
Oooh, this book looks lovely. I will definitely need to read it, but who knows when? Thanks for the reniew.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed The Penderwicks and recommend it to many girls and families -- it's good to know that your son enjoyed it as well. Thanks for the review. This is my first time stopping by your blog (found you via Semicolon). I'll be back! :)
ReplyDeletethis was a pick last year for the mother-daughter book club i go to with my 11yo, but we had a scheduling conflict that month, so i never made the time to read the book. i guess i ought to!
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