Shouting out one of the sweetest, funniest, most adorable middle grades IN THE WORLD in this Five Favorite Things:
The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall
So THE PENDERWICKS first book is an introduction to one of my favorite bookish families. The 411 on these delightful young ladies: Rosalind is the oldest of four sisters (she’s 12). Skye is 11 and Jane is 10. They’re all special and unique and funny and so real. But the one who always captures my heart is the littlest, Batty. She’s only 4, and she’s just about the cutest cutie patootie in the UNIVERSE. Her bff is the family dog, Hound, and he is loyal and protective and amazing. As the baby, Batty sometimes gets left out of the older girls’ shenanigans so that makes me go all gushy face and want to grab her and squeeze her like crazy. When Batty is upset or lonely or happy, I feel it times a million. She’s ADORABLE.
The first time I read THE PENDERWICKS, I had a hard time being sure when it was set. And you know what? That’s a huge part of its charm. None of the Penderwick girls have cell phones or iPads, they hardly ever watch TV AT ALL, and there’s really no mention of modern technology of any kind. It’s so refreshing! These girls actually, you know, GO OUTSIDE and make up games and stories and have OLD SCHOOL FUN. It’s the best.
I love reading books about sisters because I love mine to death. These four sisters are so different but still so close, it’s the most endearing thing. They each interact differently with each other: Rosalind is your typical oldest sister. She’s responsible and clearly the boss, except she isn’t really bossy. She looks out for Batty and makes up bedtime stories for her. Skye is brash and snarky and LOVES SCIENCE. And Jane…Oh how I love Jane! She’s the daydreamer who writes her own stories. They also have these hilarious, awesome “meetings” that have NAMES: MOOPS (Meeting Of Older Penderwick Sisters) which take place after Batty’s bedtime, and MOPS (Meeting Of Penderwick Sisters) which include Batty. It’s basically their sister war council. They get together, talk about stuff, address pressing issues. They CALL THE MEETINGS TO ORDER and then talk about stuff that they swear to keep secret from their dad. I just love it. I love their relationships and how genuine they are. Even when they are annoyed by each other, they still love each other so much.
Last week, I did a Top Ten Tuesday of my 10 favorite books set in New England. You better believe that THE PENDERWICKS–like all three books that are out–were all over that list, and it starts with book 1, which takes place in the Berkshires in Massachusetts. It’s such a quiet, lovely spot with mountains and open space and IS SO PRETTY. At least according to the pictures I’ve seen. I’ve never been there. But that tucked away in a peaceful small town feeling permeates the whole book.
Berkshires in Fall
OMG YOU GUYS. So, ok. Even though the Penderwick sisters are close and lively and characters enough on their own, one of the biggest shining stars of these books is Jeffrey Tifton, a young boy that they meet in THE PENDERWICKS. Lots of people compare the Penderwicks and Jeffrey to the March sisters and Laurie from Little Women. And I totally see it now, although I didn’t at first. But Jeffrey is warm, sweet, funny, and totally not intimidated by these four girls. He seems to be closest to Skye for now, but he loves them all, and they all love him, and it’s so innocent and heartwarming and…SIGH. He’s one of those characters that you know, if they were real, they would grow up to be that cute, confident, friendly guy that only the girls who pay attention to the good things notice. I would totally crush on him. (This is NOT INAPPROPRIATE, right?)
Friends, it’s no secret that I LOVE books with awesome dads, and THE PENDERWICKS has a good one. I literally cannot remember his actual name because he’s always just Mr. Penderwick or daddy, but he’s LEGIT. He’s a widower with four girls and they are all totally daddy’s girls. It’s so sweet. He’s a college professor of botany, so he’s TOTALLY a nerd. And he has a great sense of humor. I adore him.
