Series Name: The Penderwicks
Author: Jeanne Birdsall (web | twitter)
Publisher: Yearling/Knopf
Number of Books: 4/5
Titles: THE PENDERWICKS: A SUMMER TALE OF FOUR SISTERS, TWO RABBITS, AND A VERY INTERESTING BOY | THE PENDERWICKS ON GARDAM STREET | THE PENDERWICKS AT POINT MOUETTE | THE PENDERWICKS IN SPRING | UNTITLED #5
Links: Five Star Friday | Five Favorite Things
The Penderwicks is a series of middle grade novels that I LOOOOVE TO DEATH. They are one of the most loveable, hilarious, touching families I can recall reading about ever. There’s Mr. Penderwick, whose name is, frankly, a mystery to me; Rosalind, the oldest and most mommish of the sisters; Skye, brash, smart, tomboyish, and confident; Jane, a dreamer, writer, and all around flighty gem; and Batty, the baby and the most ADORBS thing on the PLANET. The Penderwicks’ mother passed away not long after Batty’s birth and their father is a college professor. Basically, we meet them when they’re on summer vacation and follow them through their everyday lives and on all of their shenanigans for a number of years after.
Some of these shenanigans include one Jeffrey Tifton, a young boy the girls meet in book 1. He’s amazing: friendly, kind, funny, and very sweet. I’m convinced he’s going to marry one of the Penderwick girls. Because that would be THE MOST PERFECT.
The most recently released book, THE PENDERWICKS IN SPRING, features a time jump, but the all the stories are told as if the girls are adults, recounting their youth together.
I can’t shout my love of this family from enough rooftops. Each of the girls has their own vibrant personality, but they mesh so well and love each other so much. They look after one another and rag on each other and make each other laugh. They create their own fun and turn everyday things into special memories. I LOVE THIS. None of the sisters ever talk about their phones or watching TV or Twitter. These books are literally about their LIVES and the things they do outside and the friends they meet at home or while they’re away.
The Penderwicks are just about the most wonderfully NORMAL family I’ve ever read. But that doesn’t equate to them being boring. NOT AT ALL. Jane is hilarious, Skye is outspoken, Rosalind is good-natured and a little bossy, and Batty is just THE cutest thing ever. These books see them reminiscing about their mom, visiting with their favorite aunt, their dad meeting a really awesome lady and getting remarried, meeting boys–there’s just this sense of innocence about them that I find really appealing. Because it’s not annoying. It’s just like healthy, I’m-still-growing-up-and-learning-stuff innocence. Even in other middle grade books I read, this isn’t always apparent. It’s so refreshing.
Also, one of my favorite things about this family is their sense of humor. Their dad has his moments, and also Jane. She’s the funniest to me. Jane plays soccer, and when she gets really into it, she has this HYSTERICAL like alter ego who’s this rough cockney dude who starts fights and gets fierce. She causes more than one scene during a game. She kills me.
Speaking of daddy Penderwick, I love him. He’s present, sometimes clueless about raising girls, but supportive and fun and fosters strong relationships between himself and between his girls. I love reading about dads, and he’s a great one.
Of course, I can’t talk about the Penderwicks without talking about MOPS. Meeting of Penderwick Sisters. GUYS. They have MEETINGS together about things they think are important and there are rules and they take it so seriously. There’s also MOOPS, which is Meeting of Older Penderwick Sisters. Poor Batty gets left out of those. I just find the whole thing too cute for words.
I love reading middle grade, and this series is one of my favorites. It takes Jeanne Birdsall about three years to write each one, which is a crazy long time, but I’ll wait however long she needs me to. There’s only one more book left, and while I haven’t read THE PENDERWICKS IN SPRING yet, I have high hopes for it, and I have my own hopes for the way the series will close. People compare the Penderwick sisters to the March sisters from Little Women, and I can see it. The closeness of this family is just so heartwarming.
If you’re looking for middle grade that’s a breath of fresh air, with great characters, great humor, heartfelt warm-fuzzies, and an old-timey feel, I can’t push The Penderwicks series on you enough.
