Four sisters, their absent-minded father and a big dog spend a summer on a grand estate, where they befriend a lonely boy and outwit his snobbish mother
A summer at Arundel
The four Penderwick sisters are on holiday in the Berkshires with their gentle, Latin-quoting botanist father and their large dog, Hound. Their rented cottage sits on the grounds of Arundel, a grand estate owned by the cold and formal Mrs. Tifton. Rosalind is twelve and responsible, Skye is hot-tempered and logical, Jane is a dreamy aspiring novelist and little Batty is shy and wears butterfly wings almost all the time.
Who will enjoy it
Young readers who love stories about siblings and summer adventures, and families looking for a warm, old-fashioned read-aloud.
What you will get
A warm, funny and old-fashioned family story about four sisters, one summer on a grand estate and a lonely boy who becomes their friend.
The Penderwicks Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting
Genre
Children’s Books · Four sisters · Summer holiday · Friendship
Length
288 pages · ≈ 8 h
More about this book
The girls quickly make friends with Jeffrey, Mrs. Tifton's son, who longs to study music instead of going to military school as his mother plans. Their summer fills with adventures: escaped rabbits, a bull in a field, a dramatic rescue, garden parties gone wrong and Rosalind's first crush on a young gardener. The sisters hold formal family meetings to decide important questions, and the rules they invent are a delight.
Birdsall writes in the tradition of Edith Nesbit and Noel Streatfeild, but with a lighter, sharper humor. Each sister is a distinct and memorable person, and the book is full of small moments of kindness and embarrassment that ring true. The family's quiet grief over their late mother is handled lightly and tenderly, giving the story depth without weighing it down.
Readers looking for high stakes or magic may find it gentle, and the snobbish Mrs. Tifton is a fairly simple villain. But as a cozy, generous story about family, it is wonderful, and the four sequels carry the sisters further. It reads aloud beautifully, and many families make it a summer tradition. About 288 pages in the Yearling paperback.
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