Saturday, August 25, 2007

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall



Strangely my local library had this and I read it in about two settings. I thought this book was brilliant but probably a little old for my Year 3 class. It tells the tale of some feisty young girls and their holiday to a cottage with their father. The sisters have differing personalities that get them into a variety of scrapes! If I was of a younger age I am sure I would have chosen a favourite sister, probably the writer of the eldest sister who kind of takes over the role of mother. This was a nice easy read that made me wish I could roam around a huge estate getting into mischief! It has I guess an old fashioned charm, I don’t know whether that is just me but it reminded me of books from my youth. It was a pleasant change from some of the books I have read recently aimed at children
I think what struck me about the book is the love and friendship of the family and their new friend Jeffrey, made me wish I had siblings to share things with! It is the kind of family ideal I would have relished (in some respects obviously) for example a father who loves his children dearly and supports them entirely but leaves them to their own devices.
I am so pleased to have read this book, I will certainly be getting my own copy for my classroom!

This is actually one of the books from my Something about Me challenge so yay one down!

7 comments:

Dewey said...

This sounds delightful! I'm still a big fan of children's books and YA books, and probably always will be. I hope someone in your class finds it and loves it.

Stephanie said...

I love YA books and this one sounds great!

a.book.in.the.life said...

Thanks guys, it is a really great book I highly recommend it:)

tinylittlelibrarian said...

"Old fashioned charm" is exactly how I'd describe it, too - I loved it!

a.book.in.the.life said...

Just taken a quick look at your blog, I see from your job you know a thing about children's books. Sounds like a great job!

Petunia said...

Great review! I reviewed this book a little while ago on my homeschool blog here:
http://dickensdormitory.blogspot.com/2007/10/reviewthe-penderwicks.html

There are many connections between the Penderwicks and Little Women.

The Library Nook said...

Brilliant I will take a look at your link later tonight:)