The Penderwicks

A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy. How's that for a subtitle?

Author: Jeanne Birdsall
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Published in: 2005

As I look for good juvenile books, I find myself consistently drawn to older books. But there must be some contemporary books that I can recommend. Right? I was skeptical, but this is one contemporary book that is quite enjoyable. To begin with, there's the name: The Penderwicks. Anyone named Penderwick couldn't help being pleasant. The lengthy subtitle sums up what the book is about, and should suffice to draw you in. The Penderwick family, consisting of one father, 4 daughters, and one dog named Hound, takes a summer vacation at what turns out to be a guest cottage on an estate. The owner of the estate is mean enough to make things interesting, and increase sympathy for her poor son, who is just a nice, generous boy happy to have playmates for a few weeks. Of course, the Penderwick patriarch is just as kind and hands-off as can be. The book is filled with the everyday kind of adventures that children have when they are allowed to free range. Based on some of the themes in the book, I would say it is best suited for age 12 and up.

The setting and characters are not particularly new. I couldn't help thinking of Little Women as I read about the Penderwick sisters. Remember Laurie? The absent parent? Running between neighboring houses? The motherly sister? The tomboy? The baby of the family? All here. Nevertheless, there is enough that is fresh to keep a reader interested.

This is a modern book, and some parents might be concerned about some implied themes of divorce and a mention of "losing innocence" when a boy comes along. But such are the realities of modern life. While I am not a fan of making kids talk about whatever book they may be reading, books can open a conversation about delicate topics. So here are two talking points: divorce, and what to do with an unjust parent? Mrs. Tifton, the owner of the estate and mother to "the interesting boy," is an unpleasant, snooty, and apparently selfish creature, who--big surprise--doesn't understand her son and does not like the Penderwicks, as they are the "wrong kind of people." To top it all off, she is preparing to marry a shallow, fairly dense man who seems to (morality alert) live with her, though this is never actually stated. For a good portion of the book, the portrayal of a mother as so unlikable irritated me. By the end, however, some of the reasons for Mrs. Tifton's nastiness is explained (overbearing father, abandoned by her husband), and there is some food for discussion put on the table.

Oh! I almost forgot. The eldest Penderwick is 12 years old, but, as her mother died when she was quite young, is quite mature. She develops a crush on the teenage gardener on the estate. Now, I usually cringe at the way such things are handled in modern books. Sappy, unrealistic, generally annoying, are the range of thoughts I have about teenage romance in books. But here, a very real emotional experience of a young girl is portrayed with good sense. Rosalind, rather than retreating into fantasy, pursues a real friendship with the object of her crush. She does kind things for him, but resists the temptation to go overboard. She admonishes herself at one point, refusing to become a girl obsessed with boys, and aims to occupy her mind with school, friends, and things she enjoys doing. It is so easy for girls to get carried away with a crush, especially in our over-sexed world, but this book puts this part of feminine teenage life in good perspective, reminding the reader that there really is so much she can do and think about besides boys.

All in all, The Penderwicks is a good book, especially for girls. And a pleasant escape for their mothers!