"The Penderwicks" by Jeanne Birdsall

 


This delightful children's novel tells the story of four sisters on summer vacation. Their widower father has rented a country cottage behind a well-to-do estate, and the girls have fun exploring the grounds and making friends with the locals. Well, the friendly locals anyway. There's their landlady Mrs. Tifton, who is stern and scary. Her son Jeffrey becomes a good friend despite their fear of his mother.

Each of the sisters has hopes, dreams, and talents that come alive through their imaginative play. Though this book released in 2005 and has a contemporary setting, it reads as though it was set several decades earlier. The children don't watch TV or play video games. Their entertainment comes from getting into scrapes and interacting with others. They write letters and stories, bake brownies, climb trees, and play with soccer balls. There's a lot of wholesome fun and I could see children enjoying this book very much. I certainly did!