Reviews

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall

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megareads42's review against another edition

4.0

Really enjoyed this one, although it was odd. It had a nostalgic, Anne of Green Gables type feel to it, even though it was written in 2007. A feel good story with just enough conflict to keep it interesting. An excellent kid's book.

zbmorgan's review against another edition

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4.0

For a 20th century update of Little Women, this feels very fresh in that it is realistic fiction, but not a Newbery weeper, yet has plenty of light conflict to have you turning the pages. The four sisters have distinct personalities, there are problems to be solved, humor, emotions, and learning. The sisters are ages 4- 12 1/2, but anyone ages 8 and up will enjoy this. Delightful.

josidosi's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

katiejean12's review against another edition

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3.0

This book started very slow for me and it was hard to keep track of all the characters. However, it definitely finished better than it started!

lastbraincell's review against another edition

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4.0

For some reason I thought this was going to have something magical, like Narnia, so I kept on waiting for them to crawl through the hole in the hedge into another world.

It's more like The Little Women meets The Secret Garden, but with a more lively cast of characters. Over the summer that the Penderwicks (the four sisters, their father, and their dog) rent a cottage in the Arundel estate, the girls have all sorts of mini adventures. There's an escape from a bull, the rescue of an escaped bunny, that one time they crashed a garden party-and not like crashed in a way that they pretended to be guests, but literally ended up falling bodily into the middle of it. They also make new friends, get to wear beautiful dresses, play an intensely immersive game of soccer, practice with bows and arrows, harbor an almost-runaway.. One of them even falls a little bit in love. It's a summer to remember. I wish I were eleven years old and as spirited.

ftrebelo's review against another edition

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4.0

A charming story of four sisters (and dog) and their adventures during a summer holiday in the country. There are many explicit references to C.S. Lewis, E. Nesbit, Edward Eager throughout the book, and the style reminded me of those very books which I loved reading and re-reading during my own childhood. It was refreshing to read a more "modern" version that maintains all the simplicity and optimism of the classics.