I can appreciate this as a nostalgic turn for voracious young readers, but for an adult looking for gripping YA books, this just didn't hold me. The tone is too sappy without going deeper on any level. I left knowing that I probably would have liked this story as a child, but it doesn't have the multi-level depth to appeal to anyone but an upper middle class white girl. ( )

Four independent and interdependent sisters and their widowed father, along with their amusing dog, rent the guest house at a country estate for a few weeks in the summer, quickly making friends with the caretaker and the son of the estate owner, a formidable woman with rigid ideas. The Penderwicks is a warm and delightful book about a loving family's summer holiday. When looking for something with a lot of angst or conflict or Very Important Issues to be addressed, you may want to look for another book, but when it's time for a fun, light-hearted good read with memorable characters and a well-told story this is the book to reach for.

This was a totally delightful children's book, complete with a lovely old-fashioned feel. Like many of the children's and YA books floating around the house, I read a description of this one and decided that my crew needed to have it always available to them in case reading inspiration should strike. And like any other book I have waved enticingly under their adorable noses, they have snubbed this book without a second glance. So I had to read it. And I am so very, very glad that I did because it is simply charming. Now I just have to come up with an underhanded and completely sneaky way to get the intended audience to read it too. Even if they don't, I want the sequel!

The Penderwicks are four sisters, a father, and one large, scruffy dog. The book opens with the family driving into their rented summer cottage tucked at the back of the estate of the rather snobbish, intolerant Mrs. Tipton and her very lonely son, Jeffrey. The bulk of the novel focuses on the madcap escapades of the girls and Jeffrey as they traipse through the summer, annoying Mrs. Tipton and causing their absent-minded botanist father to emerge from behind his policy of benign neglect. From 12 year old Rosalind's crush on the young gardener to 4 year old Batty's love of wearing butterfly wings and refusal to speak to strangers, from budding writer Jane's tendency towards melodrama to Skye's enmity, competition, and friendship with Jeffrey, this novel has the feel of being the latest entry in the beautiful children's literature of yesteryear.

The conflict here is, of course, Mrs. Tipton's blindness towards what makes the rather sad Jeffrey happiest and her desire to impose her strict and joyless life even on the free-spirited Penderwicks. The plot is more a series of connected scenes than a novel in the strictest sense but in this lighthearted book of adventures, this works. The childrens' characters are all nicely defined and while the adults are more stereotypical, they are by no means the focus of this sweet chronicle of friendship. I highly recommend this book for the young and young at heart, especially those who like a nostalgic feel to their children's literature. ( )

I loved this book I have read it 4 times isn't that a lot of times I really really really really loves this book! ( )

Ages 7 and Up - The four Penderwick sisters, Rosalind (age 12), Skye (11), Jane (10), and Batty (4), spend their summer with their widowed father and dog Hound in a cottage on the fancy Arundel estate. Here they meet 11 year old Jeffery, who lives in the estate mansion with his cold and snobby mother, Mrs. Tifton. The girl's friendship with Jeffery and Rosalind's crush on the 18 year-old gardener Cagney tie a series of vignettes into a story.
While listening to The Penderwicks, I couldn't help thinking of another story about four sisters and their friendship with the rich and lonely boy next-door. The high-standard comparison I found myself making with Little Women is what left me ultimately dissatisfied with The Penderwicks. For the Penderwick sisters, there are never any consequences or lessons learned, even though they make the same mistakes over and over again. (After about the fiftieth time of them getting worried about the fate of Jeffery because of some mess they've made, I found myself getting bored). The adult figures, even Cagney, remain one-dimensional up to the long, dragged-out end.
This book may not have seemed so long if I had read it rather than listened to it, but really I found the reading very well done. The narrator characterized each sister so well that after just a few minutes of listening I was able to tell each one apart.
This book got wonderful reviews and a National Book Award, but I found it merely okay. Recommended for medium to large public and elementary school libraries ( )