The Penderwicks Paperback 4-Book Boxed Set: The Penderwicks; The Penderwicks on Gardam Street; The Penderwicks at Point Mouette; The Penderwicks in Spring Paperback – February 23, 2016

Maggie Jones 4/26/18 This book is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time, and even so I was able to take a lot from it and constantly think about it. The four Penderwick sisters’ (and Hound, their dog) journey is very emotional and heartwarming as we watch them soar through life with courage, love, and friendship. It has compelling emotion to make you relate to the characters, lessons that teach you about family and friendship, and parts that make you process the words you just read! In the end, we learn to never take your friends and family for granted and to cherish the best moments in life. The Penderwicks In Spring, by Jeanne Birdsall, takes place on Gardam Street, the street on which the Penderwicks live on. Eleven year old Batty Penderwick is in fifth grade and has one older sister in college, two older sisters in high school, one younger brother in second grade, and one younger sister who is not in school yet. It is very hectic and chaotic at the Penderwick abode and things get even more wild when plans don’t go quite the right way. The family has a lot of drama and emotional moments, especially Batty. One time is when she starts thinking about her dead dog but blames herself for his death. “And then last autumn his heart had stopped working properly. The veterinarian said that they just had to care for him and love him, and Batty had loved him, and loved him, and loved him, but it hadn’t been enough. No one in her family had ever said that Hound’s dying was her fault, but she knew the truth. She hadn’t been able to keep him with her, to stop him from leaving her behind,”(page 9). You can see that this is really sad because you would feel awful if you thought that you were the one that killed your dog. The girls also learn a lot of lessons about how they act to their family, which just made them become more bonded. An example is when Batty overheard Skye, her older sister in high school, say some harsh and nasty stuff about her to the family’s close friend. “‘The mother has cancer and she’s pregnant and because treating the cancer could hurt the baby, she has to make a decision. [...] she decides to protect the baby and let the cancer kill her. So she dies. She died. And in exchange-’ ‘Don’t say it, Skye,’ Batty heard Jeffrey say. ‘Please. I know you don’t mean it.’ ‘Why wouldn’t I mean it? It’s true. In exchange for our dead mother, we got another sister, just what we didn’t need. We got Batty,’”(page 206). As you can tell this would be very terrible for Batty to hear and that’s just another death to blame herself for. The book has a lot of content that makes you think about what you just read. One part that shows this is right after Batty’s sister’s angry and mean words slowly sink into her mind, pretty much making her a totally different person. “Batty’s world turned black and void of sound. If the two in the hall were still talking, she could no longer hear them. She was floating somewhere far away in a thick fog of desolation, with shreds of old explanations tumbling around [...] (and) slipping away before they could be made sense of. If only she could put the shreds together properly, Batty thought, maybe the fog would lift. But try as she would, all was confusion and misery.”Immediately after I read that I had to sit there for a second and really think about the words that my brain just devoured. I think that is fantastic for a book because then the reader can take something with them from the book. Throughout the book, the Penderwicks are constantly improving their love for each other and bonding even more. We learn to take advantage of life and the best moments with your family and friends. I give The Penderwicks In Spring a 4.5 out of 5 star rating: a must have!

My son and I sometimes read this together and sometimes he reads alone. These books are really well written and could easily be enjoyed by all ages. The characters are great and very creatively developed. When I read it I always think they have to be people the author knows in real life because she really doesn’t miss a detail.As for my son, 9, these are the only books he wants to read. I’m not sure what it is exactly but he just loves them. We read the first book and then I tried to have him read other different books and he struggled to stay engaged. He asked if we could get the rest of the Penderwicks series, so I bought it. I totally see why he loves it, but I was amazed at the fact that he prefers it over all the other books with his more “preferred” subject matter. He loves wrestling, karate, soccer, Pokémon, Roblox, action, etc. but when I’ve purchased books on those very topics, he doesn’t like them. Interestingly enough, since I homeschool we focused a lot on the vocabulary from the books. My older sons were reading To Kill A Mockingbird at the same time and also doing vocabulary. There were so many times both the older boys and my 9 year old were learning the same word. Birdsall must be a Harper Lee fan. It was almost too much to be a coincidence! Loved that. It says something about the level of reading for Penderwicks, too. New and challenging words require him to look them up or use clues from the rest of the text to determine meaning. That’s learning folks!Don’t pass on this series. I’ll admit, reading the summary did not get me wanting to read it. I actually kinda rolled my eyes. It sounded kinda flat and boring. These books are definitely NOT flat or boring. They are cute, funny, touching, exciting, surprising, memorable and not just for girls!! (adding this because some people may see 4 lead female characters and assume a boy won’t be interested).

I do not like being an angry customer. But I need to say something so that the seller knows. I know that The Penderwicks recently got new covers, but I don't like them as much as the old ones. I decided I'd like to collect The Penderwicks, but I wanted the old covers. I purchased this set because I couldn't find the first book with the original cover at a reasonable price, (I found it for $40, and I didn't want to pay that.) so I bought this set because the box pictures the first four books with the original cover. When it finally came in the mail, the first book had the NEW COVER. The item is not as described. I am returning only because I wanted them all in the original cover. The only reason I am keeping this at three stars is that the other books had the right cover. It would not be fair for me to put a one-star review because one thing was wrong.

Great series! I just read it as an adult and have purchased this paperback set for a 12 year old. It is a great young adult series which focuses on a family of sisters and the adventures they have as they go through adolescence. It has a timeless quality which allows you to relate to the story no matter your age.Hopefully not a spoiler: In the fourth book there is a darker storyline which could be intense for younger kids. It definitely veers from the lighthearted time of the rest of the series for a few chapters.

Very cute book series for that smol hooman in your life. Three sisters and their shenanigans. Would recommend a read even to adult age children. Because they’re just that cute of a read.

My child is 8 and has ADHD. It is generally tough to get her to read a long chapter book. At first, she had her natural aversion to getting started, but after consistently encouraging, she really got into it. I was pleasantly surprised to see her get excited and chose to read when given free time. She absolutely loves the Penderwick children. She is so happy that she has the whole series. This was a great investment!

Bought it for my 9 year old, she loved them but said the 1st was the best and others were not as good but she still enjoyed reading them. Very American, I had to explain a few things to my UK brought up child.

Nice set of stories. A little bit too much love and romance the further along in the series you get (for my kids at least).

Bought for an 8 year old granddaughter who is completely enthralled in the series.

Kids love it , boy 9 went ahead & finished the series on his own, girl 6 just loves them being read. Really positive expressive characters

Brilliant series, full of charm and childhood at its best.