The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very… (urspr publ 2005; utgåvan 2009)

While vacationing with their widowed father in the Berkshire Mountains, four lovable sisters, ages four through twelve, share adventures with a local boy, much to the dismay of his snobbish mother. ( )

Vara asta surorile Penderwick au parte de o surpriză încântătoare: o vacanță la minunatul conac numit Arundel. În curând vor fi ocupate să descopere magia verii din grădinile întinse ale conacului, un pod plin de comori, doi iepuri domestici și cea mai bună turtă dulce din tot statul. Dar de departe cea mai însemnată descoperire este prietenia cu Jeffrey Tifton, fiul proprietarei Arundel, care se dovedește curând cel mai bun tovarăș de aventuri.

Sigur că țâfnoasa doamnă Tifton nu este la fel de încântată de surorile Penderwick ca Jeffrey și îi avertizează pe noii prieteni să se țină departe de necazuri. Ceea ce bineînțeles vor face, nu-i așa? Un lucru e sigur: va fi o vară pe care cele patru surori n-o vor uita niciodată.

Oh my...this book takes me back to the ripe old age of 8 when I was given my first All of A Kind Family book by Sydney Taylor, which I absolutely treasured. The Penderwicks, although completely 21st century, remind me so much of Ella, Henny, Sarah, Charlotte and Gertie, the close-knit sisters who lived in the early 1900's Jewish lower side of New York. They had the same feelings, desires and interactions as their counterparts did, 100 years later! Although she died in 1978, I'm sure Taylor would have appreciated the way Birdsall captured the hearts and minds of strong, intelligent girls. Birdsall is an excellent writer, and not a word is wasted in carrying forward the story, told in short connected vignettes, similar to the way Taylor did. ( )

The Penderwick family is four sisters, each with a distinct personality, and their father. In this story they travel to a vacation cottage for three weeks of a summer to spend time together. The sisters find themselves in all sorts of mischief at the estate where their cottage is located and also make new friends. ( )

Very reminiscent of Little Women... I'd be much more annoyed about that if the Penderwicks weren't so darn charming. ( )