The Penderwicks

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy is a middle-grade novel by Jeanne Birdsall and the first book in her Penderwicks series. The four Penderwick sisters, who range in age from four to twelve, set off with their widowed father and their dog for a summer holiday in a cottage on the grounds of Arundel, a grand estate in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts. They explore its sprawling gardens and an attic full of treasures, make friends with the cook and a pair of tame rabbits, and soon befriend Jeffrey Tifton, the boy who lives in the big house. Jeffrey's mother, however, disapproves of the sisters and warns them to stay out of trouble, which proves difficult. Warm, funny and old-fashioned in the best sense, the book celebrates sisterhood, friendship and summer adventure. It is for readers about 8 to 12 and won the 2005 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.