Title: The Penderwicks in Spring
Author: Jeanne Birdsall
Series: The Penderwicks, book 4
Major Themes: Grief, Guilt, Family, Music
Synopsis: Batty has a wonderful surprise for her family—but then she overhears a long-repressed secret and doesn’t know what to do with it.
For nearly a year now, we have been working our way through the Penderwicks series. We finished the fourth book, The Penderwicks in Spring, yesterday. What a wonderful story! By the way, it’s not that the books are extremely long, or that we’re reading them very slowly. We are alternating these books with others, and only reading a chapter at a time. We’ve found that when we read a series, we like to have a break between books to make it easier to remember the individual stories.
Publisher’s description:
Springtime is finally arriving on Gardam Street, and there are surprises in store for each member of the family.
Some surprises are just wonderful, like neighbor Nick Geiger coming home from war. And some are ridiculous, like Batty’s new dog-walking business. Batty is saving up her dog-walking money for an extra-special surprise for her family, which she plans to present on her upcoming birthday. But when some unwelcome surprises make themselves known, the best-laid plans fall apart.
Filled with all the heart, hilarity, and charm that has come to define this beloved clan, The Penderwicks in Spring is about fun and family and friends (and dogs), and what happens when you bring what’s hidden into the bright light of the spring sun.
My thoughts:
As I said above, this was a wonderful story. There were several chapters in The Penderwicks in Spring that were pretty sad and heavy. We all knew that everything would turn out all right in the end, because it is a fiction story, but we certainly wanted to keep reading to find out how! As always, I was impressed by the way the various members of the Penderwick family showed love and care for each other. We also loved the humor—the youngest member of the family is written absolutely delightfully! My oldest daughter commented that she actually sounds right for her age, in contrast to many books that have 2-year-olds talking like 5-year-olds. And then there was Oliver, the would-be suitor. We laughed a lot at the way he and his relationships with the various family members were portrayed. Nick Geiger was one of our favorite characters in this story—second only to Batty herself. I guess the bottom line of what I’m trying to say is: Don’t miss this book! The entire series is good, but this one is great.
WARNING: Chapter 2: “Stars so old they existed almost at the beginning of the universe.” Chapter 16: “Cursing herself for weakness.” Chapter 22: Holy bananas.
Age levels:
Listening Level—Ages 5 – 8, 8 – 12, 10 – 12, 12 – 15, Family Friendly
Reading Independently—Ages 8 – 12, 10 – 12, 12 – 15
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle | Hardcover | Audible Audiobook (unabridged) | Audio CD (unabridged)
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
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