Module 7: The Penderwicks on Gardam Street

Citation:

Birdsall, J. (2008). The Penderwicks on gardem street. New York, NY: Knopf Books for Young Reader

Summary:

This book is about a family of four girls and their dad. The mother gives birth and dies from cancer within the first chapter. The family struggles with their father dating and the girls decide to set him up on dates that will be horrible. During all of this there is a new neighbor that moves in; two of the sisters do homework for each other and switch; Tommy, a neighborhood boy starts dating a girl from school, and the youngest sister, who is only four gets in a lot of mischief. In the end all trouble is settled, the father gets married to the neighbor and many confessions are made. This family struggles to adjust to life without their mother but in the end there are many happy endings.

My Opinion:

This book deals with many issues and the plot is extensive. I enjoyed the storylines and the happy ending. There was a lot of foreshadowing and character development. I feel that because of some of the vocabulary used in the book, I would recommend it for the higher end of middle school and high school. Overall, I enjoyed the book and feel like it would be a better choice for girls.

Reviews:

Wadham, T. (2008, March 1). [Review of the book The Penderwicks on gardam street by Jeanne Birdsall]. School Library Journal Online. Retrieved by http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6537040.html

School Library Journal (March 1, 2008) Gr 4–8—The Penderwick sisters are back. Their Aunt Claire has come for a visit, bringing with her a letter from their late mother that encourages their father to date, and an immediate crisis ensues, as the girls assume that this is the first step on the treacherous road to having a stepmother. After frantic consultation, they implement the "Save Daddy" plan, designed to set him up with perfectly dreadful women so that he will not want to date again. Numerous subplots add to the domestic drama. Skye struggles with her temper on the soccer field. Rosalind and neighbor Tommy experience a frustrated romance. Skye and Jane switch homework assignments, leading to a school performance of Jane's Aztec drama, with everyone thinking that it was penned by Skye. While the solution to the dating dilemma can be seen from the beginning, the sisters are so caught up in their drama that they can't see who's right next door. Laugh-out-loud moments abound and the humor comes naturally from the characters and situations. Especially funny is the scene in which the youngest Penderwick hides in the car hoping to spy on one of her father's dates. Like much of the book itself, this scene resolves itself in a tender moment between father and daughter. This is a book to cherish and to hold close like a warm, cuddly blanket that you draw around yourself to keep out the cold.—Tim Wadham, Maricopa County Library District, Phoenix, AZ Uses for the library: I would use this book for a middle school book club pick. I would meet with the group and discuss main points of the book and see how it made the students feel. I would also discuss the many story elements going on in the book.