March 12, 2018
In this final installment of Birdsall’s Penderwicks series, the lovable, uniquely talented Penderwick family returns to the setting of the first novel, Arundel, a grand estate in the Berkshires, where oldest daughter Rosalind is to be wed to her boyfriend Tommy. Youngest daughter Lydia, now age 11, was not yet born when the rest of the clan visited there 15 years ago, but she’s heard about its wonders and is thrilled to arrive early with sister Batty and their two dogs to help with preparations. In true Penderwick fashion, Lydia makes every day an adventure with her newfound friend Alice, the daughter of Arundel’s caretaker. There are plenty of surprises in store for the two, including an array of welcome and unwelcome
visitors. The excitement and boisterous activity that permeate all the previous books are in abundance here as well, as Lydia’s siblings join her at Arundel, showcasing their individual skills and working together to creatively solve all conflicts during MOPS (meetings of Penderwick siblings). Full of reunions with old friends, fond remembrances of good times, and developments of new friendships (and at least one possible romance), the novel provides closure, and at the same time opens the door to new possibilities as Lydia and her brother and sisters go “prancing, leaping, gamboling into the future.” Ages 8–12. Agent: Barbara S. Kouts.
April 1, 2018
Gr 4-6-Lydia, the youngest Penderwick sibling, is now 11 and takes center stage in this fifth and final entry in the National Book Award-winning series. And what a stage she has: the story is set at Arundel, the legendary estate which, for Lydia, has previously existed only in her sisters' stories. The last time the entire family was at the estate was 15 years ago; now they are gathered for Rosalind and Skye's double wedding. Lydia is eager to explore the place "where the possibilities for adventure are endless." She finds a kindred spirit in Alice Pelletier, who lives in the cottage where the Penderwicks stayed and whose father is Cagney, the object of Rosalind's preteen crush, now a history teacher and the estate's caretaker. Lydia and her siblings are less pleased to see another Arundel native: Mrs. Tifton, who remains a rigid and humorless foil for the Penderwicks' exuberance. The wedding serves as a seamless device to bring back more characters from previous books who arrive at the ceremony with pleasant surprises. Birdsall's writing, effervescent as ever, turns routine moments into delightful vignettes: Lydia finds an abandoned chair leg under a couch, "stoically waiting for the rest of its chair to come back." While Birdsall provides enough backstory for this entry to stand on its own, she rewards fans of the series with a meeting that brings the saga full circle and a closing image reassuring readers that the Penderwicks, like imagination and adventure, will live forever. VERDICT A richly satisfying curtain call for a beloved series.-Marybeth Kozikowski, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook, NY
Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
April 1, 2018
The beloved family is back--and taking their final bow.In this fifth and final title in the endearing series, the spotlight is on the youngest sibling, now-11-year-old Lydia, would-be dancer. Everyone's gearing up for the wedding of eldest sister Rosalind, scrambling to ensure the happy couple can get hitched without a hitch at Arundel, the imposing estate where the Penderwick saga began (The Penderwicks, 2005). Thrown into the mix is an older brother who's aspiring to be a film director; riotous animals, including a stair-climbing chicken and an independent-minded sheep; and snooty interference from the estate's former owner. Lydia meets a new gal pal; gets embroiled in the arrangements of what eventually evolves into a double wedding; and emerges as her own winning personality. As in the other series titles, Birdsall writes with a knowing, breezy hand and infuses cozy, old-fashioned, humorous warmth into the proceedings while adhering to a white default. Occasionally, Lydia comes across as younger than her years. Still, readers will appreciate the younger girl's antics and the numerous musical references (which threaten to date the novel) and will likely swoon over the wedding details, some unrealistic. Certainly, die-hard fans will rejoice that the author virtually promises that two very popular characters will wed several years hence. Is an encore to come?Please don't go, Penderwicks; it's too soon to say goodbye. (Fiction. 9-12)
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Starred review from May 1, 2018
Grades 4-7 *Starred Review* Our 2005 review of The Penderwicks (which went on to win the National Book Award) ended with the words, it would be nice to see more of the Penderwicks. Now, in this fifth volume, we see the last of them. Lydia, who wasn't born when the first book began, takes center stage. Her oldest half-sister is getting married at the Arundel estate, where the series began. As in previous volumes, events occur?the wedding being most important and reading to new friend Alice's sheep possibly the least?but it is the warm familial interplay and the bright uniqueness of the characters that continues to make these books stand out. In the case of Lydia, born to dance, the focus is on her ability to maintain her sense of self amid the many strong, delightful characters surrounding her. Fans of previous books will also be excited to learn the fates of Rosalind, Skye, Jane, and Batty?especially Batty?whose tangled romances might point the way to a forever love. Beautifully crafted, both in descriptions and characterizations, this makes for a fitting end to a much-praised series. One note: Lydia is only 11, and Alice is a real hoot. So it's not difficult to imagine a spin-off. Hint, hint.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)
July 1, 2018
The Penderwick series finale (most recently The Penderwicks in Spring, rev. 3/15) is a summertime reverie set at the real-but-still-magical-seeming Arundel estate where it all began fifteen years before. Preparations are underway to celebrate eldest Penderwick sibling Rosalind's wedding to Tommy; she and Skye (who's working on her doctorate in astrophysics) are twenty-somethings, with Jane (waitressing and writing her novel) and Batty (studying music in college) close behind, leaving youngest Penderwick half-sister Lydia to take center stage. The fifth grader is known for being the dancer in the family and for being the Penderwick who likes everyone--and whom everyone likes, including the dreaded Mrs. Tifton, who threatens to disinherit her son, Jeffrey, if he even thinks about marrying a Penderwick. As with the previous entries, Birdsall maintains an out-of-time sensibility throughout, with Lydia and her new friend Alice (daughter of the estate's caretaker Cagney, whom readers may remember from the first novel) often coming across as younger than today's typical ten- or eleven-year-olds. Although fans of the series will be sad to say goodbye, they are likely to breathe happy sighs of contentment as Lydia and her friends and family members go prancing, leaping, gamboling into the future. monica edinger
(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)