The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

As a child, Birdsall loved stories about families. She particularly enjoyed books in a series because she loved becoming immersed in a cast of characters and knowing that she could stay with the same characters across multiple books. When she began working on her first novel, she knew two things: One, she’d write a series of books, and two, the series would be a heartfelt tribute to all the stories she loved as a child. Birdsall didn’t have an easy childhood or a good relationship with her siblings, and when life became difficult, books provided adventures into which she could escape. As she began composing her novel, she wanted to capture the same sense of innocent adventure she remembered from the classic works of children’s literature she loved. Consequently, The Penderwicks series contains references to several of Birdsall’s favorite books, including Edward Eager’s Half Magic, Magic by the Lake, and Knight’s Castle; E. Nesbit’s The Railway Children; and Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women (Garner, Hank. “Episode 390. Jeanne Birdsall: The Penderwicks at Last.” Youtube, 4 Jun. 2018). In addition, this first novel in the series references or alludes to other children’s novels—including C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; Patricia MacLachlan’s Sarah, Plain and Tall; J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan; Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden; and Dodie Smith’s I Capture the Castle—and to mythical places like El Dorado, the storied city of gold, and Camelot, King Arthur’s iconic seat of power.

Although Birdsall draws inspiration from the past, she sees her work as a departure from contemporary children‘s literature in that her stories don’t contain overt morals or attempt to teach readers a lesson. In addition, her novels aren’t action-packed, thrilling, or overly dramatic; instead, they focus on a realistic family enduring all the ups and downs of living together and caring for one another. Her works highlight the simple beauty of friendship and evoke nostalgia for the adventures of childhood. For Birdsall, writing is a two-way conversation. By drawing on her love of vintage children’s literature, she converses with the authors that have come before her, and in writing for a contemporary audience, she continues the conversation with readers who may one day become writers themselves (Elliott, Debbie. “Author Birdsall nets award for ‘The Penderwicks’.” NPR, 19 Nov. 2005).

Although Birdsall claims that the Penderwick family isn’t based on her own life, she does use her real-life relationships to help her create authentic characters. For example, she asked her nephew, who served overseas in the military, to help her write a character who becomes a soldier. In addition, she used her niece as inspiration for some of the young female characters in her series. Even Birdsall’s dog, Cagney, gets a nod in her beloved series. Thus, The Penderwicks series is a writing endeavor that embodies everything the author is as a reader and a writer and incorporates elements from—or draws inspiration from people in—her life to help ensure that the story is authentic and believable.