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

We just finished this, our next read-aloud, a couple days ago. What fun! Birdsall's voice and wit engaged us all from the first page. We were also immediately endeared to the four wacky sisters (OK, the oldest is mostly level-headed), their gentle professor father, and their comfortable, protective dog. Lighthearted and in the tradition of an old-fashioned family novel like The Moffats, this little book tumbles along at the speed of girltalk, with one true-to-childhood adventure after another. It succeeds in two unusual and impressive ways: real-life humor—we laughed out loud with every chapter; and freshness—the kids' scrapes are at once believable and unpredictable. Best of all, in this midst of this rollicking story, everyone finds comfort in family.