Best of RAR: Penderwicks Fans Rejoice!

Learn more about the Circle with Sarah Retreat happening this August

Today, in this Best Of Read Aloud Revival episode, we’re revisiting a conversation about a series I absolutely adore: The Penderwicks, by Jeanne Birdsall.

The Penderwicks follows the escapades of four spirited sisters, Rosalind, Skye, Jane, and Batty. The books are a modern nod to Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, and they’ve won tons of awards including the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, several ALA Notable Children’s Book Awards, and the Massachusetts Children’s Book Award.

Since recording this interview for RAR episode 100, Jeanne unknowingly planted the seed for my own book, A Little More Beautiful, the Story of a Garden when I visited her and her Northampton, Massachusetts, home. So now, of course, we like to call A Little More Beautiful “our book.”

The first book in the Penderwicks series, The Penderwicks, A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy is our RAR Premium Family Book Club pick for this summer.

That means we’ve got a full Family Book Club Guide with all the trimmings available now for members AND if you and your kids sign up for RAR Premium, they will have a chance to meet Jeanne Birdsall live on Zoom on August 25th.

In this episode, you’ll hear: 

• How Jeanne got her start writing in her 40s and why it’s never too late to follow a dream
• About Jeanne’s character-driven writing process and why she always envisioned the Penderwicks as a series
• Where Jeanne gets her inspiration 

Learn more about Jeanne Birdsall:

• Website

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

• Read Aloud Revival
• Waxwing Books
• Subscribe to the Newsletter

Mentioned in This Episode:

• RAR Premium Text SARAH to 33777
• Broadside Bookshop
• RAR #42: Inspiring Parents in Children’s Literature, Greta Eskridge

Learn more about the Circle with Sarah Retreat happening this August