The sequel to "The Penderwicks" earns four stars (where the first earned five) because I do feel that some of the "magic" of the first book (with Arundel and Jeffrey, Cagney and the bunnies, and summertime—that enchanted, timeless setting) was lost by having the girls return to school and "normal life." However, I still enjoyed the book and very much appreciate the fact that Birdsall was able to keep the charm and sweetness of the family alive even by putting them back in the real world (though More...

Reviewed by Cana Rensberger for TeensReadToo.com

Rosalind has been a fine mother to her sisters Jane, Skye, and Batty for four years, ever since their mother died. So when her Aunt Claire visits with a blue letter for her father, written by her mother, Rosalind can't chase away the sense of foreboding.

When she finds out that her mother's letter suggests her dad start dating again, Rosalind quickly calls the sisters together for an emergency MOPS - a Meeting of Penderwick Sisters. Together they h More...

I liked The Penderwicks so much that I was worried that the sequel couldn't be as good. But it was good! These books are like Little Women but younger and more modern. There's still an old-fashioned feel about them, though, which I think is partly because things like phones and TVs and computers remain in the background.

If I just read a summary of the books, I wouldn't think they seemed interesting, but there's something irresistible about them once you start reading. Maybe it's the characters. More...

Birdsall manages, yet again, to write a charming, timeless tale about family, honesty, friendship, and love.
The four Penderwick sisters each have their own plots and arcs throughout the book, but must always come together to deal with the main plot of this sequel - that their father has started to date (which, I think it's only fair to point out that the dating is not the father's idea. He is, in fact, quite reluctant, and it is only because of a letter that his wife wrote for him before her dea More...

Such bliss! Both of the sequels to The Penderwicks arrived today and there was just no way I was going to be able to sleep tonight before reading at least one of them. I enjoyed this book every bit as much as the first one, the Penderwick family are a joy to spend time with. This book feels more contemporary than The Penderwicks did, that was such a timeless story it could have been from any time in the last couple of centuries. This book is more grounded in our world, with school, soccer matche More...

I didn't think anything could be more delightful than The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy," but I was proved wrong by the second installment (in a to-be five-part series),"The Penderwicks on Gardam Street."

This book continues where the first left off, though it can be enjoyed thouroughly as a stand-alone. The four Penderwick sisters (ages 4-12) are embroilled in a plot to save their widowed daddy from re-marriage, and while doing so they conti More...

I can't exactly remember what it was that kept me from reading The Penderwicks of Gardam Street the minute it came out on bookstore and library shelves. As a children's librarian I certainly enjoyed Ms. Birdsall's previous title, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy, which garnered itself a bright and shiny National Book Award. Then there was all that talk about a resurgence of "old-fashioned" children's books and how Penderwicks marked a nosta More...

Following-up with a National Book Award-winning debut novel is usually an uphill battle. But Birdsall’s sequel to "The Penderwicks" is one of those rare few that manage to finish with flying colors. Set a year after their summer romp in the country – recounted with strokes both humorous and emotionally moving in the first book – this second outing focuses on budding young romance contrasted with the romantic void in a single father’s life.

Birdsall, thankfully, doesn’t come across as preachy in More...

After discovering and swiftly devouring 'The Penderwicks' I was greatly enthralled to discover that a sequel was coming out in less than a month. Joy unspeakable! And that is exactly what the sequel, 'The Penderwicks on Gardam Street' delivered.

After the memorable summer in Arundel, the Penderwicks return home for the school year. However, the girls are met with something more horrible than Mrs. Tifton...they find our their dad is going to start dating again! They immediately set up a 'Save Dadd More...

well I have not finesht the book but i dont egg ascaly wont to i gust wont for it to go on and on and have the fun edvenchers never stop.yes it is the same old lovabl carictars but with a twist.mr penderwick has got him self in a sticy sicowashon whith ant clar and dating and it will takc alote of worck to get him out. well rosalen hasent goten eny beter infact shes goten wers and her fathers not cowoparating ether and now he ashaly is ok with a gril .i can not wat to see what hapens next.omg i More...

Folks say these books are aimed more at nostalgic adults than at kids, but I'm okay with that. There's enough good books for the kids, and this one makes me feel like I'm ten years old again, lying on my bed with all the windows open, "wasting" a perfectly good summer day on a book.

... On Gardam Street is the second adventure of the Penderwick sisters. This time, they are trying to rescue their widowed dad from a series of blind dates set up by his sister.

There's a very predictable series of de More...

What can I say about this book, except for that one day I hope to write one exactly like it? It's exciting, mysterious, intriguing, happy, and over all wonderful! While the first Penderwick book was superb in it's own ways, this one far surpasses it.

The book again follows the life of the four Penderwick sisters, their father, and their Hound. It introduces some new characters that by the end of the book you're absolutely in love with.

The Penderwicks on Gardam Street felt much more like a first More...

Sorry to be the crabby one again, but as I said with the first one--what does this book have that a thousand wonderful old fashioned girls books (because this IS a girls book--no boy is gonna read it) lack?

This is charming and predictable except for the outcome of the "Bug Man" bit (which I won't reveal here), which belongs with the rest of the story like a fish belongs with a bicycle.

But I suppose since the first one got a National Book Award (sigh), this one will be up for the Newbery.

Meanwhil More...

I really like the old-fashioned feel of this book. It was easy to imagine the story was set in the '50s world of Leave It to Beaver and Father Knows Best until Birdsall would throw in a current reference that reminded me of the time period. I wish real life was more like this for most children... more time spent outside playing and less spent with video games, computers, and cell phones; more time being a child and much less in rushing headlong into adult situations; more innocence and family an More...

I LOVED the original Penderwicks book, so I knew that I was in for a treat when I picked up The Penderwicks on Gardem Street. The premise this time is that before she died four years prior, the girls' mother had Aunt Claire promise to give Mr. Penderwick a letter telling Mr. Penderwick that it was time to start dating, which Mr. Penderwick reluctantly agrees to. Well, an emergency meeting of MOPS (Meeting of the Penderwick Sisters) is called,a plan is hatched, and a delightful story ensues. Trul More...

Reading this book was like wrapping up in a warm quilt, snuggling into a comfy chair and spending a rainy day reading and eating chocolate chip cookies.

I just love the Penderwick sisters. I love this book. I love it even more than the first one. I love the new characters. I love that the author built upon everything from the first book, but she also expanded it and made it deeper. The characters grew and changed in all of the right ways.

It's not often a YA book makes me tear up, but this one d More...

The four Penderwick sisters have a problem. They feel their formerly beloved Aunt Claire is pushing a program of remarriage for their widowed father. This can only mean one thing for them: a stepmother. And everyone knows that stepmothers come in only two varieties; they’re either wicked or evil. It’s time for a secret Save-Daddy Plan. Fix him up with some really horrible dates and then he won’t be interested in marriage. But it’s hard to concentrate on the plan when you also have to deal with n More...

A mostly innocuous older child family adventure. Like every Disney movie, the book opens with the untimely death of the mother. She leaves behind 5 girls referred to in the title who get into fairly realistic situations as they navigate their father's eventual return to love and marriage. Save anger management case and someday lesbian Skylar the other girls are broadly drawn which does leave to some confusion as Birdsall occasional leaves off the character names when presenting some of the volum More...

A very sweet sequel to the first Penderwick book and in much the same vein. Birdsall seems to have a slightly better grasp on the ages of the children and their corresponding behavior although Rosalind is still much too old for her age. The flirtation between Rosalind and Tommy just about killed me it was so adorable. I got the greatest case of the giggles when Tommy suggested they start dating at 14 and Rosalind countered with "maybe 13." The Bug Man storyline and his capture was a little far-f More...

This book was so good I devoured it and then got online to see if there would be more Penderwick books. There will be more but the next one is not coming out until 2011.
These books are going to be classics right up there with Little Women and Pippy Longstocking. The tales are timeless and touching. In this sequel, the girls are faced with their father dating, a crush from the boy across the street and a new neighbor. The chemistry amongst the characters is amazing and realistic. Makes me want t More...

I think I liked this one even better than the first one. Ms. Birdsall writes believable people, especially the children, but also the adults. I had two small quibbles: the children must be at an exceptional school to have access to the curriculum described, and they must be the last 10, 11, and 12 year olds in the country to not have read J. K. Rowling - but those are pretty minor objections!

Each character has an individual voice, yet certain traits are sufficiently obvious to make the relations More...

Another marvelous installment in the adventures of the Penderwick sisters. I think Birdsall's weak point as an author is her beginning chapter or two, but she more than makes up for it in the rest of the book. You don't have to have read book 1 for this book to work, but if you already know and love the Penderwicks (from having read book 1), then you will find this book much more enjoyable.

Gardem Street is a delightful street full of neighbors who've grown up together, a couple of new neighbors More...

Birdsall's first book, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy, had a timeless and innocent charm. Reminiscent of many childrens' books from the earlier, it could have been set at any point in the past century. Although the summer adventures of the four sister and their friend and dog had serious elements (eg Jeffrey's miserable home life) and were sometimes dangerous (eg the bull) they were truly child-like and carefree.

The second installment open More...

Nobody can take away my love for The Penderwicks, and The Penderwicks on Gardam Street just adds to it. Wonderfully innocent, so well written, the Penderwick sisters really are a joy. I cannot wait until my girls are old enough to sit through the read aloud. Rosalind, Sky, Jane, and Batty are in fine form, and the addition of Iantha and baby Ben are welcome, timely, and the kind of step family that anyone would want. Call me sappy, but I love it, and refuse to apologize for it!

The Penderwick Sisters are back...back on their home turf of Gardam Street and up to their usual blend of sage wisdom and misguided shenanigans. This time around, the adventure isn’t all delicious mad thrills. Their much adored, widowed father is being pushed back into the dating scene by his sister. And no, the sister isn’t a vile conniving sibling. She is lovely Aunt Claire who has always had the best intentions of the Penderwick family at heart. However, lovely Aunt Claire’s new plan doesn’t More...

If I hadn't loved the book for many other reasons, this line alone would have sealed the deal for me:

[In reference to a sixth and fifth grader escaping from a sticky situation] "They emerged into the first graders' hall, hung everywhere with bright crayon drawings, bitter reminders of innocence lost."

I laughed out loud!

But truly, this second installment of Rosalind, et al., was as enjoyable as the first. The introduction of the year-round home of the Penderwicks, as well as some new characters, More...

"Applause never does go on forever..."

—The Penderwicks on Gardam Street, P. 247

Jeanne Birdsall's sophomore writing effort is, to me, just as fresh and inspiring as her first novel about the Penderwick family.
I'm beginning to see Jeanne Birdsall as something of a contemporary Eleanor Estes, creating sprightly, simple stories about normal families that have a certain nice quality to them, a quality that is equal parts old-fashioned in its sensibilities and contemporary in phrase.
I have to adm More...

Recommended Age:
9+

Overall Review:
I enjoyed The Penderwicks on Gardam Street even more than its prequel, The Penderwicks. Rosalind, Skye, Jane, and Batty are as delightful and endearing as ever, and the stakes are higher in this new adventure! Gardam Street is filled with sly humor, madcap matchmaking, heart-pumping soccer matches, and plenty of "secret agent spy missions". Kids will enjoy the fun and funny adventures of the Penderwick sisters, and adults will enjoy untangling the story's many e More...

The delightful Penderwick family is back. The story starts with a flashback to the hospital where the mother is dying of cancer. She writes a letter to her husband, asking him to start dating, and gives it to Claire to pass on in about 3 or 4 years. Jump forward 3 or 4 years, and the family is anticipating a visit from their beloved Aunt Claire. But Claire chooses this visit to pass on the letter.

The girls are dismayed at the thought of their father dating and possibly even re-marrying. After al More...