It seems I did not gloat loudly enough on that happy day last week when we received a copy of the new Penderwicks book, because when I shared a link to a radio interview with Jeanne Birdsall on Facebook today, there was a flurry of “I didn’t know!” replies.
So. In case you hadn’t heard: The Penderwicks at Point Mouette is out. I hear it’s wonderful. I haven’t read it yet, myself, because my wretched daughters snatched it out of the jiffy-mailer the moment it arrived, and there are so very many of them, these daughters of mine, that the Penderwick girls may well be off to college before I get my hands on this third installment of their adventures.
It’s funny…one of the best parts of motherhood, for me, has been getting to share my most beloved literary friends with my children. Laura and Mary, Betsy and Tacy, Anne Shirley, the Austins…you know my list. But the Penderwicks hold a particularly dear place in our hearts, because they are characters we met together, Jane, Rose, Beanie, and me, all at once, the very first time. When I wrote about beginning The Penderwicks as a read-aloud way back in December, 2005, I called the post “Seven Belly Laughs“—and that was describing my girls’ reaction to chapter one alone. “How exciting to know our friendship is only just beginning,” I wrote. How delightful to know they’ve returned for another visit!
Also by Jeanne Birdsall:
(A recent Rillabook, as you’ll recall.)