A Book for Lovers of Little Women and Green Gables

For me, a perfect day would have to start with good coffee and include a trip to Barnes and Noble, without my kids. And even though the kids would not be there, I would still head to the children's section. I love to pick childrens books for my kids, especially when I can pick quality ones I know they will like once we read it together, instead of only the ones with the licensed characters on the front that they tend to gravitate toward and beg for. But I love getting books for myself in the children's section, too.

My latest pick was The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy (Penderwicks (Quality))by Jeanne Birdsall.  I found it over in the young adult section, which is my favorite place to browse. Growing up, I devoured everything by Louisa May Alcott, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and L.M. Montgomery, among many others.  As adult, I still love young adult novels, and always hope to find other books with characters like Jo and Laura and Anne. The Penderwicks was it. It is about 4 sisters on a summer vacation with their brainy, widower father, staying in a guest cottage behind a mansion with a magnificent garden, where there lives a friendly but lonely boy who needs their help. Hooked yet? If not, than you are no true lover of Alcott, Wilder, and Montgomery.

The sisters have very different personalities, but love each other very much, and manage to get into all kinds of 'scrapes'. This all sounds very much like a mix of Little Women, The Secret Garden, and Anne of Green Gables. But it reads very fresh and new, set in modern day, even though it feels timeless. It is a National Book Award Winner, and a new favorite of mine. Birdsall is a first-time author, which I find inspiring, too.

My next pick from the young adult shelves will be The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood . . .