The Penderwicks on Gardam Street

“Most days the two sisters would linger on their walk home from Goldie’s—at the sassafras tree, with leaves shaped like mittens, and at the storm drain that flooded just the right amount when it rained, so you could splash through without getting water in your boots. Then there was the spotted dog who barked furiously but only wanted to be petted, and the cracks in the sidewalk that Batty had to jump over, and the brown house with flower gardens all around, and the telephone pole that sometimes had posters about missing cats and dogs.”

Birdsall describes the Penderwicks’ suburban neighborhood of Cameron, Massachusetts, using visual imagery (“the brown house with flower gardens all around”) and auditory imagery (“barked furiously”). These detailed descriptions reflect the sisters’ deep connection to their community. Birdsall’s incorporation of the second person—“you could splash”—establishes a tone of familiarity that highlights the novel’s genre as a “family story” that celebrates sibling bonds and the simple joys of childhood.

“‘These must be Aunt Claire’s dying gifts.’ ‘She said she wasn’t sick. Besides, she looks perfectly healthy.’ ‘People often look perfectly healthy right before they die.’ ‘Then we could all die.’ Batty climbed into her new wagon. Perhaps it was safer in there. ‘Nobody’s going to die,’ said Rosalind.”

The author creates humor through Jane’s melodramatic suggestion that the presents must be “Aunt Claire’s dying gifts” and through the repetition of the words “healthy” and “die.” Although the scene is comedic, the girls’ dialogue springs from genuine fear; their mother died of cancer, and they are frightened of losing another family member to illness.

“Rosalind stood up so abruptly that her chair fell over with a loud clatter. They were all asking her what was wrong, but she couldn’t explain. She only knew that she couldn’t breathe properly and she had to get outside. She stumbled toward the door, pushing away someone’s hands, and heard Aunt Claire saying that they should let her be.”

This passage’s focus on sound helps to convey Rosalind’s unsettled reaction to the news that her father is going to start dating again. Usually scrupulously polite, Rosalind feels so overwhelmed that her chair falls with a “clatter” —an example of onomatopoeia—and she’s unable to respond to her relatives’ alarmed questions.