The Penderwicks

In the book The Penderwicks, by Jeanne Birdsall, Skye Penderwick and her family just moved into their house for the summer. She loves her sisters but is really different from them in so many ways.


She is different from her sisters because they are really polite but she isn’t. She doesn’t say sorry when she hurts somebody or does something wrong, she makes a bad first impression on people and she is really stubborn. “Good morning, Jeffrey. I’m Jane Penderwick, officially elected spokesperson for Skye Penderwick, whom you met yesterday. Skye asked me to express her regret for crashing into you and for her subsequent and rude behavior and hopes you will forgive her and not take it too personally” from the book, The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall pg.46. This doesn’t sound like what Skye would say at all! It is clear that Skye didn’t make this speech up and didn’t mean any of this; Jane is just saying this because she either has a crush on Jeffrey or was forced to say in on behalf of everyone in their family.


Skye Penderwick also looks different from all of her sisters. All of them have dark, curly brown hair and brown eyes, when she has straight blond hair and blue eyes. Skye might pretend that it is cool and unique to have blond hair and blue eyes but inside she feels left out and wishes she had dark, curly brown hair and brown eyes. They even made up a nick-name for her “blue skye, blue eyes.”  “That’s how you can remember which one she is,” said Jane “blue eyes and straight blond hair. The rest of us have identical brown eyes and dark curly hair. People get me and Rosalind mixed up all the time” from the book The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall pg.11. It’s obvious that she feels left out because she is so different.


I can tell that she is hiding something from her family. I think she acts the way she does because she feels left out or she’s jealous of her sisters that she is different. I think that it is good to be different but you should say sorry, not be stubborn and make good first impressions. You shouldn’t feel scared to tell your family your real emotions. You should never keep it to yourself like Skye is doing. It is good to be different and unique but you shouldn’t take it out on who you love.