The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

“For a long time after that summer, the four Penderwick sisters still talked of Arundel.”

This quote marks Arundel’s significance to the four protagonists. By framing the narrative as if they’re looking back, the author gives the summer they spent at Arundel a mythical quality. It becomes a memory that unifies them.

“Rosalind always said, It’s too bad Mommy never saw Arundel—she would have loved the gardens.”

The narrative doesn’t prominently feature Mrs. Penderwick’s death or dwell on its sadness. However, the author creates moments that subtly convey how her untimely death affected each sister differently.

“The exhausted travelers saw before them a dwelling fit for kings. Cair Paravel! El Dorado! Camelot!’ said Jane.”

Building on her love of classic literature, the author alludes to classic texts throughout the story. Upon seeing Arundel’s magnificence for the first time, Jane compares it to mythical locations like the citadel of Cair Paravel from C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; El Dorado, the storied city of gold; and Camelot, King Arthur’s iconic seat of power.