Jeanne Birdsall


Jeanne Birdsall is an American writer of children's books. She is best known for her five-volume series about the Penderwick family. The Penderwicks, the first book in the series, won the 2005 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.

Life

Birdsall was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up in the suburbs. Birdsall has one sibling, a sister who is four years older than she. She decided to become a writer at the age of ten — but she didn't start until she was forty-one. She worked first on other jobs, most notably as a photographer, and some of her work has been displayed in galleries around the world. She has kept several pets, including dogs, cats, rabbits, and a snail.
As of 2005, Birdsall lives in a house that is "old and comfortable, full of unruly animals, and surrounded by gardens" in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Writer

Birdsall's first book was published when she was 54. introduced the Penderwick sisters and won the 2005 National Book Award. Her second book was a sequel, The Penderwicks on Gardam Street. Her third book was The Penderwicks at Point Mouette, followed by The Penderwicks in Spring. The fifth and final book in the series, The Penderwicks at Last, was published on May 15, 2018.
Birdsall's first picture book, Flora's Very Windy Day, was illustrated by Matt Phelan and published under the Clarion Books imprint in August 2010. The third Penderwicks novel, The Penderwicks at Point Mouette, was released by Knopf on May 10, 2011.

Works