Cover of The Penderwicks

The Penderwicks

by Jeanne Birdsall · Grades 4–7

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall is on US reading lists at grades 4–7. It appears on 3 lists: 3 book-award lists, across 2 states. Every citation below links to the primary source.

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Before you buy: Grades 4–7 · 269 pages. The button opens the paperback edition (ISBN 9781409013105). If the class uses a set edition or translation, match its ISBN first.

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Widely assigned — 3 curriculum lists · 2 states

Grade placement varies by school — the median assigned book spans 4 grade levels (83% span three or more, across 13,258 source-cited assignments).

On reading-award lists:Great Stone Face Book AwardGreat Lakes Great Books AwardNational Book Award for Young People's Literature

This page shows where The Penderwicks is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.

Reading level at a glance

Grade range
Grades 4–7
Pages
269
Reading time
about 4h 55m (est.)
First published
2005
ISBN-13
9781409013105

Sources: grade range from the cited lists below, last checked 2026-06-12; pages and year from our catalog record (sources); reading time is an estimate at 250 words a minute.

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About this book

Book facts and sources (3)
Award won
  • National Book Award for Young People's Literature, 2005 (source: Wikipedia)
On award reading lists
Catalog record
First published 2005 · 269 pages (edition lengths vary) (source: how we source book data)

Similar grade-level books

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Where this book is recommended

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Common questions

What grade level is The Penderwicks?
The Penderwicks is listed for grades 4–7. It appears on 3 book-award lists across 2 states. Exact placement varies by school and district.
How long does it take to read The Penderwicks?
It takes about 4h 55m to read The Penderwicks (269 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 295 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
What curricula assign The Penderwicks?
The Penderwicks appears on reading lists for Great Lakes Great Books Award, Great Stone Face Book Award, National Book Award for Young People's Literature. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Is The Penderwicks banned in schools?
The Penderwicks does not appear in PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. No documented multi-district removals on record, but individual districts may challenge titles locally.

Why this book is on this list

How we classify

Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.

Lexile measure
Not classified — this book has no published Lexile measure.
Grade band
Grades 4–7 — drawn from the book-award lists citing this book.
Curriculum alignment
Cited in 3 curricula on this site (see “Where recommended” above for primary-source links).
State-level evidence
On state book-award lists in 2 states (see citations above).
Removal / banning records
No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
Seasonal / contextual tags
Tagged for: award-winner, book-club.

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