Thalia Kids' Book Club: Jeanne Birdsall's Penderwicks series

The National Book Award-winning author of The Penderwicks talks about the much-loved series that takes readers into the enchanting world of four very different sisters. Fans of classic children’s literature will love the charming, old-fashioned style that still appeals to a contemporary audience. Actress Rita Wolf performs an excerpt from one of the books.

Co-presented with Bank Street Bookstore

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Jeanne Birdsall was the recipient of the 2005 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature for her debut novel, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy. She is also the author of the sequel, The Penderwicks on Gardam Street. Though she didn’t write her first novel until she was 41, Jeanne knew she wanted to be a writer when she was ten years old. During the time in between, she worked many odd jobs and also worked as an art photographer; some of her photographs hang in galleries and museums, including the Smithsonian and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Madeline Cohen has been Symphony Space’s Education Director since 1989. She directs the Curriculum Arts Project (CAP) Program, which gives thousands of students insight into the social studies curriculum through interaction with the arts and artists in the classroom, at museums and at Peter Norton Symphony Space. She co-organizes Symphony Space’s All Write! program for adult literacy students, modeled after Symphony Space’s series Selected Shorts: A Celebration of the Short Story.

Rita Wolf was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for her role in David Greig’s The American Pilot at Manhattan Theatre Club. Her career began at the Royal Court Theatre in London with Hanif Kureishi’s Borderline. Her New York theatre credits include David Hare’s Stuff Happens at the Public Theater, A.R. Gurney’s O, Jerusalem at The Flea, and Tony Kushner’s Homebody/Kabul at New York Theatre Workshop and Brooklyn Academy of Music. Her film credits include Stephen Frears’ My Beautiful Laundrette. She is a founding member of the London-based Kali Theatre Company.