Star Spangled Summer - Janet Lambert
Read around 5/23/05:
My mom had often mentioned Lambert as one of her favorite authors when she was growing up, but her books are difficult to find as she's been out of print for awhile now. I bought this book used from an online seller for a Mother's Day gift, but decided to read it before I left it with her on my recent trip to Dallas.
This is the first book in the Penny Parish series, and I can see why she enjoyed them so much. While definitely geared towards a younger audience, the light-hearted story of Penny and her friend Carrol and their summer adventures on a military base was a welcome break from my studies of church history.
Penny's large and boisterous family is a stark and welcome contrast to Carrol's life with her wealthy but absent father and her very proper grandmother. Carrol is staying with the Parish family for two months over the summer break, and she and Penny spend their days horse back riding, hanging out with friends at the soda fountain, and dreaming up new adventures.
Janet Lambert wrote a number of related series, of which the Penny Parish stories are generally considered the core. The series starts with Penny at age around 13, and follows her as she grows up, considers life on Broadway, falls in love, and has a family of her own. I think later series continue with the lives of her children, but not entirely sure. Another six books records the life of her younger sister Tippy, while a separate series tracks the Johnson family. In the later books, the Parish and Johnson families come together, but that's outside of my limited knowledge of Lambert's books.
Highly recommended, but difficult to find. These books are starting to be published on demand, but rather expensive. And if you read one, you'll want to find the whole series.
My mom had often mentioned Lambert as one of her favorite authors when she was growing up, but her books are difficult to find as she's been out of print for awhile now. I bought this book used from an online seller for a Mother's Day gift, but decided to read it before I left it with her on my recent trip to Dallas.
This is the first book in the Penny Parish series, and I can see why she enjoyed them so much. While definitely geared towards a younger audience, the light-hearted story of Penny and her friend Carrol and their summer adventures on a military base was a welcome break from my studies of church history.
Penny's large and boisterous family is a stark and welcome contrast to Carrol's life with her wealthy but absent father and her very proper grandmother. Carrol is staying with the Parish family for two months over the summer break, and she and Penny spend their days horse back riding, hanging out with friends at the soda fountain, and dreaming up new adventures.
Janet Lambert wrote a number of related series, of which the Penny Parish stories are generally considered the core. The series starts with Penny at age around 13, and follows her as she grows up, considers life on Broadway, falls in love, and has a family of her own. I think later series continue with the lives of her children, but not entirely sure. Another six books records the life of her younger sister Tippy, while a separate series tracks the Johnson family. In the later books, the Parish and Johnson families come together, but that's outside of my limited knowledge of Lambert's books.
Highly recommended, but difficult to find. These books are starting to be published on demand, but rather expensive. And if you read one, you'll want to find the whole series.
posted by Laura | 8:27 AM
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