Penrod (Library of Indiana Classics) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Gordon Grant (Illustrator), Scott R. Sanders (Introduction)
Key Phrases: smallpox medicine, living nephew, licorice water, Penrod Schofield, Miss Spence, Sam Williams (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Penrod's escapades have delighted generations of readers. The stories in this Indiana classic will captivate still another generation of young readers and awaken nostalgia in many an adult.

About the Author

Booth Tarkington (1869–1946), born in Indianapolis, is best known for the Pulitzer Prize– winning novel The Magnificent Ambersons.

Jonathan Yardley is a book critic and columnist for the Washington Post. He has written six books and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Criticism. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 306 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press; 1st Midland Bk. Ed edition (September 1, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253203619
• ISBN-13: 978-0253203618
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #809,825 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Being a boy!, July 1, 1999

By	R. D. Allison ([e-mail]) (Gainesville, Florida, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

"Penrod" is the humorous story of a twelve-year-old boy, Penrod Schofield, growing up in pre-World War I mid-west. He, with his dog Duke and his friends Sam Williams and the black brothers Herman and Vernon, are constantly getting into scrapes with adults. This is a celebration of the joys of boyhood. But, one wonders what counselors and behavioral psychologists and certain physicians would do today if Penrod Schofield got into their clutches! They might even put him on medication. For just being a boy!!....."They were upon their great theme: 'When I get to be a man!' Being human, though boys, they consider their present estate too commonplace to be dwelt upon. So, when the old men gather, they say: "When I was a boy!" It really is the land of nowadays that we never discover."

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Magnificent Novel That Will Fade From History, March 26, 2002

By	J. Reynolds (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews

"Penrod" is a great novel -- interesting, enlightening, profound, grandiloquent and one of the most hilarious books ever written.

Aspects of the subject matter, however, while generally accepted in the early 1900s and treated kindly herein by the author, would simply not fly under today's political-correctness coercion. As far as popular literature is concerned, it is effectively a banned book. Consequently, "Penrod" eventually will fade from general literary consciousness, and linger only in the memories of those who truly appreciate a fine novel.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic Realistic Tale, March 27, 2002

By A Customer

The Penrod series of novels is one of the most effective evocations of the experience of being a child ever written. They deal with the daily life and trials of a boy of eleven and twelve in turn of the century (1900) Indiana. The humor is found in the petty hypocrisies of the adults and the naivete of the children and how those two things intertwine. If you have ever day-dreamed in school or yearned for the favor of the prettiest girl in your class, you will appreciate these stories. NB. They are period pieces of the purest kind, so you should expect terms and attitudes to reflect the age from which they come.