- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: John Wiley & Sons; 1st Midland Bk. Ed edition (1 Sep 1985)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0253203619
- ISBN-13: 978-0253203618
- Product Dimensions: 20.9 x 13.7 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
997,165 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #65 in Books > Humour > Encyclopaedias
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More About the Author
Product Description
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
An American novelist and dramatist. Booth Tarkington was born in Indianapolis. He was one of the most popular American novelists of his time, with The Two Vanrevels and Mary's Neck appearing on the annual best-seller lists nine times. In 2001, his book The Magnificent Ambersons was named as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century by the editorial board of the American Modern Library.
--This text refers to an alternate
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
How can romantic comedies about ADULTS be based on the Penrod novels?!? It just doesn't make any sense. If they really are, they must take extreme liberties with the plot. Anyway, Penrod, along with the sequels Penrod and Sam and the tragically out-of-print Penrod Jashber is a wonderful novel, which captures childhood better than anything else out there, along with, perhaps, Herman Wouk's The City Boy. Read it.
Format:Paperback
The credit for the "Our Gang" (a.k.a. "Little Rascals" isn't given to Booth Tarkington's "Penrod", but one has to wonder if it should be. The movies started in 1922, while "Penrod" was published just 8 years earlier in 1914. There is a collection of characters in "Penrod" which is somewhat similar as well, and the comparison works much better for me than attempts to compare "Penrod" with "Huckleberry Finn", Wodehouse's school stories, or even "Tom Brown's Education". "Penrod" is categorized as a novel, but it really is a series of short sketches put together, with no plot carrying through the entire book. The sketches are very humorous, and this is definitely another case where Tarkington has grown as a writer to produce something unlike anything he wrote before.
Unfortunately, time has not been kind to this book. The stories are still funny, but the language will be an issue for many readers. It is important to read this book with an understanding of the time in which it was written, and sadly, the young readers who might enjoy this the most are also those who will have the greatest difficulty in understanding how the language was appropriate for its time, but is completely inappropriate now. Those who are mature enough to deal with this language issue will still enjoy reading these stories, but it is a shame that it can't be appreciated as it was when it was written.
As I indicated before, this book should not be compared with Twain or Wodehouse. Tarkington was nowhere near the writer that Twain was, and these stories lack the substance that can be found in Twain's work. Wodehouse's school stories are not as comedic as his later work, and the students in them are older than the characters that Tarkington creates in "Penrod", which makes those stories completely different than what Tarkington has created. These stories can still be appreciated for what they are, though, and even if one winces at the words now and then, they are very enjoyable.
Unfortunately, time has not been kind to this book. The stories are still funny, but the language will be an issue for many readers. It is important to read this book with an understanding of the time in which it was written, and sadly, the young readers who might enjoy this the most are also those who will have the greatest difficulty in understanding how the language was appropriate for its time, but is completely inappropriate now. Those who are mature enough to deal with this language issue will still enjoy reading these stories, but it is a shame that it can't be appreciated as it was when it was written.
As I indicated before, this book should not be compared with Twain or Wodehouse. Tarkington was nowhere near the writer that Twain was, and these stories lack the substance that can be found in Twain's work. Wodehouse's school stories are not as comedic as his later work, and the students in them are older than the characters that Tarkington creates in "Penrod", which makes those stories completely different than what Tarkington has created. These stories can still be appreciated for what they are, though, and even if one winces at the words now and then, they are very enjoyable.
Format:Paperback
I just wanted to note that the Doris Day movies "On Moonlight Bay" and "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" were based on the Penrod stories.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Being a boy!
"Penrod" is the humorous story of a twelve-year-old boy, Penrod Schofield, growing up in pre-World War I mid-west. Read more
Published on 1 July 1999
a timeless classic humorously portraying a young boys life
Penrod is a warm and humorous depiction of a young boy (around 12) and his life with his friends and family. Read more
Published on 6 Feb 1998
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