It’s August, and the four Penderwick sisters are traveling with their widowed father, a botanist, and their dog, Hound, to the Berkshires for summer vacation. Rosalind is 12, and Skye is a year younger, followed by 10-year-old Jane and four-year-old Batty, who is shy and likes to wear butterfly wings. Hound ate their map, and the girls chirp at their father as he tries to navigate the unfamiliar roads. The girls play an alphabet game called “I Went to the Zoo, and I Saw” to distract them, which soon devolves into an argument. Rosalind suggests stopping for directions, but the more adventurous Skye suggests a helicopter extraction. Jane uses the journey to collect ideas for her books. She’s working on a series that follows the exploits of brave hero Sabrina Starr, who rescues various animals in peril. Mr. Penderwick pulls the car over at a roadside tomato truck to ask directions. When Rosalind gives the salesman, Harry the address, he says, “That’s Arundel, Mrs. Tifton’s place. Beautiful woman. Snooty as all get-out, too” (6). Harry says he can tell Skye is a troublemaker because he had six sisters. With a wink, he gives them directions to the house and a free bag of tomatoes—and warns them to stay clear of Mrs.