Foreign Editions of The Penderwicks...
The Penderwick books have been translated into many languages and sold all around the world. The foreign countries provide their own covers and do their own translating without consulting with Jeanne. It's always a treat -- and sometimes quite a surprise -- when the foreign editions first arrive in the mail.
The Greeks made Batty blond and Hound very small and not black, while the Czechs changed the Penderwicks' last names to Penderwickovi and Jeanne’s last name name to Birdsallova.
The Chinese print their books backwards from how we print ours. This cover is on what we consider to be the back of the book.
The Dutch added little leaf sprigs to the cover design. And on the back, they put a picture of Jeanne with Peta the rabbit.
The Italians included wonderful drawings in their version of the book. Here are two of them: Skye hiding from Mrs. Tifton in the urn, and the four sisters all dressed up for Jeffrey's birthday party. Notice how nervous Batty looks about meeting Mrs. Tifton!
The Hebrew cover (left), Hungary cover (middle), and Indonesian cover (right).
For the German covers, the artist uses bright pastels to create landscapes that are very German, yet still Penderwickian. Aren’t they beautiful?
The Russians created a beautiful view of Arundel’s garden for the back cover. Note that they are the only country to put Mrs. Tifton and Dexter on the cover!
Korean front cover.