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Jeanne Birdsall, best known for her beloved Penderwicks series, has a new novel, The Library of Unruly Treasures , out on August 5

The author speaks with PEOPLE about the challenges of beginning the new book, her unlikely source of inspiration and encouraging a love of reading in young people

“Children's books are the best way to share what we want with children,” Birdsall says

Author Jeanne Birdsall didn’t know what direction to go in after she ended her beloved Penderwicks book series.

Following the adventures of a quartet of sisters, the middle grade novels have been adored by young readers everywhere since Birdsall first debuted with The Penderwicks in 2005. The series' first installment won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature that year, an

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