Penrod and Sam

Set against the backdrop of a quaint Midwestern town in the early 1900s, Penrod and Sam by Booth Tarkington is a treasure trove of boyhood escapades. The story follows Penrod Schofield and Sam Williams, two inseparable friends who turn everyday life into an extraordinary adventure.
Tarkington's storytelling is imbued with a sense of humor that keenly observes the absurdities and wonders of adolescence. The duo's adventures range from forming secret clubs and navigating schoolyard politics to confronting bullies and exploring the natural world around them. Tarkington's keen eye for detail and wit offer readers a vivid sense of place and time, capturing the essence of a small Midwestern community.
Themes of friendship, the trials of growing up, and the spirit of exploration are woven throughout this perennial favorite.

Newton Booth Tarkington was an American author and playwright who lived from July 29, 1869, to May 19, 1946. His books The Magnificent Ambersons (1918) and Alice Adams (1921) are his most famous works. He has won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once. The other three are William Faulkner, John Updike, and Colson Whitehead. In the 1910s and 1920s, he was thought to be the best live American author. A number of his stories have been turned into movies. Tarkington, Meredith Nicholson, George Ade, and James Whitcomb Riley were some of the writers who helped Indiana have a Golden Age of writing in the first quarter of the 20th century. Booth Tarkington was in the Indiana House of Representatives for one term. He didn't like how cars came about, and many of his stories took place in the Midwest. He finally moved to Kennebunkport, Maine, and kept doing the work he had always done, even though he lost his sight. Tarkington was born on July 29, 1869, in Indianapolis, Indiana. His father was a judge, and his mother was an officer. He came from a wealthy family in the Midwest that had lost a lot of money in the Panic of 1873.