Penrod

Penrod is a comic work that chronicles the misadventures of an eleven-year-old boy, Penrod Schofield, who is considered “The Worst Boy in Town.” Tarkington’s young protagonist causes all sorts of mischief as he comes up with schemes like setting up a “drugstore” with his friend Sam, which involves creating a potion for smallpox from mouth wash, syrup and “extinct hair oil” alongside other expired medications. Penrod and Sam then persuade another unsuspecting young boy to drink the concoction, which does not quite have the results they anticipate. The Penrod novels have been adapted for film and stage multiple times including a 1918 play by Edward E. Rose, the 1922 silent film adaptation and the 1951 musical On Moonlight Bay starring Doris Day.