Plumfield Moms

Our Librarian Life: June 2024

Brodart Laminate 
Southern Skies Publishing – Stephen Meader
Purple House Press
Living Book Press
Bethlehem Books
Mistmantle 
Card Catalog 
Shelf Notes 
Find us at The Card Catalog: https://thecardcataloglibrarians.com/
 

Book Review: Bellwether by Connie Willis

I decided to listen to Connie Willis’s Bellwether while my seventeen-year-old and I were doing a renovation in my library. He loves science and is starting to love Connie Willis’s writing. This novella was especially fun for us to listen to together. Chaos theory, trends, group behavior patterns, and human nature are all part of the dynamic human experience. And it is fun to poke at the synchronicity and see what falls out. 
Sandra Foster is a scientist at HiTek corporation and studies fads. Specifically, she is working on the science of how and why trends or fads get started, what disrupts them, and possibly, how they can be manufactured by those who wish to nudge culture for good or for profit. Sandra is smart, likable, and very funny. Her snarky comments about ridiculous people and things give me a vent to my own frustrations about the ridiculousness of so many things in our modern culture. 
Bennett O’Reilly is a chaos theorist who studies group behavior at the same research facility. When Flip, the disinterested, lazy, and entitled office “helper,” delivers a package to Sandra which is meant for a different department, Sandra decides to circumvent the chaos of dealing with Flip and delivers it herself. This delivery sets a chain of events into motion that leads to romance, intrigue, and a fun story about interdepartmental collaboration and problem solving.  
Standard Connie Willis, no character is wasted and no storyline is inconsequential. And, remember, this is about scientific research into human psychology and chaos theory. 
This short, clean, quirky, and fun novella would be a good fit for mature teens and adults who just want to chuckle on a lazy afternoon.
I have reviewed many other Connie Willis books, you can find those reviews here.

Reflection: Longing to Gather You

After God had brought the Israelites out of Egypt, he told Moses to tell the people, “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel” (Ex. 19:4-6). Think of that! They were brought to God on eagle’s wings to be his treasured possession . . . 
Jesus told us, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” What more do we want before we will love and trust him to lead us in the right direction even when the way is through the rapids? Even if it looks like we’ll never see calm water again?

Book Review: The Shy Stegosaurus of Indian Springs

"Huck is terrified when he first sees the stegosaurus. He goes as quickly as he can to Chief Whitewater to tell him there is a monster someone needs to kill. Of course, the chief doesn’t believe him. So, the next time Huck goes to the spring to wash clothes, he takes his grandfather’s gun with him. 
Before Huck can shoot the dinosaur, he learns that George is friendly, and he also learns that the two children, Joey and Joan, already know George. Huck goes to the resort to swim with them, and they go fishing with Huck. They take George with them and introduce him to picnics. He likes the food and loves Indian wrestling, which Huck teaches them all. It’s great fun for George because he wins every time." 
 
https://plumfieldmoms.com/plumfield-moms-book-reviews/the-shy-stegosaurus-of-indian-springs

Reflection: Incline Your Heart

"It is right, with proper humility, for us to ask God to incline toward us. But it is we who need practice inclining toward God."

Book Review: To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis

In the middle of the 21st century, historian Ned Henry has a severe case of “time-lag.” Exhausted from fruitless time-travel jumps to Coventry Cathedral in various times before the WWII bombing and fire, Ned has not been able to satisfy his boss, and find the hideous but elusive “Bishop’s bird stump.” 
Lady Shrapnel is on a mission to have every detail perfect for the Cathedral reconstruction and dedication, and she doesn’t seem to care whatsoever how exhausted her team is, just so long as they finish the cathedral in time. “God is in the details,” she retorts when anyone suggests anything less than a perfect restoration. 
This hilarious and delightful story is shelved in “science-fiction” because of the time travel aspect, but in every other way is a romantic comedy in the style of The Importance of Being Earnest or anything from Jeeves and Wooster. And, in case that wasn’t enough fun, Connie Willis also has her main characters constantly referencing and quoting mystery authors like Agatha Christie, G. K. Chesterton, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. 
 
https://plumfieldmoms.com/plumfield-moms-book-reviews/to-say-nothing-of-the-dog

Reflection: Just Plant

“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.”
One last thought, in case I’m still wondering if I couldn’t just give up and go watch ducks in the park. Paul says to the Galatian believers:
“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Gal. 6:7-9). 

Our Librarian Life: May 2024

Join us as we discuss barcodes, book tape, inventory, summer reading programs, and renovations!
Picture Book Preschool
Five in a Row
Biblioguides
Book Tape
Book Tape Dispenser
Label Protectors
Shelf Notes
Barcode Generator 
Barcode Scanner
Dymo Label Printer
Library Thing Barcodes
The Card Catalog
 

Book Review: Wolf Hollow (CAUTION - NOT FOR LITTLE EARS)

In the last few years, I have heard the great American classic, To Kill A Mockingbird, frequently being recommended for middle-grade readers. I staunchly disagree with the general practice of recommending that tough book to readers below eleventh grade. Could there be a particular child for whom it is a good fit? Maybe. But, it is my opinion that that essential work of American fiction was written for adults and should be considered worthy of waiting for. Even if a middle-grade reader could handle the darkness, I wonder if they could really grasp the fullness of the story and its power at such a young age. 
Some have mentioned that Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk would be a better fit for a younger crowd looking for a story set in small-town America about a misunderstood social outcast. I was curious, so I read it this weekend. I see why some think that way. I see the appeal of this story. I see how easily it could be fairly compared to Mockingbird. I agree this could be a good substitute for Mockingbird if there were a reason to wrestle with these themes. I ask, however, if something else might be better for a young reader and better overall?
I do not, however, like Wolf Hollow even a fraction as much as I love To Kill a Mockingbird. And I am a little unsettled about why that is. In this story, the protagonist might be more likable than Scout. The maligned outcast is more sympathetic than Boo Radley. And the parents are more attentive than Atticus. The writing is excellent. The story is interesting. And the way Americans treated Germans during WWII is good for us to grapple with. 
I think that what mars the story for me is that the burdens on the protagonist are inappropriate for the target age of the readers. Annabelle adopts some troubling behavior that is unnecessary and designed only to further the plot. And some of the events of the story are almost as graphic and disturbing as Mockingbird. Read more: https://plumfieldmoms.com/plumfield-moms-book-reviews/wolf-hollow-by-lauren-wolk

Reflection: Stand in the Breach

"We know that not everyone is called to stand in the spotlight before crowds. In fact, few of us are. We are not all called to fill the same holes in the wall, but we are all called to do something. There is no checklist of day-to-day activities for a breach-stander. However, the more we read the word, pray, and listen, the more the general commands become astoundingly specific and personal.  
You are the light of the world, you are the salt of the earth (Matt. 5:13-14). You are called to be saints (1 Cor. 1:2), called to peace (1 Cor. 7:15), called to freedom (Gal. 5:13), called to walk in a manner worthy of your calling (Eph. 4:1), called to suffer (1 Pet. 2:21), called to be holy (1 Pet. 1:16). What do the calls to all believers mean for your specific calling? Ask God to show you."