Plumfield Moms

Book Review: The Door Before by N. D. Wilson

Several years ago, I mentioned to Diane that I thought The Door Before was my favorite of N. D. Wilson’s books and that Hyacinth was my favorite of his characters. She asked me why I felt that way. I struggled to articulate something tangible. I think I mumbled that it has something to do with how Hyacinth was a reluctant hero. I was never able to really figure out why I felt that way, so I never wrote my review of The Door Before. Years later, I am re-reading the Cupboards books, and I continue to be impressed with Hyacinth.  
 
https://plumfieldmoms.com/plumfield-moms-book-reviews/the-door-before

Reflection: Imitators of Christ

"The first time I read the apostle Paul’s command to the Corinthians to imitate him, I remember thinking, Wait a minute! Why is he telling them to imitate him instead of imitating Jesus? I’ve always respected this guy, but he really did have some gall."

Book Review: Ain’t Nothing But a Man

"Ain’t Nothing but a Man is a 60-page version of Nelson’s 200+ page book for adults. Every page has photographs or drawings to show locations and people of the post-Civil War era, and to illustrate what the railroad slang from the songs mean. 
In “How to be a Historian” the co-author, Marc Aronson, lists the six stages of Nelson’s search:
Finding what is known already
Checking their sources
Finding gaps and disagreements and formulating your own questions
Looking for new evidence
Expanding the search
Sharing what you have found
https://plumfieldmoms.com/plumfield-moms-picture-book-reviews/aint-nothing-but-a-man-my-quest-to-find-the-real-john-henry

Reflection: Sandle Strap

Today’s Americans aren’t familiar with a practice that people have understood for thousands of years - the habit of doffing a cap, bowing, kneeling, or simply lowering the eyes before a person with more power, money, or social status. We don’t acknowledge our “betters.”
As much as Christians appreciate that Jesus died for our sins, I’m afraid we often forget that he is something other than we are. He isn’t only our Savior. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. If that’s true, it behooves us to remember it and behave accordingly.

Our Reading Life: February 2024

Diane’s References
Picture of Charlton Heston’s son 
Ben Hur by Lew Wallace  
Lorna Doone by R. D. Blackmore
Keeper of the Bees by Gene Stratton-Porter 
A Women of No Importance by Sonia Purnell
Virginia Was a Spy by Catherine Urdahl
The Spy with the Wooden Leg: The Story of Virginia Hall by Nancy Polette
Stars of the Night: The Courageous Children of the Czech Kindertransport by Caren Stelsen 
Nicholas Winton and the Rescued Generation: Save One Life, Save the World by Muriel Emanuel
The Light That Shines Forever: The True Story and Remarkable Rescue of 669 Children on the Eve of World War II by David Warner
Nicky & Vera: A Quiet Hero of the Holocaust and the Children He Rescued by Peter Sis
One Life movie
Sara Masarik’s References 
Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen 
America’s Children Books by James Otis 
Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigurd Undset 
Blackout by Connie Willis
All Clear by Connie Willis
Guernsey and the Literary Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Sarah Kim’s References
Beowulf Burton Raffel translation
Beowulf Seamus Heaney translation
The Boys of Blur by N. D. Wilson
N. D. Wilson - beloved author
The Push Cart War by Jean Merrill
Best in Children’s Books Vol. 16 The Best Birthday by Quail Hawkins
Napoleon's Hemorrhoids: And Other Small Events That Changed History by Phil Mason
Tanya’s References 
Purple House Press: The Gift of the Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois
Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson 
The Legend of Bass Reeves by Gary Paulsen   
Biblioguides online community

Book Review: Hannah of Kentucky by James Otis

Written in 1912 by James Otis, this exciting and absorbing young readers’ novel tells the true story of Boonesborough from the point of view of a young girl. Written with excellent language and writing, this story is very alive and a joy to read. The reading level is comparable to something like a “Childhood of Famous Americans” book, whereas the point of view is something like the “We Were There” books. While Hannah and her family are fictional, Otis tells us, through the character of Hannah, about Boonesborough as if she was giving us a real first-person account.
https://plumfieldandpaideia.com/hannah-of-kentucky/ 

Reflection: A Place for the Called Out

I have an unusual habit. I write letters. I mean the old-fashioned, handwritten (in cursive), on pretty stationery, with a postage stamp, sent through the U.S. mail kind of letters. One reason I do this is that I enjoy receiving letters. There is a look and feel to a personal letter that almost casts its own light from beneath the piles of impersonal, meaningless, or unpleasant stacks of paper that invade our homes through our mailboxes.

Our Librarian Life: January 2024 with Sherry Early & Kristi Stansfield

Thornton Burgess books
The Incredible Journey by Shelia Burnford 
Plumfield Reads Book Club Guides
LibraryThing
The Card Catalog 
Biblioguides Private Lending Library Directory
Bibloguides Online Community

Book Review: The Penderwicks

The Penderwicks is a series that is recommended everywhere. It is not a series that I have in my library. In my years of moderating a massive book group, I found that this was a book series that really divides people. I read the first two books (or was it three? I can’t remember for sure) and found that I fell into the “this had so much potential to be brilliant but falls into modern tropes and makes me frustrated” camp.
For years I have mostly stayed quiet about it because those who love The Penderwicks  really  love  those stories. And there is nothing inherently wrong with the books that I read, so I just didn’t think it mattered what I thought. Years later, however, I heard so many people asking about them, so I thought it prudent to articulate my objections.
The first book, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy, was delightful. Not perfect, but refreshingly fun for a modern book. The problem is that readers very rarely are willing to read one book and not the others in a series. And the second book, The Penderwicks on Gardam Street, was definitely not delightful. Instead of a sweet and interesting family story, the girls are petulant and angsty. They are rude to each other and disrespectful of adults. I was so disappointed.
One of the recommendations for the series is that readers claim there are so many lovely literary references that bibliophiles are delighted while at the same time, the children are modern and living like we do, so it makes those old book references come alive. Maybe. Probably. However, that doesn’t negate the bad behavior of the girls.
Some claim that these are like Beverly Cleary’s books. They show girls going through real growing pains, and it gives our children someone to identify with. But, as I said in my article, In Defense of Beverly Cleary, Cleary was writing about the whole family. In her stories, adults are more than present, they are worthy characters themselves, and they provide good boundaries for their children.
In the Penderwicks books, there is a strong sense that the children know better than the adults and that they have a moral obligation to teach the adults how the world works and how to live better. Again, this is not what we see in Cleary, or Gary D. Schmidt, or N. D. Wilson. In those stories, the children understand their own value, but they do not discredit the adults who are there to love and lead them.
Some critics of the series object to the “modern realism” themes of divorce, remarriage, teenage dating, etc. I don’t object to those themes. I do, however, object to how they are presented in modern books. I can’t really say how those play out throughout the series because I stopped early in the series, but I did not love what I saw.
One of the challenges of writing a series about sisters who have a substantial span of age is that it is hard to know who the target audience is. Should children as young as the youngest sister be reading? Or are these for children who are as old as the oldest sister? In Hilda van Stockum’s The Mitchells series, we see children who are babies in the same family as children who are in high school. To make the story suitable for all ages, Hilda did mention some dances and possible romance, but she did so only very lightly. In the second Penderwicks book, teen romance is a key theme. Just because the oldest sister is old enough to be interested in boys doesn’t mean that our younger readers need that explained in detail complete with hormonal discussion.
I think that while these stories could be lovely, they miss the mark. With so many better options out there, I am keeping these out of my library.
https://plumfieldmoms.com/plumfield-moms-book-reviews/the-penderwicks
 

Reflection: Do Even More

What I heard Sunday morning was, “Put on your big girl armor, rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in everything, because he who calls you is faithful.”