Oh, how beautiful this book is! While Everyone Is Sleeping is a brand new book written by Sarah Mackenzie and illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard that has all of the charm and beauty of the older books that we love so much. This delightful picture book is a joy to read and a delight to behold.
Category: Book Reviews
Update: Echo, Little Men, Railway Children, Rascal, and The Labors of Hercules Beal
We are genuinely enjoying the work of creating book club guides for some of our favorite books in a wide variety of genres and levels. This month we are adding Pam Munoz Ryan’s excellent book, Echo, to our offerings.
Night Is Coming
Night is Coming by W. Nikola-Lisa is a sweet and tender picture book that would be perfect for the bedtime routine of many little ones.
Snow Treasure
I just finished reading Snow Treasure to my literature class of eight- and nine-year-old homeschooled students. I only see them for forty minutes once a week, and the timing just happened to work out that I had to leave the kids hanging for a whole week with the hero captured by Nazis and with only…
Mr. Hermit Miser and the Neighborly Pumpkin
A Plumfield Kids Book Review by Elsa, age 11
In a day when pumpkin pies are bought from the store, this book made me wish I knew how to make a “rich, spicy, luscious, crisp pumpkin pie.” I am not the greatest judge of children’s books but I’d say this one is a great story. The illustrations are simply stupendous. For instance, in the pictures on pages 18, and 31, the pumpkins look somewhat like they have faces. Also on the cover you can vaguely see a face on the pumpkin in the lower right corner. This seems to allow the child the opportunity to imagine the pumpkins as characters.
Jade
And, here’s where I struggle with this book: the people and prejudices that Jade is raging against deserve her wrath and our scorn. The racism of her family is vile. The English laws regarding women as little more than property are equally vile. She is right to be outraged by these things. And so, I have a hard time objecting to her war against all of society.
I am, however, left reading this with a key question: what good will my readers find in this story?
Virginia Hall, an Extraordinary Woman
Whether they loved her or hated her, everyone who knew her considered her an amazing and memorable woman. Klaus Barbie, the infamous Butcher of Lyon became obsessed with finding the “Limping Lady of Lyon.” He had posters made and offered a huge reward for information leading to the arrest of “The Enemy’s Most Dangerous Spy.”
Let’s All Keep Chickens
This book has a delightful story-teller quality to it while being paired with the kind of point of view that we at Plumfield love and appreciate. Dalia is very knowledgeable and experienced with chicken keeping. She has done it on a small scale and on a large scale. She has a real passion for the birds themselves and the culture and traditions of chicken keeping throughout history. In this completely practical book, she shows you how to enter into chicken keeping in a variety of different ways so that you can choose the best possible option for your situation.
Mary’s Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein
WARNING:
CAUTIONARY REVIEW WITH PHOTOS DEPICTING ADULT CONTENT.
By Pond and River
Oh, what a treat this book is! Bravo to Living Book Press for not only reprinting the “Eyes and No Eyes” series by Arabella Buckley, but also for updating it with gorgeous full-color photos that cannot fail to aid the reader in nature study, and invite us into the magical natural world around us.
Martha of California
Otis does a marvelous job of helping young readers imagine what life was really like in the particular setting of the story. In Martha of California, for example, we get a compelling look at the wagon train traveling across the Great Salt Desert of Utah. Before they enter into the dangerous territory, Martha tells us the men have all agreed that this journey has to be made quickly regardless of any accidents or mishaps.
Seth of Colorado
Written in 1912 by James Otis, this compelling story about the settling of the West was written for children aged approximately 8-12 years old. 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 Seth is fictional, Otis tells us, through the character of Seth, about the creation of Denver, Colorado as if he were giving us a real first-person account.
Hannah of Kentucky
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 Booneborough as if she was giving us a real first-person account.
The Christmas Stove
In Alta Halverson Seymour’s beautiful Christmas story, The Christmas Stove, 11-year-old Peter and 8-year-old Trudi lose their parents in an avalanche. The children make the difficult journey down the mountain to the village of Zimmerli, looking for their Tante Maria in the hopes that she will adopt them. The children arrive a few weeks before Christmas to find a kind-hearted but sickly woman who is quite poor. Together, the three of them share the struggle for existence and feast on the love they have for each other. A sweet and innocent story, this one reminds a little bit of Ralph Moody’s Mary Emma and Company.
A Grandma For Christmas
This loving retelling of a special Christmas Alta Halverson Seymour’s father had as a boy in Norway is the jewel in her Christmas collection. A short read of only 59 pages (plus a few extra pages of Christmas recipes), it is warm and lovely and full of goodness. It is also exciting and perfect for boys. And, the Purple House Press reprint has full-color illustrations generously spread across nearly every page.