Plumfield Moms

In The Sinking of the Bismarck , he used his journalistic talents to study the declassified reports, comb through personal accounts, and harvest the best information from the time. Instead of telling the story of an interested observer as he did in Hitler, he re-creates the story with the enthusiasm of a patriot who is proud and excited about an epic victory at sea. And, while he clearly is on the...

History often remembers Alexander the Great as being in the same category as Julius Caesar, Attila the Hun, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Adolf Hitler. A handful of men who through incredible genius, unparalleled thirst for power, and sheer determination were able to achieve unprecedented world domination. None of these men are remembered as paragons of virtue nor even decent role models, but all of the...

In the August, 2023 episode of Our Reading Life , Tanya Arnold and I discussed why we are so impressed with Jennifer A. Nielsen’s historical fiction. Many of her stories are set in war settings that are mostly unfamiliar to the average reader. The stories feature teens who are coming of age in hellish circumstances that are more unbelievable than the best fiction. The teens behave in ways that are...

I always had the idea of an official lending library in the back of my mind, and I would trot that idea out when people asked me why I bought so many books. Sometimes people would ask me if I was a teacher or a librarian, and I would say “yes” to the first and “Librarian Wannabe” to the other.  I also have known from the beginning that having people in our home to visit the library would not be an...

  The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen  The 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith   The Bomb by Theodore Taylor  "The Dearth Of Historical Fiction Is A Disservice To Curious Kids Everywhere" The Federalist A Little Tiger in the Chinese Night by Song Nan Zhang Sophie Choir   by Jonathan Auxier Peter Nimble  by Jonathan Auxier The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt  The Wednesday Wars Book Club  The Way o...

In the prologue, Halversen says, “This book is special to me because it tells about the people of Berlin who valued freedom over food.” He adds, “Children felt this way too. ‘I can live on thin rations but not without hope,’ one ten-year-old boy told me”

Self-interest is restrained within due bounds when love supervenes; for then it rejects evil things altogether, prefers better things to those merely good, and cares for the good only on account of the better.  ~St. Bernard of Clairvaux,  On Loving God

In this episode of  Plumfield in Person , Diane and Sara introduce a new series about how books get made with a conversation about how some of the oldest books were first made. All of the books we talk about can be found at our website in the Medieval Manuscripts book list.  Books and Links: Magic in the Margins The Ink Garden of Brother Theophane Marguerite Makes a Book Across a Dark and Wild Sea...

Down the Big River by Stephen Meader is a fast-moving, exciting, and wholesome historical fiction novel that blessed our Morning Basket for several weeks this winter. In our Forgotten Books: Historical Fiction podcast episode at Plumfield Moms, this book was Sandy Hall ’s selection (you can read her detailed review, here ). In that episode, both she and Tanya Arnold of Biblioguides gave us a lot o...

This achingly beautiful book is our favorite of all five. It is a war story. It is an adventure. It is one act of love after another. It is a hero’s tale. But, wonderfully, there are many heroes. This book is like the Battle for Helm’s Deep . If you know and love these books, and if you know and love The Lord of the Rings , that is really all that you need to know. It is Helm’s Deep. Fantastically...

LibraryThing TinyCat  Our Reading Life Series Meet Library Lady: Kathleen Seeger Meet Library Ladies: Sherry Early, Sandy Hall, and Mary Schubert   Meet Library Ladies: Kristi Stansfield and Jeannette Tulis Private Lending Library Directory Purple House Press  Ask the Librarian: LibraryThing – Collections vs Tags Biblioguides Private Lending Libraries List Shelf Notes

In Lloyd Alexander’s first children’s novel, The Time Cat , Gareth can move in and out of nine different times, but once he has done that, he cannot ever go back. And so, according to Gareth, a cat most choose wisely when he will leap from life to life. This charming and imaginative story brings history to life. Gareth uses his first life to bring Jason to ancient Egypt and the city of Bubastes wh...

Welcome to Elsa, age 11 to our Plumfield Kids team!  If there is one thing I’ve always loved, it’s a book with a soul. And this book has one. I love the stern contrast between the Lands of Luxury, a beautiful oasis, and Yarborough, the island of garbage. The fact that the Island is governed by tyrannical robots was also a fun addition to the storyline as far as villains go! And you seriously can’t...

"Learning to live by faith is a process, a lifelong education. Take time to reflect on the courses God has assigned you so far. Remember that he doesn’t mean for you to work through them alone. Ask him for help, and seek support from Christians who have already completed similar assignments."

Many have asked if there could be a podcast specifically for private lending librarians. Something designed to encourage current librarians while also helping prospective librarians discern whether, if, when, and how they may be called to this special work. Beginning on September 20th, long-time librarians Sherry Early and Kristi Stansfield will sit down with new librarians Diane Pendergraft and S...

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt  The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt  Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt  Just Like That by Gary D. Schmidt   Okay for Now Book Club   The Wednesday Wars Book Club  The Biblioguides Online Community Pay Attention, Carter Jones by Gary D. Schmidt The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt  A Break with Charity by Ann Rinaldi  Downright Den...

Kentucky’s Pack Horse Library Project was part of Franklin Roosevelt’s Work Projects Administration (WPA) begun during the Great Depression to help put people to work. The Pack Horse Library Project started in 1935 in two Kentucky counties and lasted until 1943 (having spread to thirty counties), when World War II brought the U.S. economy back to life.  Companion Picture Books: Down, Down the Moun...

https://plumfieldandpaideia.com/the-red-keep/   In my lending library, Plumfield Living Books Library, I have a young patron who loves the Middle Ages. I reached for The Red Keep to preview before I put it in her “holds” box. I spent two days with my head in this exciting 370-page story of adventure and honor, and I am delighted to be able to recommend it to families. I loved it, and I am sure tha...

Tanya's References: Sun Slower Sun Faster by Meriol Trevor  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain The School that Escaped the Nazis by Deborah Cadbury Landmark Books  Lines of Courage by Jennifer A. Nielsen  Rescue by Jennifer A. Nielsen  Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson Hattie Ever After by Kirby Larson  Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons: The Story of Phillis Wheatley by Ann Ri...

What a gift it is to have  Sherry Early  as a friend! Sherry has been my librarian “phone-a-friend” more and more of late. As I worked with my patron, I asked Sherry for a list of books suitable for a teen girl with strong morals. She has a particular interest in historical fiction and specifically Westward Expansion. She likes  The Virginian ,  The Girl of the Limberlost , and  Bargain Bride .  S...

This book is utterly compelling.  In the Author’s Note at the end of the book, Rinaldi explains that her research into the Puritan era revealed that “people went right from childhood into adulthood, with no benefit of an awkward age in between. An orphaned child was allowed to choose his or her own guardians at the age of fourteen; the laws applied to all persons of the age of sixteen, which was a...

I have to say, this is part of why I love Gary D. Schmidt. Because never have I wondered why Rumpelstiltskin wanted the boy prince. Never have I wondered why he was so insistent. Those questions simply would not occur to me. But I sure am glad they worked their way into Schmidt’s imagination, because this is a fairytale re-imagining that I found to be exciting, unpredictable, elegant, and thoughtf...

Just Like That is hard. Not Okay For Now hard, but hard. It is also lovely. And tearful. And sweet. Typical Gary D. Schmidt, it has several key literary influences that are obvious, but it also reminds me of things that are not mentioned in the text. Diane and I both thought that this one had strong roots in Oliver Twist and maybe a little bit of David Copperfield . I also felt like it reminded me...

"Of Schmidt’s three companion books, The Wednesday Wars, Okay for Now,  and  Just Like That ,  I think  Okay for Now is the richest. The characters are full and believable and Doug’s growth over the school year is substantial. Doug finds himself surrounded by caring adults who see the best in him and mentor him through hard times."  Don't miss our book club on this compelling book:  https://plumfi...

The title characters of this story are Lizzie Bright, a black American girl who lives with her grandfather on Malaga island, and Turner Buckminster, the son of a New England minister. Their friendship causes scandal and an awakening throughout the town. But, it ends in so much tragedy. This story is not hard, until it is. And once it is, it never gets much better. And it is all the worse because i...