Mistmantle Book Clubs at the Plumfield Reads corner of the Biblioguides Mighty Networks

I was wrong. 

The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin is not cheesy. 

It is, in fact, quite lovely. I must have been in a mid-winter funk when I read it the first time. This time, I was quite taken with it. Now, that said, it is not as strong as The Librarian Spyor The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, or my real favorites, Blackout and All Clear. But, it is absolutely lovely and a fun read that I will re-read again. 

"Contrary to the shrill voices we hear from the world more loudly every day, John says, “I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth” (2:21). The definition of truth hasn’t changed. The Greek word for truth is aletheia. It is “the unveiled reality lying at the basis of and agreeing with an appearance.” In 1828, Noah Webster defined it as “conformity to fact and reality.” The 1984 edition of Webster’s says truth is “conformity to fact or actuality.” Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary declares truth is, “the body of real things, events, and facts.” No lie is of the truth, and even today, you know it."

“In the old days, no one but a King could have a dog for a pet.” One day one of the King’s dogs runs to a boy named Ben and doesn’t want to go back to the King. Ben wants to keep the dog, but he knows only a King can have a dog, so he asks what he would have to do to become a King. 

I won’t tell you how he does it, but “that is how Ben came to have a dog in the days when no one but a King could have one.”

The full title of the book is The Big Jump and Other Stories. The next story is called “Something New.” These are fun stories about a boy who is learning to think and to do difficult things to help others. But he is also willing to listen to the advice of adults rather than being smarter and wiser than they are.  

https://plumfieldmoms.com/plumfield-moms-picture-book-reviews/the-big-jump

I have had ten copies of Mooses with Bazookas in my library since it was released last fall, and all of them are constantly checked out. As one copy gets returned, someone grabs it out of the return pile and asks to have it checked back in immediately so they can check it out themselves. If you search my TinyCat account right now (while I am writing this) you will see that there is one copy available. And, it is only available because I stole it from circulation so I could finally write this review. This hilarious collection of short comedic stories is the single most popular book in my 8,000-book catalog and has been checked out dozens of times, because it somehow blends the ridiculous with the clever without being offensive or degrading into unsavory humor. Mooses with Bazookas is silly, sweet in places, absolutely goofy in other places, and always interesting. It is brilliant for family read-aloud but the audio is extra special good (with an extra ending that left me extra giggling).

"We see expressions of God’s kindness in the Psalms with words such as lovingkindness, mercy, goodness and faithfulness. Note, however, that David and other writers often plead with this same God to shame their enemies. They expect him to break the teeth of the wicked and melt them like wax."

"When American men began to go to war by the hundreds of thousands, women took up the slack. They filled the jobs men left open, planted Victory Gardens, sold war bonds, worked with the Red Cross, and conserved food and fuel. But women had never been allowed in the army. They didn’t even have the right to vote.

These women went to war anyway. They loved their country and wanted to help win the war and to support the boys in the trenches.

They faced the dangers and hardships of war without complaining. Almost all the Signal Corps women worked and hoped to be sent as near the front as possible."

https://plumfieldmoms.com/plumfield-moms-picture-book-reviews/grace-banker-and-her-hello-girls-answer-the-call-the-heroic-story-of-wwi-telephone-operators

"Am I like the people of the Gadarenes or like the Samaritans? Do I pray, 'Dear God, please make me happy, but don’t change me'? Have I ever said, 'Thank you, Jesus, for the miracle, now please go away so I can get back to normal'?

Fans of The Green Ember and Mistmantle will be delighted with Lepunia: Kingdom of the Gallopers by Kevin T. Ford! This new middle-grade fantasy series starter is beautifully written and tells the kind of story that we love being inside of while reading and want to return to once we are done. Not only does this exciting story have interesting world-building, lovable characters, and beautiful language, but it also builds well and is accompanied by lovely illustrations by Michael Genova. 

https://plumfieldmoms.com/plumfield-moms-book-reviews/lepunia-kingdom-of-the-gallopers 

Welcome to our July 2024 episode of Our Reading Life where we chat with our dear friends, Tanya Arnold and Sarah Kim from Biblioguides about our reading lives. We are so glad that you are here!

Tanya’s References 

Sarah Kim’s References

Sara Masarik’s References 

Diane’s References

General References