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.

https://plumfieldmoms.com/plumfield-moms-book-reviews/seth-of-colorado

"We live in a society built on sand and dreamy wishes for the world to be other than it is. Now we’re watching it crumble. As the ransomed of Christ, are you willing to walk through this world as a conspicuous foreigner?"

While checking my county library catalog for Pam Muñoz Ryan’s Echo, the description of Paint the Wind caught my eye because the story takes place in Wyoming. I’m always a little skeptical about stories supposed to take place in Wyoming, but I remembered, from years ago, that Muñoz’s Esperanza Rising was surprisingly good. Echo, which I read recently, is very good. With nothing much demanding my time on the afternoon of New Year’s Eve, I picked up Paint the Wind and read the entire book before midnight. 

https://plumfieldmoms.com/plumfield-moms-book-reviews/paint-the-wind

"However torn and bleeding I find myself, believing I’m engraved on the palms of the Author’s hands, I trust he knows exactly the right number of scratches necessary to bring my story to its fitting conclusion."

When the story opens, Anson Staplyton, drummer boy, is aboard ship on his way to Ireland from England where he will take his place as the seventh Staplyton to keep the king’s peace in the Staffordshire Fencibles. He has been waiting all his life to follow in the footsteps of his forefathers and win glory in battle defending the king’s realm.  

Though Anson longs for glory in battle, his first assignments are anything but glorious. First, he witnesses a hedge master receiving thirty lashes, which is considered a lenient sentence compared to the usual punishment for treason, death. 

https://plumfieldmoms.com/plumfield-moms-book-reviews/ansons-way

If I’ve been under the wrong impression about what I can expect from a life committed to Jesus, I haven’t been listening. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake” (Mat. 24:9 ESV). “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you” (John 15:18 ESV).

Why would I come to Jesus when he promises so many hard things? Because he has the words of life!

Join us as we chat with Librarians Sherry Early and Kristi Stansfield about inventory, contract renewals, making space, organizing historical fiction, and organizing picture books. 

In Lark, Sally Watson took readers down a most interesting path and gave us a delightfully fun adventure. There are some aspects of the story that parents may wish to be aware of, which I note in my review, but overall, it was an entertaining escapade well-suited to teen readers. As much as I wanted to follow the family tree, I decided to read Jade next, as it is also available at Audible (recorded via Virtual Voice). 

My spoiler-free review is very short: I did enjoy it. I will have it in my library. But, I will be cautious about to whom I recommend it. It is about a strong female protagonist from Colonial Virginia whose family is in the slave trade. Through a series of events, Melanie (nicknamed Jade) finds herself on a ship in the Bahamas attacked by pirates, and she joins their forces. She becomes a notorious outlaw, and this story is a rollicking fun ride. As much fun as this novel is, I found a number of challenges that mar the overall story for me, and I think parents may wish to know about some hefty content.

The rest of this review will contain a fair number of spoilers with a lot of quotes. I hope to let Sally Watson tell you for herself what she was doing in this story. You then can decide for yourself how to handle this with your readers.