Tanya's References:

• Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk 

Sarah's References:

• The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith 

Diane's References:

• Hello Girls: America’s First Women Soldiers by Elizabeth Cobbs

Sara Masarik's References:

• The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier 

Plumfield Kids Review - Greta, age 13

I don’t care for math or the history of most mathematicians. When I started this book for the first time, I expected a dry history of a man I didn’t necessarily care for who liked something I didn’t. I was wrong. Before I even finished the first chapter, I was captivated. Instead of being a dry history book, Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick is alive and interesting. It is interactive with countless illustrations. From chapter four, Archimedes and His Lever, to about chapter twelve, The War Machines of Archimedes, there is at least one illustration on almost every page. A lot of them are diagrams explaining what you are reading.

Reading about Archimedes was fascinating! I learned to care about Archimedes--not only the man--but what he did for science and math.  

https://plumfieldmoms.com/plumfield-moms-plumfield-kids/archimedes-and-the-door-of-science

Throughout my life, Jesus has been revealing himself to me with as much patience as he exercised with the disciples. I have an idea that the tone of his, “Why did you doubt?” changes as I am supposed to mature. I have to cultivate my mustard-seed-sized faith, knowing how to call out, to reach out, to my only possible help. Jesus will reach out his hand and take hold of me. Truly, he is the Son of God.

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6 ESV).

I am writing this during the week of the winter solstice. At this time of year, I can sympathize with the pagans who celebrated the shortest day of the year as the beginning of more hours of sunlight. There have been winters when I referred to a weather app to track every minute of light gained each day until spring.

The darkness has not, will not, can not overcome the Light, and in the new beginning we will see his face, and his name will be on our foreheads, “And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever” (Rev. 22:5).

“The small red mare whinnied for her supper. But Korea was at war. Towns were shattered. Fields were scorched. And the racetrack was abandoned. No one paid attention to the hungry little horse.” – Sergeant Reckless by Patricia McCormick

The “scrawny sorrel mare with a white blaze and three matching socks” was abandoned and not much to look at. But when Lt. Pedersen of the U.S. Marines found her, she reminded him of a pony he’d had as a child, and he decided that maybe she could help them carry shells for the powerful new cannon, the “reckless” rifle. Not only was the little mare in sorry shape, but she was a spirited racehorse, not a steady mule who could be trained to do its duty in battle.

When they got the little horse to the camp, they realized that she would need extensive training and conditioning if she were going to be helpful in battle. They decided to enlist her in the Marines. Private Reckless had to learn to duck incoming fire, to retreat on command, and to carry heavy loads through battlefields. Her trainer, Sgt. Joseph Latham, worked with the mare, and she quickly became a member of the unit.

When the time came for real fighting, Pvt. Reckless proved herself to be incredibly loyal and brave. Despite being hit above the eye and in her left flank with pieces of shrapnel, she made fifty-one trips up to the cannon, going a distance of thirty-five miles up and down steep terrain fully loaded, and carrying nine thousand pounds of ammunition. The impressive little mare helped to change the entire course of the war.

This picture book biography of the little mare who is the only animal to hold military rank and be awarded two purple hearts officially is heartwarming and fascinating. The writing is perfect for a book like this, and the illustration is a work of art. Sherry Early of Meriadoc Homeschool Library recommended this one to me when she knew that I was working on a unit of the U.S. Military for our history club at our Plumfield Library. This book is worth tracking down!

https://plumfieldmoms.com/plumfield-moms-picture-book-reviews/sergeant-reckless

"Jesus says of himself that he is gentle. Some translations use the word meek. We don’t have a good English word that expresses the meaning of the Greek word used here. We think of a gentle person as someone who is careful with babies and kittens. A meek person takes whatever other people dish out without retaliating. 

Throughout his ministry, Jesus had compassion on the poor and ignorant, the sick and broken who came to him in crowds so large and pressing he often couldn’t find time to eat. But we don’t dare fail to note that, while he demonstrated his love for them, he also made it plain that he didn’t come to bring peace but a sword. He said their choices were black or white, not gray. Whoever wasn’t with him was against him, and whoever tried to save his life would lose it."  

Beverly Cleary is pretty much a household name. Just about everyone knows about Ramona, either from the books, the movie, or other pop culture references. Growing up, I didn’t know much about Cleary. For some reason, Cleary was conflated with Judy Blume in my mind, and the Judy Blume I read, I hated. It wasn’t until I was a mother that I really met (and fell in love with) Ramona.

I know. I know. I know. Living Books purists often cannot reconcile Ramona with the idea of “living books.” After all, she is nothing like Hilda van Stockum’s characters. Or Edith Nesbit’s. Or Carolyn Haywood’s. Or Arthur Ransome’s. And, some think that Ramona is such a brat. How could her stories possibly be good food for young readers to feast on? But, I do wonder… Is she really that different from Nesbit’s characters? Are the family scenes in Ramona that different from Van Stockum’s?

Living Books lists so often recommend Pippi Longstocking, Mary Poppins, and Peter Pan. I do not like any of those. I think Peter Pan is bizarre, Mary is mean, and Pippi is eccentric to a fault. Maybe it is just a difference of opinion.

I am no gatekeeper for what is good, true, or beautiful in children’s literature. But I have read widely and carefully. And, I do think that Cleary offers something very living for our little people. In this article, I wish to explain why I find her stories worthy of shelf space in my library.

Cleary writes children as they are. Warts and all. But, as Diane so often says about Gary D. Schmidt, she does not leave them there. The whole point of the Ramona books is that Ramona (and everyone around her) is growing up. When the series opens, Ramona is just four years old. As she says in Ramona and Her Father (several years later) – she doesn’t try to annoy everyone. Just Beezus. According to Ramona, sometimes it is fun to annoy Beezus. But, generally, she isn’t trying to annoy everyone else. She is just trying to grow up, and as she says, no matter how old she gets, she can never catch up to Beezus or Henry or anyone else bigger than she is. Ramona has a very good heart, and she is trying to figure out who she is and who she is becoming. She makes a lot of mistakes, but she does learn from them.

I think that any child will find some of Ramona’s experiences relatable and endearing. I especially think that second and later-born siblings will find her to be an ally in the never-ending struggle of playing catchup to older siblings – especially when those older siblings are “going through a trying time,” as Beezus says in Ramona and Her Father.

Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking that Ramona is the “hero” of the story. I think Cleary is not unlike Hilda van Stockum. I think the family is the hero of the story. The first book in the series is titled Beezus and Ramona because it is named for the sister pair. Later on, in Ramona and Her Father and Ramona and Her Mother, we see true-to-life stories wherein Cleary loves and celebrates every member of the family. She draws all of them realistically and shows how each interacts with the other. The ordinary family life is what is heroic. Whether it is enduring Ramona’s antics, looking past Beezus’s “trying times,” watching Ramona’s father struggle valiantly to recover from a layoff and quit smoking, or celebrating Ramona’s mother as she tries to be all of the things the family needs, the series celebrates ordinary family doing ordinary things in loving ways. And, Ramona and Beezus do grow and grow up.

While I might prefer the sweetness of Carolyn Haywood’s sweet Betsy stories, or laugh more at van Stockum’s Pegeen, I do appreciate Ramona, and am so glad to have her on my shelves. I completely respect that her stories are not the best fit for some readers. One of my own children did not need Ramona’s antics to encourage their own naughtiness. But, I am grateful for Cleary’s love of children and the stories she tells.

https://plumfieldmoms.com/plumfield-moms-reflections/in-defense-of-beverly-cleary

What terrifies you? Sickness, an empty bank account, darkness, loneliness, death? Admit it to yourself. Confess your fears to God. Trust him to hold you in the palm of his hand. “Say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust’” (Psalm 91:2).