Plumfield and Paideia

The Father Christmas Letters

Reviewed by Sara Masarik
Published posthumously by Christopher Tolkien, J.R.R. Tolkien never really meant these for public consumption. Written annually to his children in the guise of Father Christmas or Polar Bear, Tolkien regaled his children with tales from the North Pole and the challenges that old Father Christmas had in keeping his not so helpful polar bear in line... Read the full review

The Fiddler's Gun

Reviewed by Sara Masarik
The Fiddler’s Gun is an exhilarating story that takes the reader on a sweeping hero adventure at sea. What makes the adventure so fantastic, however, is that we are rooting for a Dickensian orphan girl who has just killed British soldiers and is running away to sea leaving behind the only thing she loves... Read the full review

The Fields of Home

Reviewed by Sara Masarik
Fields of Home is a mixture of tenderness, toughness, innocence, and deepening maturity. It is a wonderful demonstration of character and family loyalty, but it also has some coming of age challenges. I recommend this book to teens and their parents. Specifically, I think that this would make a fantastic parent-child book club or teen book club book. While there is nothing overtly immoral in this story, it would be a heavy book for a younger audience. I have asked my Ralph Moody loving nine year old to wait to read it. Read the full review