Plumfield Moms

The Eagle of the Ninth

Reviewed by Diane Pendergraft
Rosemary Sutcliff draws a detailed picture of Roman Britain without belaboring description or being condescending in her use of authentic vocabulary. You may need to keep a dictionary handy, but you won’t miss much of the story’s intent without one. This is a story about ancient Britain under Roman rule. There is bound to be violence. However, Sutcliff manages to convey the necessary details of battles without gore. Read the full review

The Early Days of Automobiles

Reviewed by Edward Garboczi
Janeway does an excellent job of describing the development of personal, self-propelled vehicles. Modern readers will find out how their car came to be and learn to better appreciate it. Knowing where cars came from gives us a foundation with which to critique modern developments. Technological progress is not a matter of wizardry but is hard work based in sound science and engineering. Reading Janeway’s book will help young people to appreciate this point and will encourage them to join this effort by becoming a scientist or engineer and not just accept technology as a person in a primitive society accepts “magic.” At the very least, they will appreciate where automobiles came from so that they can better understand where cars are going to in the future. Read the full review

Echo

Reviewed by Sara Masarik
While I have become increasingly skeptical of the Newbery Award, I am delighted that Pam Munoz Ryan?s excellent Echo was noticed and honored. While the primary setting of this story is WWII, and the war does have an important part to play in the lives of Freiderich and Ivy Maria, the real thrust of the story is the power of music to heal others. Read the full review