Plumfield Moms

Gabriel and the Hour Book

Reviewed by Diane Pendergraft
Gabriel and the Hour Book is a lovely addition to my collection of books (mainly picture books) about the art of illumination. Gabriel is a young peasant boy living in Normandy in the late 1400s, the time of Louis XII. He lives near St. Martin’s Abbey, and works as an assistant to the monks there who copy and illuminate books. Gabriel grinds and mixes colors for them, prepares parchments, makes ink, and eagerly learns any other tasks that will help the brothers. Read the full review

Galewood Crossing

Reviewed by Sara Masarik
We meet the Galewood family as they are packing wagons to leave their home in Ohio for better opportunities in the largely unsettled wilderness of Wisconsin. The road to their new home shrinks to a rough trail that is increasingly hard to follow, and there is plenty of hardship on the way, but this is only the beginning. We need to know how difficult it was for them to get to their new home, but what matters more is how they live and become part of their new community. Read the full review

Galileo and Experimental Science

Reviewed by Sara Masarik
These books are of varying lengths based on how much is known about the lives of the subject. Whatever the length, I sped through each one as though it were a suspense novel. How will this one manage to carry on his work in the midst of civil war? How can that one earn the respect of the scientific community so his work can be published for the world? What will be the exciting sequence of events that will lead to the ultimate breakthrough? Will he live long enough to find the answer he has searched for all his life? The science in these books is written in language any curious reader will be able to understand. The authors don’t condescend, but the writing is not above a confident reader, perhaps ten and above. They would also be interesting enough for reading aloud so they can be shared with the entire family, whatever their ages. Read the full review