Plumfield Moms

A Tale of Two Cities

Reviewed by Sara Masarik
If David Copperfield is the story of how a man makes his life because of the choices he makes with regard to friends and marriage, and A Christmas Carol is the story of how a man makes heaven or hell of his life because of the choices he makes with regard to the guardedness of his heart, A Tale of Two Cities is a story of how a man (or in this one, several people) make their souls ripe for salvation through their submission to substantial sacrifice. It seems to me that most of Dickens’s writing is a morality tale of some kind or another, and that has a certain appeal to me. This one is among my favorites because it painfully and beautifully follows the journey of souls moving out of darkness and into light. Read the full review

Tales from Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales (Adaptation)

Reviewed by Edward Garboczi
Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales are a major part of our heritage of English literature. Eleanor Farjeon has done a wonderful job in retelling these tales in modern, literary English for older children, advanced middle school to high school, in her book Tales from Chaucer. Farjeon was a published poet and writer of a number of books introducing children to great literature from the past. She also wrote the well-known modern song/hymn “Morning Has Broken,” which states that each new sunrise is a reminder from God of that first morning in the Garden of Eden. Tales from Chaucer includes serious and funny stories, just as Chaucer’s original book did. Some of you reading this review might remember that some of the original Canterbury Tales had a few bawdy humorous bits in them. Eleanor Farjeon avoids these without taking away from the amusement of the reader. Read the full review

Thank You, Mr. Falker

Reviewed by Sara Masarik
In my review of Patrica Polacco’s The Art of Miss Chew, I mentioned that Polacco has lived a very storied life. A life marked by suffering and hardship, but one also seasoned with stories and good people who cared fiercely for her. All of her life, Polacco loved stories and longed to read. But by the time she was fourteen, she was resigned to the fact that she was “dumb” and that somehow she lacked something in her brain necessary for decoding books. Reading was agony, and she just couldn’t do it. Mr. Falker, however, was not like other teachers. When her classmates snickered and teased her, he shot them down with a stern caution. Whenever he walked behind her and saw what she was drawing, he leaned in and told her how brilliant she was. Read the full review