sarahfowlerwolfe's reviews
1275 reviews

Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside by Nick Offerman

3.0

The Montessori Home: Create a Space for Your Child to Thrive by Ashley Yeh

5.0

If this book had existed before my daughter was born I wouldn't have had to read 8-10 others plus follow countless Instagram and YouTube accounts to distill down to this exact information! It's a practical, flexible, basic but thorough guide to using Maria Montessori's methods at home. You're not trying to make your home into a classroom; it's your home, and your own children. There's so much love, joy, and respect for children and families here, just like in Ashley's wonderful YouTube channel. She's not telling you to buy a bunch of specific toys or materials, just explaining the principles and offering many ideas for fulfilling those goals. If you're even a little bit curious about Montessori methods for your young children (beginning from infancy) I highly recommend this book. Follow the child :)

Make, Sew and Mend: Traditional Techniques to Sustainably Maintain and Refashion Your Clothes by Bernadette Banner

5.0

All the little basics our moms didn't know how to teach us. Very useful if you're looking to extend your wardrobe and get out of the destructive and wasteful fast fashion loop. You won't even need a sewing machine!

It covers fabric, thread, and stitching before going over techniques for hemming, adding a sleeve gusset, or even POCKETS! How to sew on buttons, patch a hole, or darn a sock. Well worth the price to have a reference with simple, beautiful photographs illustrating every detail.

Career and Family: Women's Century-Long Journey Toward Equity by Claudia Goldin

5.0

Rebel Homemaker: Food, Family, Life by Drew Barrymore

2.0

Organizing for the Rest of Us: 100 Realistic Strategies to Keep Any House Under Control by Dana K. White

5.0

"Your house isn't a project, and treating your home like one does more harm than good. There's no beginning, middle, or end. *There's definitely no end.* The project mindset lends itself to putting off starting until there's 'time' to really do things right. While you wait for that ideal time, the house gets worse, which means cleaning it up will require even more effort, so you put off starting even longer. It becomes a vicious cycle."

This is a thorough and basic guide to decluttering and keeping your house manageable, including detailed and practical cleaning tips. I've discovered it's particularly good for people with ADD/ADHD or who just find themselves "messy people".

If you're a big DKW fan there isn't much new here, but it's packaged really practically, prettily, and reasonably concisely. A good addition to the bunch. And new readers if you aren't familiar with her, get on over to YouTube and enjoy her great videos!

Help Me, Information: Poems by David Kirby

5.0

I reread lines, I laughed, I got misty, I marked some to share with others, I was prompted to search for art and figures alluded to. My mind was enriched by this collection and what else can you ask for? I think it's my favorite collection of Dr. Kirby's to date. Just wonderful.

Toddlers at the Table?: Protecting Our Children from the Error of Paedocommunion by Jim West

4.0

Things I Wish I'd Known Before My Child Became a Teenager by Gary Chapman

3.0

It's good, it's just more of a resource list than a stand-alone book. Still, helpful reminders. A good place to start though it may be overly simplistic for some.

Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan

5.0

Oh my goodness. I chuckled aloud at several points, and in the end wept for the beauty of it. Patti Callahan just understands truth and beauty and goodness, how hard stories can be to explain and yet how very important they are for our souls. As Douglas Gresham says in his note, "while it may not be Narnia, there is magic here."

~

"Do you know Psalm 19?" [Lewis] asks.
I think for a breath and then another, moving myself backwards through my memory to catechism days. "The one about the heavens or the sky showing God's handiwork?"
"Yes. The cosmos reveals God's handiwork."
"So you're saying maybe stories are the same? That they reveal... God's handiwork?" I think for a better word. "Or truth? They reveal some kind of truth about the universe? That's what physics is all about."
"Yes, that is partly what I am saying. Megs, stars are made of dust and nitrogen; they are balls of gas and hydrogen. But that isn't what a star is; it's only what it is made of."

~

It was the absolute perfect book to be reading during the Hutchmoot conference, where "The Rabbit Room cultivates and curates stories, music, and art to nourish Christ-centered communities for the life of the world." It's the cozy, beautiful book you're looking to curl up with a blanket and read this fall or winter. I recommend it wholeheartedly.

{I was provided an ARC via NetGalley by Harper Muse in exchange for a review.}