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Catherine, Called Birdy (rpkg) |  |
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Catherine, Called Birdy (rpkg) | |
Catherine feels trapped. Her father is determined to marry her off to a rich man--any rich man, no matter how awful.
But by wit, trickery, and luck, Catherine manages to send several would-be husbands packing. Then a shaggy-bearded suitor from the north comes to call--by far the oldest, ugliest, most revolting suitor of them all.
Unfortunately, he is also the richest.
Can a sharp-tongued, high-spirited, clever young maiden with a mind of her own actually lose the battle against an ill-mannered, piglike lord and an unimaginative, greedy toad of a father?
Deus! Not if Catherine has anything to say about it!
1995 Newbery Honor Book
Notable Children's Books of 1995 (ALA)
1995 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA)
1995 Recommended Books for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (ALA)
1995 Teachers' Choices (IRA)
1995 IRA Distinguished Book Award for Fiction
1995 Fanfare Honor List (The Horn Book)
1994 Golden Kite Award for Fiction (SCBWI)
1995 Notable Trade Books in the Language Arts (NCTE)
1995 Notable Trade Book in the Language Arts (NCTE)
1994 Golden Kite Award for Fiction (SCBWI)
1994 "Pick of the Lists" (ALA)
Outstanding Books of 1994 for Middle School-Aged Teens (V)
作者简介 Karen Cushman has a long-standing interest in history. She says, "I grew tired of hearing about kings, princes, generals and presidents. I wanted to know what life was like for ordinary young people in other times." Research into medieval English history and culture led to the writing of Catherine Called Birdy,winner of the 1995 Newbery Honor Award, and The Midwife's Apprentice, winner of the 1996 Newbery Medal. Her research moved in a new diredtion as she learned about nineteenth century women and children for The Ballad of Lucy Whipple.
Ms. Cushman was born in Chicago, Illinois. She received an M.A. in Human Behavior and one in Museum Studies. She and her husband and daughter share their Oakland, California, home with two cats, a dog and a rabbit.
编辑推荐 From Publishers Weekly
A Newbery Honor Book, this witty and wise fictive diary of a 13th-century English girl, according to PW, "introduces an admirable heroine and pungently evokes a largely unfamiliar setting." Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 6-9-This unusual book provides an insider's look at the life of Birdy, 14, the daughter of a minor English nobleman. The year is 1290 and the vehicle for storytelling is the girl's witty, irreverent diary. She looks with a clear and critical eye upon the world around her, telling of the people she knows and of the daily events in her small manor house. Much of Birdy's energy is consumed by avoiding the various suitors her father chooses for her to marry. She sends them all packing with assorted ruses until she is almost wed to an older, unattractive man she refers to as Shaggy Beard. In the process of telling the routines of her young life, Birdy lays before readers a feast of details about medieval England. The book is rich with information about the food, dress, religious beliefs, manners, health, medical practices, and sanitary habits (or lack thereof) of the people of her day. From the number of fleas she kills in an evening to her herbal medicines laced with urine, Birdy reveals fascinating facts about her time period. A feminist far ahead of her time, she is both believable and lovable. A somewhat philosophical afterword discusses the mind set of medieval people and concludes with a list of books to consult for further information about the period. Superb historical fiction.
Bruce Anne Shook, Mendenhall Middle School, Greensboro, NC
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
Gr. 6-9. Like the recent The Ramsey Scallop , this is a story of life in the last decade of the twelfth century as seen through the eyes of a young teenage girl. Here the heroine is feisty Birdy, who's been instructed by her older brother to keep a diary so that she may grow less childish. Birdy, the daughter of a minor lord and lady in Lincolnshire, reluctantly agrees, but initially she has nothing more interesting to report than how many fleas she has picked off herself. As the months roll on, however, life becomes more stimulating as Birdy's father tries to marry her off to a variety of suitors. The diary format helps portray the tedium of life in the Middle Ages, the never-ending sewing, cooking, and other chores; the dirt and the illness; and, worse, the lowly role of women in medieval life. But this diary style also inhibits the ability of the characters to come alive. Birdy's is the only real voice. Fortunately, it's a sprightly voice, complete with its own brand of cursing ("God's thumbs!"), that moves the action. Kids can read this on their own or as a supplement to studies of the Middle Ages. Ilene Cooper --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Kirkus Reviews
Unwillingly keeping a journal at the behest of her brother, a monk, Birdy (daughter of a 13th-century knight) makes a terse first entry--``I am bit by fleas and plagued by family. That is all there is to say''--but is soon confiding her pranks and troubles in fascinating detail. Her marriage must suit her drunken father's financial needs, and though the 14-year-old scares off several suitors (she pretends to be mad, sets fire to the privy one is using, etc.), in the end she's ``betrothed and betrayed.'' Meanwhile, she observes Edward I's England with keen curiosity and an open mind, paints a mural in her chamber, evades womanly tasks whenever possible, reports that--ladylike or no-- ``I always have strong feelings and they are quite painful until I let them out,'' and chooses her own special profanity, ``God's thumbs.'' At year's end she makes peace with her family and acquires, beyond hope, a possibly compatible betrothed (they have yet to meet). Birdy's frequent saint's day entries begin with pithy summaries of the saints' claims to fame; their dire deaths have a uniquely medieval tang, as do such oddities as St. Bridget turning bathwater into beer. Much else here is casually earthy- -offstage bedding among villagers, home remedies, pissing out a fire--while death is commonplace. The period has rarely been presented for young people with such authenticity; the exotic details will intrigue readers while they relate more closely to Birdy's yen for independence and her sensibilities toward the downtrodden. Her tenacity and ebullient na‹vet‚ are extraordinary; at once comic and thought-provoking, this first novel is a delight. Historical note. (Fiction. 12+) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
"The period has rarely been presented for young people with such
authenticity; the exotic details will intrigue readers while they
relate more closely to Birdy"s yen for independence and her
sensibilities toward the downtrodden. Her tenacity and ebullient
naiveté are extraordinary; at once comic and thought-provoking, this
first novel is a delight." -- Review --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
"This unusual book provides an insider's look at the life of Birdy, 14, the daughter of a minor English nobleman. The year is 1290 and the vehicle for storytelling is the girl's witty, irreverent diary. . . . Superb historical fiction." (School Library Journal Starred )
"The period has rarely been presented for young people with such authenticity; the exotic details will intrigue readers while they relate more closely to Birdy's yen for independence and her sensibilities toward the downtrodden. Her tenacity and ebullient naivet are extraordinary; at once comic and thought-provoking, this first novel is a delight." (Kirkus Reviews with Pointers ) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
