Catherine, Called Birdy

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cushman, Karen. 1994. CATHERINE, CALLED BIRDY. New York, NY: HarperCollins. ISBN 0064405842

PLOT SUMMARY
CATHERINE, CALLED BIRDY is the story of a young girl living in 1290. Catherine keeps a journal that chronicles her daily life. She writes of the chores a lady of the house must do, what she would rather be doing, and what she thinks of her potential suitors. Through the year she discovers more about herself through conversations with others and by observing the world around her.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Set in England in 1290, this story helps students see what life was like in 1290.  Students will read about what life was like without electricity, having to go outside to use the restroom and women not having much of a say in their lives. Students will learn about who villages used to be set up.  Everyone had a place in the village and a role to fulfill.  If they didn’t do their job it wouldn’t get done.

This book is very easy to read and very entertaining. Students will enjoy reading through her diary and learning that girls have the same struggles now that they did in 1290.  They struggle with getting along with their family, making time for things they enjoy and of course boys!

In an interview at the back of the book Cushman writes that she uses history books, historical novels and the internet to do research for her books, but gives no specific sources that she used.

Students might be confused with Catherine being so vocal about her potential suitors.  In the endnotes, the author writes that most women wouldn’t have put up such a fight, they would have accepted their fate and moved on.  If students didn’t read the endnote, they might not understand that Catherine was the exception rather than the rule.

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.”

REVIEW EXCERPTS
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL 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. 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.”


CONNECTIONS (taken from the Author’s Note section)
*To learn more about life in medieval England read
-Joseph and Frances Gies’s series Life in a Medieval City, Life in a Medieval Village, Life in a Medieval Castle.
-Dorothy Hartley. 1981. LOST COUNTRY OF LIFE. Pantheon. ISBN: 0394748387.
*Other stories set in or near the Middle Ages
-Chute, Marchette. 1968. INNOCENT WAYFARING. E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc. ASIN: B001LK1NVS.-Marcuse, Katherine. 1995. THE DEVIL’S WORKSHOP. Abingdon Press. ISBN: 0687105064.