Catherine called Birdy by Karen Cushman

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cushman, K. (1994). Catherine called Birdy. New York: Clarion. ISBN 9780786232123
2. PLOT SUMMARY
In 1290 medieval England, you get drawn into the drama that surrounds 13-year old Catherine’s plight not to be married off like a piece of property. Written in the style of a diary, Catherine carefully plots everyday how she can avoid marriage. Many of her suitors leave her father’s home in a state of shock by the antics she plays on them. She starts each entry with a description of a saint and why that person became a saint and her life resembles part of the past. Catherine does everything possible to get away from the “womanly” duties like sewing and hemming imposed on wealthy girls during that period in England. The reader comes away with a sense of the time in England and many good laughs. Catherine’s father does everything possible to get his daughter to understand why she must marry a wealthy older man who Catherine calls Shaggy Beard. She dreads the day she is to be married and actually runs away when his escorts come calling. Needless to say she does marry later on but not Shaggy Beard. Find out who she marries by reading this humorous award winning novel.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Karen Cushman writes a wonderful witty historical fiction novel that depicts the life a young daughter trying to be married off by her English knight of a father. The novel has many authentic historical facts blended in with the text to help the reader become familiar with things that happened in the past. Catherine longs for adventure and to be anything but a wife. Tween and teenage readers can easily identify with the restrictions placed on Catherine by her parents for her misbehavior. The emotional journey Catherine travels is often funny and you can actually see her overdramatic tantrums being played out with similar situations with todays young. The author’s notes at the end give examples of actual occurrences that occurred during this period. While reading this novel you find many facts of history that are not mentioned in most books. The floors of the dining halls lined with reeds, the body lice and fleas that attack people and crowded unsanitary conditions are just a few of the details that are interwoven in the book. Cushman does a great job researching historical facts for her novels and weaving them in a fictional story. She makes history come alive for all who read her novels.
Interest level 6-8
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Jacqueline C. Rose (KLIATT Review, September 1995 (Vol. 29, No. 5))
Readers will learn much about the historical time period. Realistic, interesting, and sometimes utterly disgusting details of dress, eating habits, sanitation (or lack thereof), social justice, religious beliefs, celebrations, treatment of disease, etc., are plentiful throughout.
Susie Wilde (Children's Literature)
Cushman brings the Middle Ages alive with a revealing, humorous and riveting story of a young girl who devises clever schemes to escape marrying all the repulsive men her father would give her to.
Awards, Honors, Prizes:
John Newbery Medal, 1995 Honor Book United States
Reading Magic Awards, 1994 Winner United States
Golden Kite Award, 1995 Award Book Fiction United States
Lone Star Reading List, 1996-1997 ; Texas
ALA Best Book for YAs

5. CONNECTIONS
• Have students write a letter from the perspective of an English Knight to a possible suitor to marry his daughter (what traits could he list? What traits would Catherine’s father be able to list)
• Create a recipe or potion to discourage a suitor. What ingredients are needed and what would it do?
• Create a list of talents that a wealthy daughter needs to posses in order to be married back in the medieval England. Compare the list to now.
• Create a list of the skills a man would need to posses in order to win the heart of a lady or gain the father’s wealth.
• What medical advances do we have now that weren’t available back then?
• After reading the story adlib and role play each of the character retelling their side of the story.
• Read other books by Karen Cushman and compare and contrast them to Catherine Called Birdy –
Matilda Bone (2001) ISBN 9780786232123
Alchemy and Meggy Swann (2010) ISBN 9780547231846
Rodzina (2003) ISBN 9780807215760
The Ballad Of Lucy Whipple (1996) ISBN 9780395728062
The midwife's apprentice (1991) ISBN 9780395692295
The loud silence of Francine Green (2006) ISBN 9780618504558.