by Michelle Hand for TWU Course Literature for Children and Young Adults
Cushman, Karen. 1994. CATHERINE, CALLED BIRDY. New York, NY:
Harper Collins. ISBN: 006073942
Set in 1290 in England a 14 year old struggles with medieval expectations of a young girl and her own desires for her future. Catherine, Called Birdy records these struggles in a
diary over a course of a year.
Critical Analysis
CATHERINE, CALLED BIRDY is a read that proves young female struggles span across time. Even though set in 1290, Birdy's struggles with herself and her parents are definitely relatable to today's young readers. Birdy's rebellious nature against her dad to scare off
suitors, the tricks she plays on her nurse to get out of embroidery, and her
complex relationship with her mother will make you laugh, cry and get angry
several times before reaching the end of the book. Cushman's description of
Birdy's father's physical appearance and his rotten tooth is vivid and invokes
sympathy pains. Birdy finds companionship with a local farm boy, a girl close to
her age who has a similar personality and the servants because she wants to be a
villager and has not accepted her lot in life.
Throughout the book Birdy struggles with what her father wants for her to do and his attempts to betroth her to someone who will add wealth to his estate. Birdy is pulled between her devotion to family and community and what she thinks she is created to do.
Young readers will appreciate modern times and modern medicine when reading Cushman's description of the countryside, the food, the villagers, the family members, and the servants. But in the end, when it comes down to human nature, people really haven't changed much. The easy to read diary format is just one way Cushman shows how teenagers thought processes and heart and mind struggles are the same then as they are now.
Review Excerpt(s)
"Her diary of the year 1290 is a revealing, amusing, and sometimes horrifying view both of Catherine's thoughts and life in the Middle Ages...The vivid picture of medieval life presents a seemingly eyewitness view of a culture remote form contemporary beliefs. Fascinating and thought provoking." - The Horn Book
"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 extraordinary." - The Kirkus Review
"Birdy reveals fascinating facts about her time period. A feminist far ahead of her time, she is both believable and lovable... Superb historical fiction. - School Library Journal
Newbery Honor 1995
Golden Kite Award in 1995
Connections
Make a list of words you would use to describe Birdy and then find evidence in her journal to support each choice of word.
Birds play an important part in this book and are used as a symbol throughout. Find as many allusions to them as possible and see if you can decide why and how Karen Cushman used them.
Jews are being expelled from England in this story. Did that really happen in 1290? Find out why. What others countries expelled Jews? How recently?
Birdy's brother has been on a Crusade. Find out more about the Crusades? Which one would George have been part of and what did they accomplish? Was George right in his opinion of them after his return?
Connections from “Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site,” Carol Otis Hurst and Rebecca Otis, accessed April 4, 2013, http://www.carolhurst.com/titles/catherinecalledbirdy.html.
Other historical fiction about the medieval time period and/or written by Karen Cushman for young adults.
Hartley, Dorothy. LOST COUNTRY LIFE. ISBN:9780394748382
Quennell, C.H.B. A HISTORY OF EVERYDAY THINGS IN ENGLAND, 1066-1799. ISBN: 9780399200601
Cushman, Karen. THE MIDWIFE'S APPRENTICE. ISBN: 9780064406307
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