BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hiaasen, Carl. 2002. HOOT. New York: Random House Children's Books. ISBN 0-375-92181-8.
PLOT SUMMARY
Middle-schooler Roy Eberhardt has moved recently with his parents to Coconut Cove, Florida. Roy soon becomes the target of a much larger boy who bullies him at school and on the bus. One day Roy sees a barefoot boy running down the street and is determined to learn the boy's story. He discovers that the boy, whose stepsister attends Roy's school, is waging a one-man campaign against the construction of Mother Paula's All-American Pancake House on the site of a burrowing owl nesting area. Roy, with the help of his parents, classmates, other adults, and the barefoot boy, succeeds in halting the construction of the restaurant by revealing the presence of the burrowing owls, a protected species.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Carl Hiaasen's award-winning first effort at young adult fiction is populated with characters that exhibit typical middle-schooler behavior. There are bullies and victims, nerds and jocks, popular kids and the socially inept. The students' lives revolve around school work, sports, and friendships. The adults include parents, some caring and others neglectful , teachers, greedy corporate officials, and small town police officers. Roy Eberhardt, a recent transplant from Montana, is lonely and homesick for the mountains and open spaces he left behind. He loves and respects his parents and vows never to cause them any heartache. Intriguing events associated with the future construction site of a pancake house create tension and moments of hilarity for Roy, his new friend, Beatrice, and the "Public Safety Department" of Coconut Cove. Hiaasen establishes a contemporary setting for Hoot through references to ESPN and basketball teams like the Miami Heat.
The themes of loyalty, courage, friendship, and compassion for others are played out in this story of children banding together to protect a colony of burrowing owls. The subplot about Beatrice's dysfunctional family in contrast to Roy's loving relationship with his parents adds depth to the story and fleshes out these characters. Beatrice's stepbrother, Napolean, is a homeless runaway who wages a war of civil disobedience to stop the construction of a pancake house on the owls' nesting site. He is joined eventually by Roy, Beatrice, and other students from their school in a public protest that draws attention to the plight of the owls and shows that anyone, even kids can make a difference. Young readers will see themselves in one or more of the characters in Hoot and cheer the triumph of the owls over corporate greed.
AWARDS
ABC Children's Booksellers Choices Awards - 2003
Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Book Awards - 2003
Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award - 2004
Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award - 2005
REVIEW EXCERPTS
Books in Canada: "Hiaasen delivers a powerful message in a wonderfully engaging fiction that is sure to get young readers thinking about what they can do too."
Booklist: "...the story is full of offbeat humor, buffoonish yet charming supporting characters, and genuinely touching scenes of children enjoying the wildness of nature."
CONNECTIONS
>Explore the environmental impact of a construction project in your area. What animals, plants, and water sources are effected?
>Learn more about the fate of the burrowing owls of southern Florida.
(See http://www.ecofloridamag.com/archived/burrowing_owls.htm )
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Artemis Fowl
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Colfer, Eoin. 2001. ARTEMIS FOWL. New York: Miramax Books. ISBN 0-7868-0801-2.
PLOT SUMMARY
Artemis Fowl, twelve-year-old child prodigy and genius, uses his vast financial resources and keen intellect to gain access to a book that contains the secrets of "The People" - fairies, leprechauns, and trolls. He uses this knowledge to kidnap a fairy for ransom. The underground forces of the fairy community launch an attack on the Fowl family estate to rescue their comrade. They are outwitted and defeated by the clever Artemis and retreat to their realm deep within the Earth where they vow vengeance and retribution.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This engaging fantasy tale features two main characters, Artemis Fowl, a child with a soft spot for his mentally ill mother, and Holly Short, a female officer in the squad of LEPrecon, "an elite branch of the Lower Elements Police". Eoin Colfer fashions a story of intrigue, cunning, and courage that is populated by humans, the "Mud People", and fairies, "The People". These characters, human and fairy, display feelings and behaviors with which young readers will be able to identify. In his father's absence, Artemis assumes the responsibility for the welfare of his family, particularly his depressed mother. He wants to restore the family's wealth, but more than anything else he longs to restore his mother to mental health. He aches for the mother that no longer exists.
Galaxy British Book Awards - 2002
Massachusetts Children's Book Award - 2003
Young Reader's Choice Award - 2004
Garden State Teen Book Award - 2004
REVIEW EXCERPTS
School Library Journal: "Colfer's anti-hero, techno fantasy is cleverly written and filled to the brim with action, suspense, and humor."
Library Journal: "Fun to read, full of action and humor, this is recommended for all public libraries and to readers of all ages."
CONNECTIONS
>Read the other books in the Artemis Fowl series.
>Visit Eoin Colfer's website at http://www.eoincolfer.com to learn more about the author and play the Artemis Fowl Inner Circle Game.
Colfer, Eoin. 2001. ARTEMIS FOWL. New York: Miramax Books. ISBN 0-7868-0801-2.
PLOT SUMMARY
Artemis Fowl, twelve-year-old child prodigy and genius, uses his vast financial resources and keen intellect to gain access to a book that contains the secrets of "The People" - fairies, leprechauns, and trolls. He uses this knowledge to kidnap a fairy for ransom. The underground forces of the fairy community launch an attack on the Fowl family estate to rescue their comrade. They are outwitted and defeated by the clever Artemis and retreat to their realm deep within the Earth where they vow vengeance and retribution.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This engaging fantasy tale features two main characters, Artemis Fowl, a child with a soft spot for his mentally ill mother, and Holly Short, a female officer in the squad of LEPrecon, "an elite branch of the Lower Elements Police". Eoin Colfer fashions a story of intrigue, cunning, and courage that is populated by humans, the "Mud People", and fairies, "The People". These characters, human and fairy, display feelings and behaviors with which young readers will be able to identify. In his father's absence, Artemis assumes the responsibility for the welfare of his family, particularly his depressed mother. He wants to restore the family's wealth, but more than anything else he longs to restore his mother to mental health. He aches for the mother that no longer exists.
Eoin Colfer has created a world that incorporates familiar objects like computers, cars, and guns with detachable, gas-powered fairy wings and titanium travel pods propelled by thermal blasts from the Earth's core. The elements of fantasy and reality are interwoven into a believable world where the themes of loyalty, love, friendship, duty, courage, and sacrifice are played out. He touches on the issues of conservation and pollution by describing the contempt of the fairies for the "Mud People" and their abuse of the Earth. For example: the solution for the disposal of human waste in the form of indoor toilets, "...taking the fertile out of fertilizer,..." is especially disgusting to the fairies who prefer to return minerals directly back to the soil. The proclivities and distinct language of the two opposing factions help to define their respective worlds. The universality of the emotions of the fairies and humans exemplifies the commonalities between the two disparate groups and shows that beings who look very different can still be very much alike.
AWARDSGalaxy British Book Awards - 2002
Massachusetts Children's Book Award - 2003
Young Reader's Choice Award - 2004
Garden State Teen Book Award - 2004
REVIEW EXCERPTS
School Library Journal: "Colfer's anti-hero, techno fantasy is cleverly written and filled to the brim with action, suspense, and humor."
Library Journal: "Fun to read, full of action and humor, this is recommended for all public libraries and to readers of all ages."
CONNECTIONS
>Read the other books in the Artemis Fowl series.
>Visit Eoin Colfer's website at http://www.eoincolfer.com to learn more about the author and play the Artemis Fowl Inner Circle Game.
Looking for Alaska
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Green, John. 2005. LOOKING FOR ALASKA. New York: Dutton Books. ISBN 0-525-47506-0.
PLOT SUMMARY
Miles Halter, a sixteen-year-old only child, leaves behind his routine, lonely life in Florida to attend a boarding school in Birmingham, Alabama. He is drawn quickly into a circle of outsiders who delight in bucking the school system and playing pranks on the popular, rich kids. Miles develops a crush on the beautiful, brilliant, and troubled Alaska Young. One stormy night, Alaska leaves the campus abruptly and is killed in an automobile accident. Miles and his friends struggle with the possibility that Alaska committed suicide and contemplate their roles in this scenario. In time, they come to accept that they will never know the truth about Alaska's death and move on with their lives.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
John Green, in his first novel, creates memorable, believable characters who achieve tremendous emotional growth through their experiences at boarding school. Miles Halter's lonely, friendless existence is portrayed vividly in the first pages of Looking for Alaska. Only two classmates attend the going-away party that his parents insist on before his departure to the Culver Creek Preparatory School in Birmingham, Alabama. His roommate, the "Colonel", is a brilliant, scholarship student who smokes, drinks, and plans elaborate school pranks. The third main character, Alaska Young, is a bit of a mystery. She is a bookworm and according to Miles, "the hottest girl in all of human history." These three high school juniors engage in activities and use language that will be familiar to young adult readers. Green describes the boarding school grounds with wonderful details that bring the setting to life. The students have computers and drive their own cars, thus establishing a contemporary time setting. The school is coed which allows for the development of male and female characters and their relationships.
REVIEW EXCERPTS
Voice of Youth Advocates: "The anticipated favorable comparisons to Holden Caufield are richly deserved in this highly recommended addition to young adult literature."
Publishers Weekly (starred review): "...the novel's chief appeal lies in Miles' well-articulated lust and his initial excitement about being on his own for the first time."
CONNECTIONS
>Introduce this book in a young adult book club setting. Make a list of the main themes and discuss them.
>Read about John Green at http://www.sparksflyup.com/bio.php.
Green, John. 2005. LOOKING FOR ALASKA. New York: Dutton Books. ISBN 0-525-47506-0.
PLOT SUMMARY
Miles Halter, a sixteen-year-old only child, leaves behind his routine, lonely life in Florida to attend a boarding school in Birmingham, Alabama. He is drawn quickly into a circle of outsiders who delight in bucking the school system and playing pranks on the popular, rich kids. Miles develops a crush on the beautiful, brilliant, and troubled Alaska Young. One stormy night, Alaska leaves the campus abruptly and is killed in an automobile accident. Miles and his friends struggle with the possibility that Alaska committed suicide and contemplate their roles in this scenario. In time, they come to accept that they will never know the truth about Alaska's death and move on with their lives.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
John Green, in his first novel, creates memorable, believable characters who achieve tremendous emotional growth through their experiences at boarding school. Miles Halter's lonely, friendless existence is portrayed vividly in the first pages of Looking for Alaska. Only two classmates attend the going-away party that his parents insist on before his departure to the Culver Creek Preparatory School in Birmingham, Alabama. His roommate, the "Colonel", is a brilliant, scholarship student who smokes, drinks, and plans elaborate school pranks. The third main character, Alaska Young, is a bit of a mystery. She is a bookworm and according to Miles, "the hottest girl in all of human history." These three high school juniors engage in activities and use language that will be familiar to young adult readers. Green describes the boarding school grounds with wonderful details that bring the setting to life. The students have computers and drive their own cars, thus establishing a contemporary time setting. The school is coed which allows for the development of male and female characters and their relationships.
The narrator of the story is sixteen-year-old Miles. The author grabs the reader's attention and sets the stage for a pivotal event by labeling the chapters X number of days "before" and X number of days "after". The countdown to the event provides tension and suspense to the plot. Green explores the themes of alienation, loneliness, alcohol, sex, friendship, loyalty, guilt, and self-discovery through the natural unfolding of the story without preaching or judgment. Young adult and adult readers will find the story of Miles and his friends captivating and thought-provoking
AWARDS
School Library Journal Best Books of the Year - 2005
Michael L. Printz Award - 2006
Bluegrass Award - 2006REVIEW EXCERPTS
Voice of Youth Advocates: "The anticipated favorable comparisons to Holden Caufield are richly deserved in this highly recommended addition to young adult literature."
Publishers Weekly (starred review): "...the novel's chief appeal lies in Miles' well-articulated lust and his initial excitement about being on his own for the first time."
CONNECTIONS
>Introduce this book in a young adult book club setting. Make a list of the main themes and discuss them.
>Read about John Green at http://www.sparksflyup.com/bio.php.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
The Land
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Taylor, Mildred D. 2001. THE LAND. New York: Phyllis Fogelman Books. ISBN 0-8037-1950-7.
PLOT SUMMARY
Paul Logan enjoys an almost idyllic childhood on a large farm in Georgia in the late 1860s. His mother is an African-Indian former slave, and his father is the white landowner. Paul and his sister, Cassie, are educated and treated in the same manner as their white half-siblings. An unfortunate incident brings into focus the fact that he is the illegitimate mixed-race child of a relationship that is condoned but never acknowledged in polite post-Civil War society. Paul's mother dies when he is fourteen, and a disagreement with his father causes him to run away with Mitchell, the African-American son of one of his father's sharecroppers. The teens come of age as they work together in logging camps around the South. Paul loves his father's land and longs to own land himself someday. He works hard for many years as a logger and furniture-maker to save enough money to buy his own farm. Along the way he and Mitchell fall in love with the same girl, Caroline. Mitchell and Caroline are wed for only a short time when he is shot and fatally injured. Paul and Caroline marry eventually and with the help of his estranged white brother, Robert, he realizes his dream of owning his own land in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Mildred D. Taylor draws on her own family history to tell an honest, authentic story about the lives of African-Americans in the South after the Civil War. The social mores, prejudices, and racial double-standard of the era are portrayed faithfully in the story of Edward Logan's mixed-race son, Paul-Edward. The scenes of life on the Logan farm, including family dinners, horse racing, hunting, and fishing, evoke a sense of peace and harmony following the turmoil of the Civil War. Taylor does not, however, sugar-coat the realities of life for Paul-Edward as he grows to young adulthood in a world where he fits in with neither the white nor the African-American communities. She describes in painful detail the humiliation and confusion that Paul feels when he is stripped and beaten by his father in front of others for striking three white boys. Children will be able to identify with Paul's anger and pain at being treated so unfairly. Taylor uses just enough detail to paint an accurate picture of the South in the 1860s. The modes of transportation (trains, horses, and carriages), style of dress (breeches for men, long skirts for women), and language (including the acceptability of racial slurs) are accurate historically to the time period.
Coretta Scott King Awards - 2002
ALA Notable Books for Children - 2002
Los Angeles Times Book Prizes - 2001
PEN Center USA West Literary Award - 2002
Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Award - 2002
ABC Children's Booksellers Choices Awards - 2002
>Read Taylor's Newbery Medal Winner, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, which is the story of nine-year-old Cassie Logan.
>Learn more about Mildred D. Taylor on the website for the University of Mississippi at www.olemiss.edu/mwp/dir/taylor_mildred/#Internet.
Taylor, Mildred D. 2001. THE LAND. New York: Phyllis Fogelman Books. ISBN 0-8037-1950-7.
PLOT SUMMARY
Paul Logan enjoys an almost idyllic childhood on a large farm in Georgia in the late 1860s. His mother is an African-Indian former slave, and his father is the white landowner. Paul and his sister, Cassie, are educated and treated in the same manner as their white half-siblings. An unfortunate incident brings into focus the fact that he is the illegitimate mixed-race child of a relationship that is condoned but never acknowledged in polite post-Civil War society. Paul's mother dies when he is fourteen, and a disagreement with his father causes him to run away with Mitchell, the African-American son of one of his father's sharecroppers. The teens come of age as they work together in logging camps around the South. Paul loves his father's land and longs to own land himself someday. He works hard for many years as a logger and furniture-maker to save enough money to buy his own farm. Along the way he and Mitchell fall in love with the same girl, Caroline. Mitchell and Caroline are wed for only a short time when he is shot and fatally injured. Paul and Caroline marry eventually and with the help of his estranged white brother, Robert, he realizes his dream of owning his own land in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Mildred D. Taylor draws on her own family history to tell an honest, authentic story about the lives of African-Americans in the South after the Civil War. The social mores, prejudices, and racial double-standard of the era are portrayed faithfully in the story of Edward Logan's mixed-race son, Paul-Edward. The scenes of life on the Logan farm, including family dinners, horse racing, hunting, and fishing, evoke a sense of peace and harmony following the turmoil of the Civil War. Taylor does not, however, sugar-coat the realities of life for Paul-Edward as he grows to young adulthood in a world where he fits in with neither the white nor the African-American communities. She describes in painful detail the humiliation and confusion that Paul feels when he is stripped and beaten by his father in front of others for striking three white boys. Children will be able to identify with Paul's anger and pain at being treated so unfairly. Taylor uses just enough detail to paint an accurate picture of the South in the 1860s. The modes of transportation (trains, horses, and carriages), style of dress (breeches for men, long skirts for women), and language (including the acceptability of racial slurs) are accurate historically to the time period.
The characters in The Land are well-developed and speak and act in a manner befitting the time period. The family relationships and friendships are timeless in quality. There are universal themes of love, trust, betrayal, injustice, joy, and triumph woven throughout the story of Paul-Edward Logan's life. Taylor includes information about her sources of information and comments about life for African-Americans before the Civil Rights Movement in a "Note to the Reader" at the beginning of the book and an "Author's Note" at the end. Her personal connection to the characters in The Land, and her faithful, authentic rendering of their story lends authority and depth to this tale of perseverance and love.
AWARDSCoretta Scott King Awards - 2002
ALA Notable Books for Children - 2002
Los Angeles Times Book Prizes - 2001
PEN Center USA West Literary Award - 2002
Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Award - 2002
ABC Children's Booksellers Choices Awards - 2002
REVIEW EXCERPTS
Voice of Youth Advocates: "Taylor uses stories from her own family's past to create a fascinating and honest look at life's struggles and joys for many African American families after the Civil War."
Booklist: "Like Taylor's Newbery Medal book, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (1976), this powerful historical novel, a prequel to Roll of Thunder, refuses to 'whitewash' history."
CONNECTIONS>Read Taylor's Newbery Medal Winner, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, which is the story of nine-year-old Cassie Logan.
>Learn more about Mildred D. Taylor on the website for the University of Mississippi at www.olemiss.edu/mwp/dir/taylor_mildred/#Internet.
Number the Stars
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lowry, Lois. 2004. NUMBER THE STARS. New York: Listening Library. ISBN 1-4000-8555-1.
PLOT SUMMARY
Annemarie Johansen lives in Nazi-occupied Copenhagen in 1943 with her parents and younger sister, Kirsti. Her best friend is her upstairs neighbor, Ellen Rosen. Ellen and her parents are Jews and when the threat of "relocation" by the German armed forces becomes too great, they decide to flee. Annemarie's family works with the Danish Resistance to get the Rosens and other Jewish people out of Denmark. When the time of departure arrives, Annemarie discovers that an important packet has been left behind. She courageously braves the darkness of the forest and the ever-present German soldiers and their dogs to deliver the packet to her uncle. The Rosens escape across the water to safety in Sweden in Uncle Henrik's fishing boat.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Lois Lowry's amazing story of courage and sacrifice is brought to life vividly in this audiobook version of Number the Stars. Blair Brown narrates the story with a variety of voice timbres and inflections which capture the essence of each character. She distinguishes clearly between characters of different genders, ages, and nationalities. From the sweet, child-like voice of little sister, Kirsti, to the harsh, male voices of the German soldiers, Brown's interpretations are accurate and precise.
CONNECTIONS
>Invite a Holocaust survivor to speak to the class or group about their personal observations and experiences during WWII.
>Read more about the Danish Resistance to the Nazi occupation in the mid-1940s.
Lowry, Lois. 2004. NUMBER THE STARS. New York: Listening Library. ISBN 1-4000-8555-1.
PLOT SUMMARY
Annemarie Johansen lives in Nazi-occupied Copenhagen in 1943 with her parents and younger sister, Kirsti. Her best friend is her upstairs neighbor, Ellen Rosen. Ellen and her parents are Jews and when the threat of "relocation" by the German armed forces becomes too great, they decide to flee. Annemarie's family works with the Danish Resistance to get the Rosens and other Jewish people out of Denmark. When the time of departure arrives, Annemarie discovers that an important packet has been left behind. She courageously braves the darkness of the forest and the ever-present German soldiers and their dogs to deliver the packet to her uncle. The Rosens escape across the water to safety in Sweden in Uncle Henrik's fishing boat.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Lois Lowry's amazing story of courage and sacrifice is brought to life vividly in this audiobook version of Number the Stars. Blair Brown narrates the story with a variety of voice timbres and inflections which capture the essence of each character. She distinguishes clearly between characters of different genders, ages, and nationalities. From the sweet, child-like voice of little sister, Kirsti, to the harsh, male voices of the German soldiers, Brown's interpretations are accurate and precise.
The author paints a clear picture of Nazi-occupied Denmark in 1943. She uses language of the time period as well as references to real, historical events, like the destruction of the Danish naval fleet by the Danes themselves, to establish the setting of the story. Lowry's characters are well-drawn, fleshed-out human beings, and readers will identify with the universal feelings of love, patriotism, pride, sacrifice, hope, fear, loss, and triumph. The story's ten-year-old heroine, Annemarie, is particularly compelling. The audiobook closes with the "Author's Notes" that make mention of Lowry's friendship with a woman whose personal experiences during WWII were the inspiration for the book. She also includes an excerpt from a letter that a young man with the Danish Resistance wrote to his family before his capture and execution. Lois Lowry's touching, timeless story of friendship and courage comes to life in this audiobook narrated with great sensitivity by Blair Brown.
REVIEW EXCERPTS
Kirkus Reviews: "A deftly told story that dramatizes how Danes appointed themselves bodyguards--not only for their king, who was in the habit of riding alone in Copenhagen, but for their Jews."
School Library Journal: "Blair Brown gently narrates this Newbery award-winning novel, which will slowly draw listeners into Danish life 60 years ago."CONNECTIONS
>Invite a Holocaust survivor to speak to the class or group about their personal observations and experiences during WWII.
>Read more about the Danish Resistance to the Nazi occupation in the mid-1940s.
The Midwife's Apprentice
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cushman, Karen. 1995. THE MIDWIFE'S APPRENTICE. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 0-395-69229-6.
PLOT SUMMARY
Brat is a young girl who is roused from her sleep in a dung heap by the village midwife. Jane the Midwife takes in the homeless waif and calls her Beetle. Beetle serves as Jane's apprentice and virtual slave. She watches Jane carefully and in time learns a little about midwifery. Along the way she gains some self-respect and gives herself a new name, Alyce. After unsuccessfully trying to deliver a breech baby by herself, she sends for the Midwife who saves the baby and mother. Alyce leaves the village in disgrace and finds employment at an inn in the next village. One night a merchant and his wife stop at the inn. The woman goes into labor and Alyce delivers the baby successfully. Her confidence is restored, and she returns to the Midwife's village.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Cushman has written a character-driven story about a homeless young girl who gains self-respect and learns valuable life lessons. Brat ekes out a survival existence in Medieval England. She is so cold that she seeks refuge in a dung heap because, "...the rotting and moiling give forth heat." The author vividly describes the dirty, earthy environment of the village with piles of dung and rotting food scraps in the dirt roadways. The villagers engage in work activities that are typical of the time such as milling, midwifery, and farming. Other characters representative of the period include the Lord and Lady of the Manor, a bailiff, a cowherd, and an innkeeper. Cushman establishes the time period with authentic language and clothing. The lesser status of women and children in the Middle Ages is also portrayed aptly. She includes information about Medieval midwifery, the herbal remedies of the time, and superstitions surrounding childbirth in an "Author's Note" at the end of the book.
Newbery Medal - 1996
Young Reader's Choice Award - 1998
REVIEW EXCERPTS
Booklist: "Cushman writes with a sharp simplicity and a pulsing beat. From the first page you're caught by the spirit of the homeless, nameless waif, somewhere around 12 years old, 'unwashed, unnourished, unloved, and unlovely,' trying to keep warm in a dung heap."
CONNECTIONS
>Read Cushman's Newbery Honor novel, Catherine, Called Birdy, which focuses on a well-born young heroine of the Medieval Age.
>Research information about the herbal remedies that were used in Medieval times and find out if any of them are still in use today.
Cushman, Karen. 1995. THE MIDWIFE'S APPRENTICE. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 0-395-69229-6.
PLOT SUMMARY
Brat is a young girl who is roused from her sleep in a dung heap by the village midwife. Jane the Midwife takes in the homeless waif and calls her Beetle. Beetle serves as Jane's apprentice and virtual slave. She watches Jane carefully and in time learns a little about midwifery. Along the way she gains some self-respect and gives herself a new name, Alyce. After unsuccessfully trying to deliver a breech baby by herself, she sends for the Midwife who saves the baby and mother. Alyce leaves the village in disgrace and finds employment at an inn in the next village. One night a merchant and his wife stop at the inn. The woman goes into labor and Alyce delivers the baby successfully. Her confidence is restored, and she returns to the Midwife's village.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Cushman has written a character-driven story about a homeless young girl who gains self-respect and learns valuable life lessons. Brat ekes out a survival existence in Medieval England. She is so cold that she seeks refuge in a dung heap because, "...the rotting and moiling give forth heat." The author vividly describes the dirty, earthy environment of the village with piles of dung and rotting food scraps in the dirt roadways. The villagers engage in work activities that are typical of the time such as milling, midwifery, and farming. Other characters representative of the period include the Lord and Lady of the Manor, a bailiff, a cowherd, and an innkeeper. Cushman establishes the time period with authentic language and clothing. The lesser status of women and children in the Middle Ages is also portrayed aptly. She includes information about Medieval midwifery, the herbal remedies of the time, and superstitions surrounding childbirth in an "Author's Note" at the end of the book.
Alyce's time is very different from the present, but her feelings are universal. Cushman gives readers a believable portrait of young woman torn by self-doubt, loneliness, and a sense of worthlessness in a hard world that has treated her cruelly. Alyce's transformation, through her life experiences, into a confident, capable young woman with friends, a cat, a real name, and a vocation rings true for any time period.
AWARDSNewbery Medal - 1996
Young Reader's Choice Award - 1998
REVIEW EXCERPTS
Booklist: "Cushman writes with a sharp simplicity and a pulsing beat. From the first page you're caught by the spirit of the homeless, nameless waif, somewhere around 12 years old, 'unwashed, unnourished, unloved, and unlovely,' trying to keep warm in a dung heap."
Publishers Weekly: "Cushman has an almost unrivaled ability to build atmosphere, and her evocation of a medieval village, if not scholarly in its authenticity, is supremely colorful and pungent."
CONNECTIONS
>Read Cushman's Newbery Honor novel, Catherine, Called Birdy, which focuses on a well-born young heroine of the Medieval Age.
>Research information about the herbal remedies that were used in Medieval times and find out if any of them are still in use today.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)