Cushman Chirps Her Way To A Winner

Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman

Dear Saralinda*:

I was pretty excited when I saw Catherine, Called Birdy in the bookstore for the first time. You probably know already how much your Uncle Richard and I enjoy history and might even remember that we were once members of a medieval re-creation group.

Yet, I didn't buy Karen Cushman's Newbery Honor Book right away though. I couldn't quite justify the purchase when I had so many books at home that were still unread. Then you mom and I started talking about what good books there are that you might enjoy and I jumped at the chance to purchase Catherine, Called Birdy. I do promise, though, that I won't flood you with books set in the Middle Ages unless you truly enjoy them.

Let me tell you about Catherine. She's 14 and has begun to keep a diary at the request of her older brother-and because she is released from spinning duties for as long as she writes. Her first entry is pretty short:

I am commanded to write an account of my days. I am bit by fleas and plagued by family. That is all there is to say.

Fortunately for us, she grows more loquacious as she becomes accustomed to writing.

Does Your Diary Have A Plot?

The book is not especially plot-driven, but it doesn't need to be. The book is about growing up, about learning to choose a path based on one's opportunities, and about learning not to rail forever against that which can't be changed. The book is Catherine's diary entries and we are party to her innermost thoughts for a little more than a year.

It is a book of setting. It is rich in the details of every day life. There is no royalty in this book. The closest we ever get to royalty is an old cousin of the king who meets and spends a few days with Catherine when Catherine is visiting a friend.

A Picture of the Middle Ages

Karen Cushman doesn't gloss over the roughness of society nor the dangerous health practices of the time. Life was very different in the middle ages and Cushman does a good job of portraying that, even though Catherine herself has never known better. We see how everyone shares rooms and beds, the types of food that they eat, the work that must be done, and the superstitious practices of many intelligent people.

I was also impressed that Cushman doesn't modernize the thinking of her characters, even though Catherine does resist the marriages being arranged for her. Too many authors who choose a middle ages setting make their characters espouse modern philosophy in an attempt to make them more sympathetic to modern readers. Cushman refrains. Her characters very much belong to their period, even when we might find it strange or foolish.

How Does It Work?

We expect certain things from a novel. We usually want it to begin with a certain amount of exposition so that we understand who the characters are and where the action is set. We want to see a plot where there is a conflict, climax, and resolution. We want to see character development-characters who have personalities and who grow and change throughout the novel. I once had a teacher define protagonist to me as the person in the novel or play who changes.

So how does this all work in a novel that is made up entirely of diary entries? Surprisingly well. We see Catherine growing up through her own observations, even though she doesn't come out and say that she is any different. We see her showing no interest in writing or reading at all, to becoming increasingly eloquent in her entries. She is given a book of saints and we can tell she reads it frequently, because she starts adding tidbits about the saints to each diary entry. One amusing evidence of Catherine's growing creativity is her colorful swearing. Mind, she doesn't use words that we today would find offensive or objectionable. Instead, she swears heartily in the fashion of her time and works hard at coming up with new ones that no one else uses. These include "Corpus Bones" "God's Knees" and "God's Eyes."

Catherine also begins to moderate her views on other people. She starts out by viewing everyone around her as either evil and horrid or good and wonderful. Slowly, as she matures, she recognizes greater depths to the individuals around her, especially her father and brother Robert.

Stack of Awards

I wasn't the only one to get excited about this book. It has won plenty of awards. The most prestigious award, of course, is the Newbery Award. Others include:

1995 Notable Children's Book from American Library Association (ALA)
1995 Best Book for Young Adults (ALA)
Quick Picks for Young Adults 1995 (ALA)

Just a side note: Don't be convinced by awards that a book is great nor feel obligated to enjoy it simply because someone else (even me) says it is good. Your taste is the most important criteria in deciding whether a book is enjoyable. The ability to pinpoint why you did or didn't enjoy a book can enhance your future reading experience and even help you find other people with similar tastes who can steer you toward other books you would enjoy.

With love,
Aunt Bridgette

* I've changed my niece's name to protect her identity. Saralinda is a name I borrowed from another beloved children's book. She's the princess in James Thurber's The 13 Clocks.