Catherine, Called Birdie by Karen Cushman

Cushman, K.  (1994).  Catherine, Called Birdie.  Clarion.

It isn't in Birdie's nature to stay inside and learn to be a wife.  She would rather go outside and enjoy the day, but her family wants her to learn to be a good wife.  What will happen to Birdie?

This is about a girl named Catherine, but her friends and family refer to her as Birdy. She is a strong-willed and determined 14-year-old girl who keeps a journal of her life in England in 1290. In her journal, Birdy writes about her miserable life as a girl in England and how she must learn to be a proper lady and the duties of a wife (embroidery, remedies, cooking, sewing, etc.) when that is the last thing she wants to be and do, and all she wants is to run around outside and avoid being betrothed to any of the awful suitors that her father keeps bringing to their house. When Birdy finds out that she is betrothed to a less than desirable older suitor, "Shaggy Beard", she runs away only to discover that she is who she is and no matter how horrible she thinks her situation is, she should always be herself, and she should use that to her advantage when she is with her future husband. When she returns, Birdy is pleasantly surprised to discover that Shaggy Beard died in a brawl and that his son, Stephen, wants to honor the contract in his father's place. Things are looking up for Birdy, and she seems to accept things as they are and make the best of the situations that she is dealt.

The title of this book refers to the main character, Birdie, which is her nickname, but her given name is Catherine, but everyone calls her Birdie because of her stature.  This book is pretty much Birdy's diary and her account of the events of her fourteenth year, so it is completely in her point of view. It is dated for everyday that she writes in it, such as 21st day of February, and then writes the events of her day. Since it is her diary, it shows her feelings and what she really thinks about people and what happens to her and to them. You can completely sympathize with her when things don't go her way and laugh with her when she outsmarts others. Because it's written as a diary, I didn't think it was going to be that interesting, since it's a historical fiction book, and history is not all that interesting to me, but I actually really ended up liking it and found myself laughing out loud on several occasions in the book. I think students will enjoy it as well because I think they will be able to relate to her in one way or another: she is not allowed to do what she wants to do, she is treated unfairly and unkindly by her father, but her mother is caring and loving. She also plays some funny tricks on people and does some interesting things to get out of doing chores and to make herself undesirable to her suitors. After all has been said and done, she learns an important lesson about herself and who she is, and how being herself is the best thing she can do.

This is a Newber Honor book.  You can learn more about Karen Cushman by visiting her website at http://www.karencushman.com/index.html.  Other books she has written are The Midwife's Apprentice, Alchemy and Meggy Swann, and The Loud Silence of Francine Green.