Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman

Image retrieved from www.amazon.com

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cushman, Karen. Catherine, Called Birdy. New York, Houghton Mifflin Company: 1994. ISBN: 039568I863

2. PLOT SUMMARY

Catherine, who is called Birdy, is anything but the typical 14-year old girl living in thirteenth century England. She has a free spirit and a sharp tongue. She is the daughter of an ill-tempered landowner who is trying to marry her off, which she sees as “being sold like a cheese to the highest bidder.” In this diary-style book, Birdy keeps an account of her days. She writes about picking off fleas, partaking in mischief, trying to not be the lady her mother wants her so desperately to become, and refusing every suitor her father brings to their home. When her father brings home a shaggy-bearded old man as her suitor, her refusal to marry him does no good. He is the ugliest of all, but he is the richest of all, and her fate is to be his wife. The book ends with a twist. When Birdy finally submits to her doom, she comes to find that her suitor has died and she will marry his son instead.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Karen Cushman has created a character who 14-year olds will find likeable, and maybe even relatable. Birdy is an energetic, independent young girl with a sharp tongue and a mind of her own. However, since she is living in thirteenth century England and is under her parents’ care, her independent nature and sharp tongue don’t get her much more than slapped in the face or thumped on the rear by her father. A lively character such as Birdy will draw young readers to this book, but it is hard to believe that a young girl living in England in 1290 would behave the way Birdy does - raging against her father and arguing with him about her suitors with such forthrightness. It seems that behavior such as this would have resulted in immediate and harsh discipline. Instead, Birdy’s bad behavior continues until she herself comes to the conclusion that she needs to be who she was made to be - “I cannot run away. I am who I am wherever I am.”

Other characters in the book are more believable. Birdy’s father is a hot-tempered man who drinks too much. Her mother, on the other hand, is gentle and compassionate. She loves her children and seems to hope Birdy loves her husband as much as she loves hers. Birdy’s brothers are each very different from each other, creating a family dynamic that is relatable to anyone’s. Birdy is most fond of her Uncle George who has just returned from the Crusades. “He is tall and fair and funny” and in him she seems to find some solace from the others.

The setting for this book is a medieval English manor. In the Author’s note at the end of the book, Cushman gives a description of what an English village may have looked like in 1290, with “small cottages lining the road from manor to church.” Reading this description would help young readers understand Birdy’s home and whereabouts much better, and would possibly be better to read first rather than last. Birdy does manage to escape the manor a few times, including the time she goes to Wooton village to see the hanging of two thieves - something she has longed to see. What Birdy thought “sounded even better than a feast or a fair” turns out to be a wretched event that makes her vomit.

The main theme throughout this book is independence. Birdy wants to be free. Even her nickname, Birdy, symbolizes freedom, so it is quite ironic that she is anything but free to do as she pleases. Birdy conjures up many plans to do what she wants - to go to a monastery, to travel, to marry whomever she wants. However, in spite of her plans, she is doomed to remaining within the confines of her family’s manor and within the confines of society’s rules for girls. When her mother won’t let her glide on the frozen river with the boys, she even makes a list of all the things girls are not allowed to do: “go on crusade, be horse trainers, be monks, laugh very loud, wear breeches, drink in ale houses, cut their hair, piss in the fire to make it hiss, wear nothing, be alone, get sunburned, run, marry whom they will, glide on the ice.” In the end, Birdy’s realization that she is who she is wherever she is, and that no matter whose wife she is she will still be herself, seems to set her free and give her a new kind of independence. She is free to be who she is in spite of her circumstances. She has decided, “I cannot escape my life but can only use my determination and courage to make it the best I can” - quite a lesson for young readers searching for their own independence.

Cushman’s diary style of writing allows the reader to hear Birdy’s own voice, making her more honest and relatable. This style invites readers to experience all of this 14-year old girl’s emotions right along with her - from her cursing (“Corpus bones!” and “God’s thumbs!”) to her strange food choices (“I had two portions of eel pie for supper.”). Early in the book, Birdy’s mother receives a small book of saints, their feast days, and their great works. Birdy “seduces” it from her, and at the beginning of each diary entry includes information about the saint for that day. This adds humor and character to each diary entry - pointing out the funny and interesting facts about each saint - but also showing the distinctive ideas and beliefs of those days. The saints and their oddities were unique to Medieval times.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

1995 Newbery Honor Award Winner

From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL - “A feminist far ahead of her time, [Birdy] is both believable and lovable.”

From KIRKUS REVIEWS - “Her tenacity and ebullient naivete‚ are extraordinary; at once comic and thought-provoking, this first novel is a delight.”

5. CONNECTIONS

Gather other books written by Karen Cushman to read such as:

• The Midwife’s Apprentice. ISBN 0395692296

• The Ballad of Lucy Whipple. ISBN 054772215X
• Will Sparrow’s Road. ISBN 0547739621
• Alchemy and Meggy Swann. ISBN 0547577125

Visit http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/catherine-called-birdy-lesson-plan for a lesson plan and activities for this book.

Have students research other events that are mentioned in this book and that were happening at the same time, such as the Jews being expelled from England and the Crusades.