MATILDA BONE by Karen Cushman
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cushman, Karen. MATILDA BONE. 2000. New York, NY; Clarion Books. ISBN 978-0440418221
PLOT SUMMARY
Thirteen year old Matilda Bone is brought up in a life of ease within a
manor on the hilltop. She is, however, abandoned by Father Leufredus who has
educated her in piety and scholarly works to survive in the lower recesses of
society. Red Peg becomes her guardian, so to speak. She is the local bone
setter and Matilda becomes her assistant. Matilda is forced to do manual labor
in exchange for shelter and food. While Matilda believes she is above all of
this crude living, she learns to her chagrin that those around her she views
with contempt are far superior to those she adored in her studies in high
society. Although the tale is in a questioning note of uncertainty, Matilda has
visibly grown as character and developed a deeper understanding of the world.
She is able to face the future, whatever that might entail.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The story is not so much about a young girl thrust into an unknown and
seedy underbelly of society in the 14th century. It is more about
the increasing depravity of the plague and famine gripping the country. Cushman
writes in a dry and candid manner. The main character is sarcastic and her
distinctly superior tone presents a contrast with setting of sickness and decay
of Blood and Bone Alley. The setting of Medieval England is perfectly poignant
in the visualization of the historic time period where the everyday people
sought the medicinal aid of apothecaries and blood letters and such. Images of
medical horror scatter the pages, while the unlikely pair of the two Matilda’s
poses contrasting images from their upbringing as a fierce kitchen main and a learned
scholar. Cushman presents common people from the Dark Ages in a unique manner,
describing their never-ending battle with ailments and waste. The characters
are somewhat contradictory, such as the near-sighed apothecary and the
ill-trained but well-meaning bone setter. Cushman effectively presents
characters that endear themselves to a young reader through their actions and
their nature. As the main character learns to not judge a book by its cover, so
does the reader learn the historic hardships suffered by the people during the
1300s.
BOOK EXCERPT(S)
American Bookseller "Pick of the Lists"
New York Public Library, 100
Titles for Reading and Sharing
School Library Journal, Best Books
of the YearParents' Choice Silver Award
Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
Bank Street Best Children's Books
of the Year
Arizona Young Readers’ Master List
Maine Student Book Award Master
List
"Fiery Peg, her witty husband and her circle of friends will be the
characters readers remember.” Publishers Weekly
“Cushman's character descriptions are spare, with each word carefully
chosen to paint wonderful pictures. This humorous, frank look at life in the
medical quarters in medieval times shows readers that love and compassion,
laughter and companionship, are indeed the best medicine.” School Library
Journal
“It's the illness and the healing (and the death) that's the focal point
here, not pious, whiny Matilda, who takes an inordinately long time to learn
that the dependable, hardworking people she comes in contact with are worth
more than the fools and cheaters whose learning she admires. Readers will find
much of interest here, but it probably won't be the evolution of Matilda.” Booklist
CONNECTIONS
This is an excellent novel for any fourth or fifth grade classroom, and
for librarian wishing to create a program focused on the seedy truth surrounding
Medieval Europe, not just knights and chivalry.
Other great reads written by Karen Cushman that discuss Medieval Times;
Cushman, Karen. THE MIDWIFE’S APPRENTICE. ISBN 978-0395692295
Cushman, Karen. CATHERINE, CALLED BIRDY. ISBN 978-0395681862
THE EVOLUTION OF CALPURNIA TATE by Jacqueline Kelly
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kelly, Jacqueline. THE EVOLUTION OF CALPURNIA TATE. 2009. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 978-0312659301
PLOT SUMMARY
Calpurnia Tate or Callie Vee is eleven years old and the only girl of seven children. She lives on a wealthy cotton and pecan farm in Texas during 1899, where they have learned to master the dark but have yet to master the heat. While her mother is set on teaching Callie Vee how to be an adequate lady in the fine art of cooking, cleaning, household management, and piano playing, Calpurnia wishes to explore the nature that surrounds her. Her cantankerous old grandfather is her accomplice in her secret exploration, smuggling out the banned book by Darwin, The Origin of Species. As she navigates her life through her tight-knit family and her want to not be a “lady,” Calpurnia finds that life is what one makes of it. She learns what it is to be a young girl during the Turn of the Century.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Jacqueline Kelly writes an amazingly witty and crisp take on the life of a young girl in the South during the 1800s. She paints a surprisingly conspiratorial pair of Calpurnia and her grandfather that effectively bridges a generational gap through the shared love of the outdoors. While Grandfather Walter Tate is obviously the educator and she the apprentice, he learns just as much from her as she does from him. The conversations, misconceptions, and resolutions are perfectly intertwined with the beautiful learning and personal growth of a young girl in a rustic setting. Kelly accurately captures the feel and visions of steaming Texas heat and the forced mannerisms of a genteel, southern lady.
Small and enjoyable snippets from Darwin’s The Origins of Species provide a visible parallel between the instructive text and the idealism of young Calpurnia. Her inquisitive nature and the social trappings of the period cause an internal conflict in the novel that surpasses the characters themselves. In the form of rebellion and a pinch of feminism, Kelly reveals the impending change brought on by the industrial revolution and the feminist movement.
The jacket of the book pairs perfectly with the yellow, dry grass of the Texas frontier, and contrasts well with the shadowed profile of a young girl in an apron surrounded by bugs and wildlife. The vines creep around the edges seemingly attempting to engulf the child carrying the bug net. It is a truly masterful work of art capturing the naturalistic tone and the era preceding the industrial boom.
BOOK EXCERPT(S)
IRA Children's Book Award
IRA Teachers' Choices
Newbery Honor BookChicago Public Library Best of the Best
Illinois Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Choice Award Master List
North Carolina Young Adult Book Award
Texas Lone Star Reading List
TN YA Volunteer State Book Award ML
Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award Master List
“The book ends with uncertainty over Callie's future, but there's no uncertainty over the achievement of Kelly's debut novel.” — School Library Journal
“Interwoven with the scientific theme are threads of daily life in a large family—the bonds with siblings, the conversations overheard, the unspoken understandings and misunderstandings—all told with wry humor and a sharp eye for details that bring the characters and the setting to life. The eye-catching jacket art, which silhouettes Callie and images from nature against a yellow background, is true to the period and the story. Many readers will hope for a sequel to this engaging, satisfying first novel.” – Booklist
“The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate is the most delightful historical novel for tweens in many, many years. . . . Callie’s struggles to find a place in the world where she’ll be encouraged in the gawky joys of intellectual curiosity are fresh, funny, and poignant today.”—The New Yorker
“In her debut novel, Jacqueline Kelly brings to vivid life a boisterous small-town family at the dawn of a new century. And she especially shines in her depiction of the natural world that so intrigues Callie . . . Readers will want to crank up the A.C. before cracking the cover, though. That first chapter packs a lot of summer heat.”—The Washington Post
CONNECTIONS
This is an excellent book to inspire children to explore nature and the conventions of the past.
Other books that would be great for inspiration and conversation:
Vanderpool, Claire. MOON OVER MANIFEST. ISBN 978-0375858291
Lai, Thanhha. INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN. ISBN 978-0061962783
Gantos, Jack. DEAD END IN NORVELT. ISBN 978-0374379933
ELIJAH OF BUXTON by Christopher Paul Curtis
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Curtis,
Christopher Paul. 2009. ELIJAH OF BUXTON. Narrated by Mirron Willis. Unabridged
Edition. New York, NY: Listening Library. ISBN 978-0739367193
ELIJAH OF
BUXTON is told from the perspective of a young free-born boy, whose parents
were once slaves in the United States. His inquisitive and clear innocence gets
him into trouble along the way; however, more than not he learns and grows
through this very inclination to be “fragile.” Elijah’s tale begins from his
birth as the first free-born African American child in the settlement of Buxton
in Canada. It is a haven to those seeking freedom from slavery in the American
South. He must contend with daily chores, fish-head chunking for dinner,
school, and a deviously sinful self-proclaimed preacher. As Elijah battles his
sensitive nature, trying ever so hard to not be “fragile” he is able to help
the adults around him, like Mr. Leroy. Although Elijah does not exactly fulfill
his promise to Mr. Leroy at the end, he does succeed in saving an innocent life
of a would-be slave girl and facing the evil of slavery head on. Elijah and his
free community reveal the true meaning of hope.
CRITICAL
ANALYSIS
ELIJAH OF
BUXTON is both perplexing and blatantly honest at the same time. The setting of
the story, both the time and the place is at first confusing. The names of
famous figures in African American rights, like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and
Frederick Douglas are set within the same context of the mid 1800’s. One is
hard pressed to figure out when exactly the story is supposed to take place
until a few chapters in to the tale.
All in all,
Christopher Paul Curtis presents a heart-warming character in a starkly harsh
background of slavery. While the child is not raised in these harsh conditions,
the subject is inevitably posed in the context of him. He is almost sold into a
traveling carnival by the sly preacher, and he ventures into America alongside
Mr. Leroy to retrieve his money. Elijah is a wonderful character, and the
reader enjoys the honesty in his tone and internal speech. In the end, he rings
a metaphoric liberty bell by facing the monster of slavery in all of its naked
horror, and rising as a true liberator saving a baby girl from its clutches.
The
narrator Mirron Willis does an excellent job in his interpretation of the
various character voices. The audio version is more entertaining, making the
reader laugh and cry out loud in response. His voices reverberate throughout
the story. I cannot imagine ever reading the actual book without hearing
Willis’ voice ringing in my ears.
BOOK
EXCERPT(S)
Newberry
Medal Honor 2008
Coretta
Scott King Award Winner
Winner of
AudioFile Earphones Award 2008
Many
readers drawn to the book by humor will find themselves at times on the edges
of their seats in suspense and, at other moments, moved to tears. A fine,
original novel from a gifted storyteller. Booklist
Mirron
Willis delivers depth of emotion as he shapes the story's rhythms and pacing.
He successfully shifts from a light comedic tone of much of the story to a tone
of chilling determination when Elijah becomes involved in a dangerous mission
to free a group of slaves. AudioFile
CONNECTIONS
This is a
perfect book to introduce the history of slavery in this country and the
eventual fight of the Civil War that ultimately united our states. It should be
treated with much care, so as not to lead to anything more than a discussion of
the evil of slavery and not a race war.
Other
historic fiction books to read that might spark discussion:
Ryan, Pam
Munoz. ESPERANZA RISING. ISBN 978-0439120425
Lowry,
Lois. NUMBER THE STARS. ISBN 978-0547577098
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