Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman

Bibliography

Cushman, Karen. CATHERINE, CALLED BIRDY. New York: Harper Collins, 1995. ISBN-10: 0064405842.

Plot Summary

Set in the thirteenth century, fourteen year old Catherine (or Birdy as she is often called) writes to her brother in the form of a diary. Coupling her father’s search for a suitable husband for her with the constant supervision she has from her mother and her nurse, Birdy feels total oppression in her life. The book follows Birdy as she deals with day to day struggles of being a young girl wanting independence in a time when that was not something that was even possible.

Critical Analysis

Birdy is the kind of girl I’ve always seen myself as – free-spirited and extremely strong willed. Cushman takes a character that is so out of the norm during her time and places her right in the thick of it. Birdy, so called because of her love for birds, is just as trapped as the birds she keeps in cages in her room. Once Birdy leaves the cage her father has her in, she’ll be trapped by her husband. She tries to find ways to get rid of each of the suitors her father finds for her by tricking them or making them find her repulsive. All of this is much to her father’s dismay which, judging by the way she talks about her father in her journal, doesn’t bother her one bit.

I think Cushman shines in her historical knowledge throughout the novel. Each page of Birdy’s journal is dedicated to a different saint. Cushman’s ability to understand and incorporate the saints into Birdy’s daily life shows how much work she put into the historical accuracy of the time. Cushman easily talks about the day to day activities of Birdy like she lived the life herself at Birdy’s age. The first line of the book sets the tone for the rest of the novel: “I am commanded to write an account of my days: I am bit by fleas and plagued by family.” Because historical fiction relies on an accurate historical data, finding out this much day to day information from so long ago had to be difficult. Cushman delivers it with ease, letting readers feel the pain Birdy feels while explaining why this time in the world was so trying for a girl like Birdy.

Awards and Review Excerpts

Newberry Honor Award Winner

“A Newbery Honor Book, this witty and wise fictive diary of a 13th-century English girl, according to PW, "introduces an admirable heroine and pungently evokes a largely unfamiliar setting." – Publisher’s Weekly

“This unusual book provides an insider's look at the life of Birdy, 14, the daughter of a minor English nobleman. The year is 1290 and the vehicle for storytelling is the girl's witty, irreverent diary. She looks with a clear and critical eye upon the world around her, telling of the people she knows and of the daily events in her small manor house. Much of Birdy's energy is consumed by avoiding the various suitors her father chooses for her to marry. She sends them all packing with assorted ruses until she is almost wed to an older, unattractive man she refers to as Shaggy Beard. In the process of telling the routines of her young life, Birdy lays before readers a feast of details about medieval England. The book is rich with information about the food, dress, religious beliefs, manners, health, medical practices, and sanitary habits (or lack thereof) of the people of her day. From the number of fleas she kills in an evening to her herbal medicines laced with urine, Birdy reveals fascinating facts about her time period. A feminist far ahead of her time, she is both believable and lovable. A somewhat philosophical afterword discusses the mind set of medieval people and concludes with a list of books to consult for further information about the period. Superb historical fiction.” – School Library Journal

Connections

· What would student’s diaries look like if they lived in another time? Have them look at what their problems would be in the 1200s if they lived when Birdy lived. How do these compare to the problems they have day to day now?

· Read Cushman’s book The Midwife’s Apprentice. It takes place around the same time as Birdy’s story and focuses on Alyce’s first foray into midwifery.