Catherine, a spirited and inquisitive young woman of good family, narrates in diary form the story of her fourteenth year--the year 1290. A Newber...
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Dec 23, 2010
linda
rated it: 
Recently reread this for probably the hundredth time and continue to love Catherine entirely too much. Sadly, a revisit to this book as an adult highlights, to my great despair, that I always wanted her to marry the goatherd, and that part of me has been mourning the fact that she doesn't for like more than a decade. What is my life. Accessible for kids and (obviously) for adults, it felt very in the moment, like I could see and hear and live all the delights and discomforts of Catherine's time
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(6 people liked it)
Aug 23, 2008
Carre
rated it:
If there were a 6-star rating, I'd give it to this book. When it won the Newbery Medal for Children's Literature, it was Cushman's first book. It's Hi. Lar. I. Ous. Birdy is the 14-year old daughter of a 14th-century landowner in Merrie Olde Englande. While her father plots suitable arranged marriages for her and her mother tries to prepare her for being a wife by teaching her manners, needlework and herbal medicine, Birdy, the ultimate tomboy, plots ways to get rid of the suitors and sneak off
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Jun 01, 2008
Bix
rated it:
Cushman's Newbery Honor-winning book is wonderfully evocative, with its remarkably realized, feisty heroine determined to have a say in her own destiny, despite the strictures of her medieval society. Hilarious, endearing, and determined, Birdy's trenchant observations of the life around her are told with a refreshingly earthy honesty so real and direct that you put down the book sadly, feeling like you're being parted from a dear friend. Cushman manages to create her historical period in such
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Jan 27, 2009
Alice
rated it: 
Good read for those who love medieval times, or "coming of age" books. Catherine, like a caged bird, chafes against her family, her restricted life, her forced betrothal. She futilely tries different lifestyles, eventually finding out that expressing her true self is a great strength.
However, am I getting too old for this kind of book? As a parent, I kept thinking Catherine was whiny and immature! Moreover, a last minute deliverance gave the book a romantic but improbable e
However, am I getting too old for this kind of book? As a parent, I kept thinking Catherine was whiny and immature! Moreover, a last minute deliverance gave the book a romantic but improbable e
Apr 16, 2008
Delyna
rated it: 
My biggest complaint about this book is how horribly she speaks of her father. We listened to it on CD (edition wasn't available to post) but the girl who does the reading has a very "common" accent. Combined with her sharp tongue I couldn't feel for the character. She sounded like she should be cleaning out the stables instead of the daughter of a knight and a lady. In fact you are always surprised when she mentions a servant.
It is written in diary format which is so p More...
It is written in diary format which is so p More...
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(3 people liked it)
Aug 26, 2011
Kathleen
rated it: 
Enjoyed it, but did tend to get distracted in wondering whether a girl of that time would REALLY think or act that way, and whether she would even be able to read and write in the first place.
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Feb 04, 2012
Cassandra
rated it:
I have a ton of positive things to say about this book, and of course I'm going to say them all. Catherine is a fourteen year old girl living in England in the middle ages. Her father is a knight, and is determined to marry his only daughter off to a rich man to up his social status. (Life really sucked for girls back then) Catherine however, is determined to be idependant, and trys several methods to drive her suitors away. Here are some examples.
Suitor 1: Digusted out of his mind.
S More...
Suitor 1: Digusted out of his mind.
S More...
Jan 09, 2012
Sonya
rated it:
Okay, I know this story is contrived. No 14 year old girl in Medieval England would get away with even a fraction of the things Catherine does. She screams at her father, sets the privy on fire, runs away from home, and pushes kids into the river. She would have been beaten into submission long before.
On the other hand, the rest of the book does a fairly good job of presenting the horrors of life at the time. I mean, it is a book for kids so you don't want to scare them too much! Even at More...
On the other hand, the rest of the book does a fairly good job of presenting the horrors of life at the time. I mean, it is a book for kids so you don't want to scare them too much! Even at More...
Apr 04, 2011
Laura
rated it:
There were a few times where I was a little bit bored with it. That could have been partly due to the fact that it was written for a much younger audience and some things I am just not interested in that I would have found fascinating when I was a teenager. It was a pretty fun book for the most part though. I was surprised at how much I laughed as I read this book. The main character was quite comical and had a very different personality than I was expecting. She acted very much like I would thi
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(2 people liked it)
Apr 04, 2011
Sara
rated it:
This is written as a journal for Catherine, who is a young girl living in the thirteenth century who is facing the prospect of marriage. She lives on a manor with her family and her father is continually presenting her with suiters and she finds clever ways to avoid them but ultimately, through maturity and time, ends up accepting the fate that awaits her of getting married.
This book was a good and very easy to follow and be engaged in. The only real fault that I found with it was tha More...
This book was a good and very easy to follow and be engaged in. The only real fault that I found with it was tha More...
Apr 04, 2011
Haley
rated it:
I actually caught myself looking forward to spare minutes in which I could squeeze in a few more entries of Catherine’s sassiness. Her adolescent spirit was contagious and allied with the fourteen year-old still largely a part of me, but which doesn’t have the opportunity to often resurface. It was fun to feel an insider of Catherine’s particularly opinionated world, while also experiencing the ins and outs of late 13th century England. In fact, there may be no better way to experience it. Cathe
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Apr 03, 2011
Maddy
rated it:
This story follows the life of a young, teenage girl in medieval times. As she comes to terms with growing up, she makes frequent entries in her diary which catalogue her days, adventures, emotions and the like. From the very beginning, I immediately felt drawn to the character of Catherine. I felt well acquainted with her as the reader. She was so easy to understand and interpret as a character, probably in large part because the book was written in the style of a diary. Despite the transpar
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Apr 03, 2011
Devon
rated it:
Catherine Called Birdy was a witty, charming book to read. Catherine is such a great character because while she is aware that Edward will eventually read her journal, she is hilariously honest in her evaluations of people. She avoids her suitors at all costs, and comes up with all kinds of schemes to drive them away. Catherine is a relatable, down to earth character that feels real, with her devious nature and aversion to growing up, because while most teenagers want to be older and have more c
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Mar 28, 2011
Jaynann
rated it:
This was the story of a spunky young lady growing up in the medieval times. The book is made up of Catherine's diary accounts of her day to day life. She complains about all the normal teenage girl things like sharing a room and having to do household work. But she also complains about some other unusual aspects of her life like being forced to marry a man she doesn't love and fighting off suitors. Catherine is a master with herbs and is often called upon to heal her neighbors and friends. In th
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Feb 20, 2011
Minli
rated it:
This book is hilarious! It would be a five-star book for sure if I had read it when I was in middle school. My roommate gasped when I told her I hadn't, and then rushed out to buy me a copy. After reading it, I can really tell it had an influence on her as a child, because I can see bits of it in the adult version of her.
Catherine is witty and wry; she complains a lot, hates her parents, and thinks a lot of things are stupid; in short, she is like every other fourteen-year-old I know. More...
Catherine is witty and wry; she complains a lot, hates her parents, and thinks a lot of things are stupid; in short, she is like every other fourteen-year-old I know. More...
Jan 25, 2011
Carly
rated it:
Catherine, Called Birdy
Karen Cushman had me laughing from the first page. In "Catherine, Called Birdy" young Catherine's greedy father is constantly bargaining to arrange betrothals for Catherine in hopes for riches sublime. But from the very beginning, she devises clever and impressive schemes to avoid these dreadful betrothals. Through her daily diary, we quickly fall in love with Catherine and her spunky personality. I empathized with her detestation of marrying the awful men h More...
Karen Cushman had me laughing from the first page. In "Catherine, Called Birdy" young Catherine's greedy father is constantly bargaining to arrange betrothals for Catherine in hopes for riches sublime. But from the very beginning, she devises clever and impressive schemes to avoid these dreadful betrothals. Through her daily diary, we quickly fall in love with Catherine and her spunky personality. I empathized with her detestation of marrying the awful men h More...
Sep 27, 2010
Tara
rated it:
This book is a quick read. The story takes place in the medieval period and centers around Lady Catherine (Birdy) a fourteen year old girl. The story is written as a series of journal entries written by Birdy at the encouragement of her brother Edward who is a monk. Edward believes even girls should know how to read and write, so he taught his sister to do so. Birdy writes of her plight as the daughter of a Lord who wants to marry her off to the highest bidder. She hates the thought of being auc
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Aug 31, 2010
KR (Karen)
rated it:
"23RD DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 1290"
"There was a hanging in Riverford today. I am being punished for impudence again, so was not allowed to go. I am near fourteen and have never yet seen a hanging. My life is barren."
I heartily encourage the reading of children's books. I have a good collection of both illustrated books and young adult fiction for when the nieces and nephews come over and I try not to have anything I don't enjoy reading myself.
Ca More...
"There was a hanging in Riverford today. I am being punished for impudence again, so was not allowed to go. I am near fourteen and have never yet seen a hanging. My life is barren."
I heartily encourage the reading of children's books. I have a good collection of both illustrated books and young adult fiction for when the nieces and nephews come over and I try not to have anything I don't enjoy reading myself.
Ca More...
Jun 21, 2010
Kelli Ryne
rated it:
This book is a fantastic resource for written projects and a study of the Middle Ages. Students get a sense of what life in the Middle Ages would be like for a lower noble girl, while experiencing the lives and concerns of those around her. Students may analyze the structure of the book to examine how a diary is formed and read. While studying the Middle Ages and the Crusades, students choose a character, real or fictional of that time, and create a diary for their chosen person. By analyzin
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Apr 01, 2010
Literary Element: Journal Writing. The thirteen-year-old daughter of an English knight keeps a journal in which she records her desire for adventure and her disdain for becoming a “lady.” She also tells of her efforts to avoid being married off by her father.
I think that the diary format is a wonderful way to expose children to other time periods and cultures in an interesting and accessible way. Journals really give the reader an "inside" look at the character's emoti More...
I think that the diary format is a wonderful way to expose children to other time periods and cultures in an interesting and accessible way. Journals really give the reader an "inside" look at the character's emoti More...
Dec 20, 2009
Lars
rated it:
I'm foregoing a real review, except to say that I highly recommend this provocative and personal glimpse into the middle ages. Karen Cushman has done her research and put together a marvelous novel which should be an exciting find for young readers. Catherine is an exciting, witty and empathetic character whose 'journal' makes the work concrete and vibrant.
The problem, as I've noted with other great books such as 'Tuck Everlasting' and 'Dragonwings,' is that the joy of finding a g More...
The problem, as I've noted with other great books such as 'Tuck Everlasting' and 'Dragonwings,' is that the joy of finding a g More...
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Apr 20, 2009
Steph Su
rated it:
In no other book set in thirteenth-century England has such a willful and admirable protagonist starred. Catherine, the fourteen-year-old daughter of a knight whom she claims is a rude pig, is called Birdy, and somehow the name suits her. She’d much rather be a villager, frolicking outdoors all day and not being reprimanded for getting her feet and clothes dirty.
Unfortunately for her, a well-off young lady has but one aim in life, and that is to be married to a well-off man. Throughout More...
Unfortunately for her, a well-off young lady has but one aim in life, and that is to be married to a well-off man. Throughout More...
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Jun 05, 2009
Heidi
rated it: 
This is one of the "classic" books that they like you to read in late elementary school or early junior high. I'm sure it would hold the attention for that age. And it is rather intriguing to read a book set in medieval times, especially with a spunky heroine. But there were quite a few bawdy references, though they were made to be light or humourous. Perhaps it was like that back then, I don't know. I do know that I don't like that kind of humor, or that kind of talk in general.
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Dec 25, 2011
Steve
rated it:
I liked "Catherine" quite a bit, with only one qualifier: the trouble with books that set out to portray what life was really like for a regular person in any given situation is that they sometimes drag a bit through what life was really like for a regular person in that given situation, and you can find yourself longing, at least a bit, for something extraordinary in the situation, or in the character's response to whatever their situation is. That being said, this is still an e
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Jan 04, 2011
Stevecrandell
rated it:
13-year-old Catherine is strong-willed, sensitive to her surroundings, and very funny in a cynical way. She narrates this novel as a journal of her life in 13th century England.
She is old enough to marry, and her ogreish father takes charge of the process. “Exactly how old are you, daughter? Have you all your teeth?” She creates ridiculous schemes to scare away her suitors. She rebels against her noble status, and spends every moment she can among the local villagers. And she refuses More...
She is old enough to marry, and her ogreish father takes charge of the process. “Exactly how old are you, daughter? Have you all your teeth?” She creates ridiculous schemes to scare away her suitors. She rebels against her noble status, and spends every moment she can among the local villagers. And she refuses More...
Mar 15, 2010
BJ Rose
rated it:
I love reading about medieval times, so when that was coupled with a Newbery Honor award, I expected to really love this book. It's well-researched, and I loved the comments Birdy made about each Saint-of-the-Day, but the book just didn't really keep my interest, so it gets a weak 4* from me.
This is about the 14th year of the life of Catherine, called Birdy, "of the village of Stonebridge in the shire of Lincoln, in the country of England, in the hands of God...in the year of Ou More...
This is about the 14th year of the life of Catherine, called Birdy, "of the village of Stonebridge in the shire of Lincoln, in the country of England, in the hands of God...in the year of Ou More...
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Mar 01, 2010
Samantha
rated it:
Cushman’s novel is written through a series of journal entries. Catherine describes a year of her life. She wishes she could be like the other people in the village – free to do what they want and marry whom they want. She is determined to sabotage any of the marriages her father tries to set up. She thinks her father is a beast and has a love hate relationship with her mother and nurse. The story is very interesting; it is easy to see why Catherine is so opposed to marriage as she is still a ch
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Dec 11, 2011
Michelle
rated it:
This book does an excellent job of painting a detailed picture of daily life during the middle ages. From dreadful hygiene to daily eats Catherine's journal finally shows readers that the middle ages wasn't all knights and princesses and shiny castles. There are reasons we don't live like that anymore. I read this several years ago and adored it! If I were reviewing it then I would have given it 5 stars. I just read it with my daughter who sighed at all the humor I had to stop and explain and wh
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Oct 21, 2011
Molly
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