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Karen Cushman
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Catherine, Called Birdy: A Newbery Honor Award Winner Paperback – July 30, 2019

by Karen Cushman (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 791 ratings
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Read the book behind Lena Dunham’s acclaimed new movie! This historical fiction classic, told in the form of a diary, has drawn in generations of readers and is a Newbery Honor Book.

Catherine feels trapped. Her father is determined to marry her off to a rich man—any rich man, no matter how awful.

But by wit, trickery, and luck, Catherine manages to send several would-be husbands packing. Then a shaggy-bearded suitor from the north comes to call—by far the oldest, ugliest, most revolting suitor of them all. Unfortunately, he is also the richest.

Can a sharp-tongued, high-spirited, clever young maiden with a mind of her own actually lose the battle against an ill-mannered, piglike lord and an unimaginative, greedy toad of a father? Deus! Not if Catherine has anything to say about it!

Catherine, a spirited and inquisitive young woman, narrates in diary form the story of her fourteenth year—the year 1290.

In an appreciation in the New York Times, illustrator Vera Brosgol spoke for many fans of this beloved book: "I fell hard for Karen Cushman's Catherine, Called Birdy the second I opened it. More than any other heroine I'd read, this one sounded like me. For Catherine, and for me, there is no easy solution to the cages life makes for you. Sometimes the power is in deciding to be yourself in whatever cage you're in."

Previous page
  1. Reading age
    10 - 13 years, from customers
  2. Print length
    192 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Grade level
    3 - 7
  5. Lexile measure
    1090L
  6. Dimensions
    5.12 x 0.47 x 7.62 inches
  7. Publisher
    Clarion Books
  8. Publication date
    July 30, 2019
  9. ISBN-10
    1328631117
  10. ISBN-13
    978-1328631114
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"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. . . . Superb historical fiction."
— School Library Journal (starred review)

"The period has rarely been presented for young people with such authenticity; the exotic details will intrigue readers while they relate more closely to Birdy’s yen for independence and her sensibilities toward the downtrodden. Her tenacity and ebullient naiveté are extraordinary; at once comic and thought-provoking, this first novel is a delight." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Birdy's journal, begun as an assignment, first wells up in the reluctant and aggressive prose of hated homework, and then eases into the lighthearted flow of descriptive adventures and true confessions; the narrative device reveals Birdy's passage from rebellious child to responsible adult. This first novel introduces an admirable heroine and pungently evokes a largely unfamiliar setting." — Publishers Weekly

"The lesson isn’t that love will save us. It’s to find a way to make your voice heard among all of the forces that want to shut it down. Catherine never gives up or loses her spirit. She still fights for what she believes in—women’s rights, herself, living the life she wants.” — Bustle

About the Author

Karen Cushman's acclaimed historical novels include Catherine, Called Birdy, a Newbery Honor winner, and The Midwife's Apprentice, which received the Newbery Medal. She lives on Vashon Island in Washington State. Visit her online at karencushman.com and on Twitter @cushmanbooks.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Clarion Books; Reprint edition (July 30, 2019)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1328631117
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1328631114
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 10 - 13 years, from customers
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1090L
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 3 - 7
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.5 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.12 x 0.47 x 7.62 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 791 ratings

About the author

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Karen Cushman

Karen Cushman

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Karen Cushman was born in Chicago, Illinois and lives now on Vashon Island west of Seattle, Washington. She received an M.A. in human behavior and one in museum studies. Ms. Cushman has had a lifelong interest in history. She says, "I grew tired of hearing about kings, princes, generals, presidents. I wanted to know what ordinary life was like for ordinary young people in other times." Research into medieval English history and culture led to the writing of her first two novels, the Newbery Honor book CATHERINE, CALLED BIRDY and the Newbery Medal-winner THE MIDWIFE'S APPRENTICE. She is also the author of MATILDA BONE, THE BALLAD OF LUCY WHIPPLE, RODZINA, and most recently ALCHEMY AND MEGGY SWANN.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
791 global ratings
Book received damaged
3 Stars
Book received damaged
Nice story. Packing materials were in great condition. However., the cover and first several pages were about half ripped off. Surprised an item in this condition was shipped
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Top reviews from the United States

Z Hayes
5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging book that will encourage children's interest in history
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2010
Verified Purchase
This is another gem that I discovered in a graduate class. Catherine, Called Birdy is a historical novel set in Medieval England in the year 1290, and is written in the form of diary entries. Catherine, who is fourteen-years-old, is the daughter of Lord Rollo and Lady Aislinn, and sister to Thomas, Edward, and Robert. She lives in a manor house, and begins the diary upon the prompting of her favorite brother Edward, who is a monk at an abbey.

The diary contains Catherine's entries of a year in her life which is filled with rich details of life in medieval England. It begins on the 19th of September, 1290 and Catherine writes on the leftover skins from the household accounts. She writes that she is the daughter of a country knight with ten servants and seventy villagers. Catherine's intense dislike of her father is evidenced throughout the diary. She also laments her situation as a girl with limited prospects. All she does on a daily basis is sew, hem, brew, nurse, and count linen, activities which she does not care for. Instead, she daydreams about going off to fight in the Crusades and lead an adventurous life, like some of her brothers and uncle Robert. She also finds herself in a predicament as her father keeps trying to marry her off to a series of incompatible suitors, finally betrothing her to a vile old man whom she calls Shaggy Beard.

Catherine is a complex and multi-dimensional character who is well-delineated. Contrary to the times she lived in, where women were considered no more than chattel to be bartered at will, Catherine is presented as a strong-willed and opinionated young woman. The feelings that Catherine expresses through her diary entries are typical for an adolescent dealing with difficult issues, and though the setting of the story is medieval England, these feelings are relevant in today's context and are feelings many adolescents will identify with.The author's writing style is witty and engaging with the main character using interesting and often funny phrases to convey how she is feeling, such as "Corpus Bones!" as an expression of frustration. Catherine is a young woman ahead of her time and a character many adolescents will relate to.
19 people found this helpful
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S. Werkema
5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and worthwhile
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2017
Verified Purchase
Birdy is a girl ahead of her time. Trapped in well-to-do medieval manorial life, she tries to invent ways to escape both the place and the people surrounding her. Birdy is funny, sarcastic, wry, observant, sensitive toward folks she respects and merciless toward those she disdains. The story, written as a diary, moves smoothly through Birdy's trials and schemes and reactions. She's someone the reader would like to know personally, if only for the fun of hearing what she'd say next. But probably no reader would want to switch places with Birdy and feel caged for life as Birdy does. In the end she does escape, though not in the way she expects or to the extent she'd choose. There were serious limits on women then, even for those who had money. The one element of the story that I found difficult to believe was Birdy's acceptance of her father's physical brutality. I would think she'd suffer more inside herself because of it. But that's my only caveat about this book, which I definitely enjoyed.
3 people found this helpful
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KC
4.0 out of 5 stars Dear Medieval Diary...
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2009
Verified Purchase
Fans of diaries will take to Karen Cushman's CATHERINE, CALLED BIRDY, wherein a 14-year-old girl in 13th-century England spills her innermost thoughts on matters medieval. Chief among Birdy's troubles is her dad (a.k.a. "the Beast") who chooses to marry her off to the disgusting "Shaggy Beard" (a man old enough to be her father). Birdy has used wit and guile to fend off Dad's previous choices, but this time it appears she's stuck.

What works well: the tone and characterization of Birdy. We come to enjoy her humor, stubbornness, and intelligence as she plays "color man" to the action playing out around her. Thus is the late 13th century made palatable to even history-phobic readers, and Cushman has done her homework, accurately protraying family dynamics, village life, and social mores from mating to medicine.

What doesn't work as well: Each entry starts with an italicized bullet about that day's saint (Birdy gets a copy of LIVES OF THE SAINTS early on). Some of these are funny, but most are straightforward and drab. With the number of entries in the diary, readers may be tempted to jump over the saint-of-the-day bits without losing much in the narrative. Finally, the book ends with a bit of deus ex machina. In that sense, Birdy's life becomes a Miracle Play in itself. I guess it's a personal call on each reader's part, but I dislike that type of finish.

Nevertheless, a spirited, intelligent read that should satisfy most readers willing to appreciate not only history, but how the human heart never changes, no matter what the century.
2 people found this helpful
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Lilyn G.
5.0 out of 5 stars Kid had to read this for class and enjoyed it
Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2023
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It's hard to get my child to read anything other than graphic novels but they genuinely seemed to enjoy not only reading this book but talking about it after.
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Double Espresso
5.0 out of 5 stars Watched the film, read the book. And I'm so glad I did!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 27, 2022
Verified Purchase
I was intrigued by the different world-view of this feisty 13th century teenager in the recent film adaptation, and so I hunted for the book. Both book and author are new to me, although it was written in the 1990s. And it's a textbook example of how to realise a world entirely different to our 21st Century existence. Catherine's diary tells a matter-of-fact, sometimes hilarious, often tragic story of the confined world she lives in, where few people are literate, and where a mixture of religion and folklore govern the life and expectations of a teenage girl. Essential reading for anyone who wants to step back into an authentic past.
2 people found this helpful
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Sakura
5.0 out of 5 stars Das Leben im Mittelalter
Reviewed in Germany on May 25, 2016
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m Jahre 1290 schreibt Catherine, die Tocher eines unbedeutetenden Ritters ihr Tagebuch. Sie ist 14 Jahre alt und soll verheiratet werden. Es missfällt ihr verkauft zu werden wie ein Tier, genauso wie sie auch sonst wenig Interesse an den üblichen Frauenarbeiten wie Spinnen und Sticken hat.
Sie erzählt von ihrem Alter auf der kleinen Burg ihres Vaters, von den Läusen, dem Gestank von Dung, ihrem Alltag, besonderen Feiertagen und ihren Streichen, mit denen sie versucht, potenzielle Verehrer fernzuhalten. Doch jetztendlich findet ihr Vater einen Mann, den sie nicht so einfach loswird. Er ist ungepflegt und unmanierlich und uralt und Catherine kann sich mit ihrem Schicksal einfach nicht abfinden.

Das Buch greift sehr gut auch die unschönen Details des Mittelalters auf: Ungeziefer, das von den Betten gesammelt werden muss, Dung überall, Baden einmal im Jahr, das Bett mit vielen anderen Menschen teilen müssen.
Auch ist die Entwicklung von Catherine von frechem Kind zur verantwortungsbewussten Frau schön, aber subtiel dargestellt.
Am Anfang ist versucht sie, ihren Pflichten und Aufgaben zu entgehen, spielt Streiche und versucht sich sogar an Flüchen.
Später im Buch wird sie durch die Fehlgeburt und Krankheit ihrer Mutter und der unmöglichen Zuneigung ihrer Freundin zu ihrem Onkel weicher. Sie übernimmt pflichtbewusster ihre Aufgaben und zeigt mehr Fürsorge und Mitgefühl.

Ich fand das Buch sehr angenehm und flüssig zu lesen. Es ist natürlich an Kinder gerichtet, aber ich denke auch als Erwachsener kann man daran Spass haben.
Ich denke Kinder haben in Catherine eine Person, die sie nachvollziehen können, die aber gleichzeitig für ihre Zeit nicht unrealistisch dargestellt ist.
One person found this helpful
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Highlander
4.0 out of 5 stars Fun
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 30, 2019
Verified Purchase
This was a lighthearted, amusing read. There were a few anachronisms - I may be wrong but I don't believe thorn apples (datura) were native to Britain, and I'm always thrown when men's garments are referred to as pants -it sounds too American. But it's rare not to find any anachronisms, and those were the only two I spotted so well done.
As.to the rest, I found it easy to imagine a rebellious young girl on the cusp of marriage. Kudos to the author for making her rebellious without turning her into a kickass heroine. She is desperate to find a way out and comes up with some ridiculouzsy far-fetched ideas even while she knows she cannot really carry them out. It was an amusing read.
2 people found this helpful
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Arabella
4.0 out of 5 stars Diary of a Medieval Teenage Girl
Reviewed in Canada on November 16, 2017
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A wonderful way to introduce young girls to the Middle Ages...they will empathize with the sassy attitude of Birdie, whose
father is planning her marriage to someone she does not want to marry. She keeps a diary during an entire year,
so we learn about all the seasonal activities, saints' days, etc.Very humorous also.
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Caroline Lawrence
5.0 out of 5 stars To be read as well as watched
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 28, 2022
Verified Purchase
Lena Dunham has made a film of this book but a movie can be no substitute; it is the words of this book that make it a treasure. Funny, moving, lyrical and authentic, I adore ‘Catherine Called Birdy’ and cannot recommend it highly enough.
2 people found this helpful
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