Good Masters, Sweet Ladies!

Author: Laura Amy Schlitz                    

   

Illustrator: Robert Byrd

Publisher: Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA, 2007

ISBN: 978-0-7636-4332-4                                   

Grade Level: 5-8

Genre: Nonfiction

Plot Summary:  Includes bibliographical references (p. 82-85).;Hugo, the Lord's nephew -- Taggot, the blacksmith's daughter -- Will, the plowboy -- Alice, the shepherdess -- Thomas, the doctor's son -- Constance, the pilgrim -- Mogg, the villein's daughter -- Otho, the miller's son -- Jack, the half-wit -- Simon, the knight's son -- Edgar, the falconer's son -- Isobel, the Lord's daughter -- Barbary, the mud slinger -- Jacob Ben Salomon, the moneylender's son, and Petronella, the merchant's daughter -- Lowdy, the varlet's child -- Pask, the runaway -- Piers, the glassblower's apprentice -- Mariot and Maud, the glassblower's daughters -- Nelly, the sniggler -- Drogo, the tanner's apprentice -- Giles, the beggar. A collection of short one-person plays featuring characters, between ten and fifteen years old, who live in or near a thirteenth-century English manor.

Themes/Tags:  Middle Ages, children's literature, historical fiction, poetry, England

Reviews and Awards:  Wilson's Children 01/01/09, Wilson's Junior High School 11/01/08, Newbery Medal/Honor 01/14/08, School Library Journal starred 08/01/07, Notable/Best Books (A.L.A.) 01/01/08, Booklist starred 08/01/07, Horn Book starred 04/01/08, Book Links starred 01/01/08

Extensions: It's obvious, but impossible NOT to use this book in a performance capacity.  Using the media center, dedicate a month to study of the middle ages.  Along with books and other media on display, culminate the end of the month with a performance of Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!  Those who do not have speaking parts will assist with backdrops, audio (music), and video.

GPS: ELA6R3 The student reads aloud, accurately (in the range of 95%), familiar material in a variety of genres, in a way that makes meaning clear to listeners.

ELA6RC4 The student establishes a context for information acquired by reading across subject areas. 

Terri's Review ►►►►► 5 Bean & Cheese Nachos (out of 5)

Due to the response from a couple of fellow media specialists, I had already prejudged this book to be a head-scratching doozy.  Imagine my surprise... I LOVED it! I also love that it was written by a bona-fide media specialist! I enjoyed it was written as a series of monologues.  Each character portrays a person of various status or trade in this fictional midieval village.  Some of the monologues are written as poetry, others as lyrical prose.  The stories are those of hard times and social status -- or lack of.  Interspersed throughout the pages are footnotes on odd words and background information on unusual practices.  Several "history" pages are interspersed to give greater detail on topics such as the role of the miller or the Crusades.  Very interesting and very well-written, I will leave you with this catchy excerpt from "Otho, The Millers Son":

Oh, God makes the water, and the water makes the river,

And the river turns the mill wheel

and the wheel goes on forever.

There's no use in looking back,

for here's the truth I've found:

It's hunger, want, and wickedness

that makes the world go 'round.

Newbery Ketchup!

Catch-up, actually. Ketchup just sounded cute, and I am hungry. I digress....for a while, I've had a goal to read all the Newbery books - both winners and honors. As time marches on, a deadline for this project is needed. A year seems more than reasonable. So perhaps a nice, neat date like June 1, 2012. Yes, I like it!

What is the story behind the Newbery? ("One R! One R!", as Dr. Nancy Brown would tell her GSU grad students) Per the American Library Association's website:

The Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the American Library Association for the most distinguished American children's book published the previous year. On June 22, 1921, Frederic G. Melcher proposed the award to the American Library Association meeting of the Children's Librarians' Section and suggested that it be named for the eighteenth-century English bookseller John Newbery. The idea was enthusiastically accepted by the children's librarians, and Melcher's official proposal was approved by the ALA Executive Board in 1922. In Melcher's formal agreement with the board, the purpose of the Newbery Medal was stated as follows: "To encourage original creative work in the field of books for children. To emphasize to the public that contributions to the literature for children deserve similar recognition to poetry, plays, or novels. To give those librarians, who make it their life work to serve children's reading interests, an opportunity to encourage good writing in this field."

The Newbery Award thus became the first children's book award in the world. Its terms, as well as its long history, continue to make it the best known and most discussed children's book award in this country.

I have read a number of books on the list already - whether recently or in the past. Favorites - some of which I have already mentioned in this blog - include:

 

• Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis  2008 Honor 

• Whittington  by  Alan Armstrong, illustrated by S.D. Schindler  2006 Honor

• Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell  1961 Winner

While I try to recognize the value of each story, I can't imagine one person enjoying every single book. That is the beauty of reading...so much material for all different personalities to enjoy. So I will also recognize some of my not-so-favorites:

• The Underneath  by Kathi Appelt, illus. by David Small 2009 Honor

• Old Yeller by Fred Gipson 1957 Honor

The books above were certainly well-written, but as an animal lover, they were emotionally challenging. That said, I have no regrets on reading them and see their value to a library collection. It is good to be challenged.

What are some of your favorite Newberys? Some you are still scratching your about? Any oversights?

Time to get started. Here is my first batch, courtesy of Atlanta's Buckhead Library:

And for the record, a shot of the Buckhead Library. Architecture fans: talk amongst yourselves!

 

READ.GOV

A couple of years ago, I visited the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. I was traveling by train from Atlanta to Salt Lake City and had a layover of several hours at Union Station. This gorgeous station is in the heart of our nation's capital, so the Library of Congress (LOC) was just a short walk away. Due to time limitations, I was only able to do a quick self-guided tour, but enjoyed every moment. While it is a spectacular place, even more impressive (and easily accessible) is the LOC website. A veritible abyss of information, the site offers historical photographs, audio recordings, film clips, manuscripts, maps and so much more. Today I would like to invite you to visit one of my favorite offerings:


http://www.read.gov/

Categories for online reading include classic options for kids, teens, adults and educators/parents. The children's books are especially gorgeous. Books of a time gone by, but preserved for us to share with kids today!

And because you are interested (right?!), here are a few amateur shots from my trip!  

You should know this one!

Finally here! Hooray!

The exhibition featured Herbert Block's editorial cartoons.

View from LOC steps.

In the "lobby".

Breathtaking! Too bad my photography skills are not!

Beauty everywhere.

The entrance in the background.

Bad-hair-day at LOC. I've been sleeping on a train folks (thus, NOT sleeping)!

I liked these guys.

Amtrak: fun, adventurous, and not very glamorous. This is it. You just walk on!