The Midwife's Apprentice

The Midwife's Apprentice
Author: Karen Cushman
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 143
Release: 1995
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0547722176

In a small village in medieval England, a young homeless girl acquires a home and a new career when she becomes the apprentice to a sharp-tempered midwife.

Catherine, Called Birdy

Catherine, Called Birdy
Author: Karen Cushman
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2014-12-04
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1447294092

Shaggy Beard wishes to take me to wife! What a monstrous joke. That dog assassin whose breath smells like the mouth of Hell, who makes wind like others make music, who is so ugly and old! Catherine's in trouble. Caught between a mother who is determined to turn her into the perfect medieval lady and a father who wants her to marry her off to much older and utterly repulsive suitor. Luckily, Catherine has a plan. She has experience outwitting suitors and is ready to take matters into her own hands. A fun and vibrant coming-of-age novel about a 14-year-old girl's fight for freedom and right to self-determination.

The Ballad of Lucy Whipple

The Ballad of Lucy Whipple
Author: Karen Cushman
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 213
Release: 1996-08-16
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0547532881

In 1849 a twelve-year-old girl who calls herself Lucy is distraught when her mother moves the family from Massachusetts to a small California mining town. There Lucy helps run a boarding house and looks for comfort in books while trying to find a way to return "home."

Grayling's Song

Grayling's Song
Author: Karen Cushman
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 245
Release: 2016-06-07
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0544301633

Grayling doesn't want to be a hero, but to save her mother from a dark enchantment, she seeks out the few second-string magic makers who haven't been immobilized by the spell and goes off in search of her mother's grimoire, or book of magic. Obstacles both natural and supernatural block their way, and friction within the group delays the journey. Surprising herself, Grayling finds the strength and decisiveness to move the group forward and reach her goal. Eccentric witches and wizards plus a shape-shifting mouse provide moments of high comedy, as do odd practices that date back to the Middle Ages, such as divination with cheese.

Rodzina

Rodzina
Author: Karen Cushman
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 243
Release: 2003-03-20
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0547533489

Rodzina Clara Jadwiga Anastazya Brodski, a strong and stubborn Polish orphan, leaves Chicago on an orphan train, expecting to be adopted and turned into a slave—or worse, not to be adopted at all. As the train rattles westward, she begins to develop attachments to her fellow travelers, even the frosty orphan guardian, and to accept the idea that there might be good homes for orphans—maybe even for a big, combative Polish girl. But no placement seems right for the formidable Rodzina, and she cleverly finds a way out of one unfortunate situation after another until at last she finds the family that is right for her. Like Karen Cushman's other young girl protagonists, Rodzina is trying to find her place in the world—and she does. The compelling narrative is laced with wry humor and keen observation, full of memorable characters, and a thoroughly researched Afterword.

Catherine, Called Birdy

Catherine, Called Birdy
Author: Karen Cushman
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 197
Release: 1994
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0395681863

The thirteen-year-old daughter of an English country knight keeps a journal in which she records the events of her life, particularly her longing for adventures beyond the usual role of women and her efforts to avoid being married off.

A World Lit Only by Fire

A World Lit Only by Fire
Author: William Manchester
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Total Pages: 367
Release: 2009-09-26
Genre: History
ISBN: 0316082791

A "lively and engaging" history of the Middle Ages (Dallas Morning News) from the acclaimed historian William Manchester, author of The Last Lion. From tales of chivalrous knights to the barbarity of trial by ordeal, no era has been a greater source of awe, horror, and wonder than the Middle Ages. In handsomely crafted prose, and with the grace and authority of his extraordinary gift for narrative history, William Manchester leads us from a civilization tottering on the brink of collapse to the grandeur of its rebirth: the dense explosion of energy that spawned some of history's greatest poets, philosophers, painters, adventurers, and reformers, as well as some of its most spectacular villains. "Manchester provides easy access to a fascinating age when our modern mentality was just being born." --Chicago Tribune

Queen of the Sea

Queen of the Sea
Author: Dylan Meconis
Publisher: Walker Books US
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2019-06-25
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1536204986

Cult graphic novelist Dylan Meconis offers a rich reimagining of history in this beautifully detailed hybrid novel loosely based on the exile of Queen Elizabeth I by her sister, Queen Mary. When her sister seizes the throne, Queen Eleanor of Albion is banished to a tiny island off the coast of her kingdom, where the nuns of the convent spend their days peacefully praying, sewing, and gardening. But the island is also home to Margaret, a mysterious young orphan girl whose life is upturned when the cold, regal stranger arrives. As Margaret grows closer to Eleanor, she grapples with the revelation of the island’s sinister true purpose as well as the truth of her own past. When Eleanor’s life is threatened, Margaret is faced with a perilous choice between helping Eleanor and protecting herself. In a hybrid novel of fictionalized history, Dylan Meconis paints Margaret’s world in soft greens, grays, and reds, transporting readers to a quiet, windswept island at the heart of a treasonous royal plot.

Karen Cushman

Karen Cushman
Author: Susanna Daniel
Publisher: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc
Total Pages: 118
Release: 2005-12-15
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 9781404204638

This appealing book presents an in-depth look at one of the most popular authors of historical fiction for young adults. Cushman, who won the prestigious Newbery Medal for The Midwife's Apprentice, and a Newbery Honor for Catherine Called Birdy, is most recognized for her strong and independent-minded female protagonists, most of whom lived in the Middle Ages. Included are lists of published titles, awards received, source notes, a biographical timeline, and an interview with the author.

Cowboy Sam and Those Confounded Secrets

Cowboy Sam and Those Confounded Secrets
Author: Kitty Griffin
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 40
Release: 2001
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 9780618088546

Under Cowboy Sam's hat are more secrets than fleas on Doc Peeble's hound dog, more secrets than peppers on a chili pepper plant, and more secrets than spikes on a horny toad lizard. Just about everyone in the town of Dry Gulch wants to tell Sam a secret. But when his hat gets plum full of secrets and won't stay put on his head, Sam is bumfuzzled and bewildered. How can he keep all those secrets under wraps--and keep the townfolk from going crazy? Perfectly matched by Mike Wohnoutka's comic illustrations, this funny and unexpectedly touching tale will appeal to readers young and old alike.