Title: Catherine, Called Birdy
First published: 1994
Description: ¨Catherine's mother wants to teach her the skills of the lady of the manor and to prepare her to be a gentle and patient wife. Her father only wants her to be married off, and profitably. Catherine herself hopes to become a painter, a Crusader, a maker of songs, a peddlar, a monk, a ministrel, a wart charmer... Of all the possibilities, she has ruled out only one: being sold like cheese to the highest bidder.

Against a vivid background of everyday life on a medieval English manor, Catherine's earthy, spirited account of her fourteenth year is a richly entertaining story with an utterly unforgettable heroine.¨ -***Karen Cushman***
Subjects: Diaries, Fiction, Juvenile fiction, Middle Ages, Thirteenth century, Families, Teenage girls, Femininity, Legal status, laws, Marriage, Medieval Civilization, Newbery Honor, Role expectation, History, Reading Level-Grade 11, Reading Level-Grade 12, Children's fiction, Middle ages, fiction, England, fiction, Girls, fiction, Diaries, fiction, Newbery Medal book, Newbery Medal, Friendship, fiction, Family life, fiction
Places: England, Lincolnshire (England), London, Ireland
Time periods: The Middle Ages