Voices From A Medieval Village
by Laura Amy Schlitz
Flap Copy description:
Varlets, Vermin, Simpletons, Saints - in these pages, readers will meet them all. There's Hugo, the lord's nephew, forced to prove his manhood by hunting a wild boar, a beast whose tusks can "slice a man, groin to gorge." There's sharp-tongued Nelly, who supports her family by catching and selling live eels, and the peasant's daughter, Mogg, whose downtrodden mother teaches her how to save the family cow from a greedy landlord. There's also mud-slinging Barbary and her noble victim, Isobel; Giles, the talented beggar; Alice, the singing shepherdess; and more.
My thoughts:
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices From A Medieval Village is a creative series of vignettes about life in the Middle Ages. Ms. Schlitz's unique book was beautifully illustrated by Robert Byrd; it was initially written as a play - it wound up being the 2008 Newbery Medal Award Winner! The appreciation the author has for the Middle Ages - coupled with her vast amount of research, made this book not only entertaining, but educational as well. I would highly recommend this book to readers from the ages of 8 - 12, and to middle school teachers as material for a whimsical play set in medieval England.
To learn more about the multi-talented author, Laura Amy Schlitz -
click here: http://thenightfairy.com/#laura
