BIBLIOGRAPHYSchlitz, Laura Amy. 2007. GOOD MASTERS! SWEET LADIES! VOICES FROM A MEDIEVAL VILLAGE. Ill. by Robert Byrd. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.
ISBN: 978-0-7636-1578-9
PLOT SUMMARY
Well, it’s an interesting place to visit, but you wouldn’t want to live there! If you’re not dealing with lice and fleas, it’s wild boars and drunken fathers. The 2008 Newbery Medal recipient, GOOD MASTERS! SWEET LADIES! by school librarian Laura Amy Schlitz creates a lively, historically accurate version of an English village in 1255.
As her students immersed themselves in the study of the Middle Ages, “going at it hammer and tongs,” Schlitz wanted to offer them something to perform; her solution was to write twenty-two monologues—so each child could be a “star” for three minutes. The characters come from all ranks of society and include Nelly who catches eels for her family’s livelihood and Giles a beggar who declares “…sometimes I manage real tears. (It’s an art.)”
Interspersed between the monologues, Schlitz presents short history lessons that provide background for the characters. Pen and ink illustrations by Robert Byrd are inspired by the Munich Nuremberg manuscript, an illuminated 13th century German manuscript.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Reminiscent of Chaucer’s CANTERBURY TALES, GOOD MASTERS! SWEET LADIES! by Laura Amy Schlitz offers the reader (and aspiring actors) twenty-two authentic portraits of Medieval characters. Subtitled VOICES FROM A MEDIEVAL VILLAGE, the book is written as a series of monologues that each present a well-developed individual. The language and syntax reads like a simplified version of Middle English and she uses both poetic and prose forms. Vocabulary unique to Medieval England lends a sense of authenticity. Schlitz teaches as she entertains; she includes notes throughout the book explaining religious beliefs, remedies for diseases, and other trivia about life during the period that young readers will find at times revolting and fascinating. “Friants are boar droppings.”
Illustrations by Robert Byrd provide a perfect complement to the tales. The volume opens with the artist’s rendering of a map--“A Medieval Manor, England, 1255.” The map places each character in their proper place. The monologues are illustrated like a medieval manuscript.
Schlitz and Byrd have created a beautiful book that deserves a place on school library shelves.
REVIEW EXCERPTS AND HONORS
NEWBERY MEDAL 2008
Review from SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, August 1, 2007
Designed for performance and excellent for use in interdisciplinary history classrooms, the book offers students an incredibly approachable format for learning about the Middle Ages that makes the period both realistic and relevant.-Alana Abbott
Starred Review from BOOKLIST, August 1, 2007
Reminiscent of medieval art, Byrd's lively ink drawings, tinted with watercolors, are a handsome addition to this well-designed book. This unusually fine collection of related monologues and dialogues promises to be a rewarding choice for performance or for reading aloud in the classroom.-Carolyn Phelan
Review from PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, August 27, 2007
Schlitz wrote these 22 brief monologues to be performed by students at the school where she is a librarian; here, bolstered by lively asides and unobtrusive notes, and illuminated by stunningly atmospheric watercolors, they bring to life a prototypical English village in 1255.
CONNECTIONS
Of course the monologues (and duets) beg to be performed as reader’s theater.
The book and monologues grew out of a school’s Renaissance faire and would be a valuable contribution to any study of Medieval England.
A website from the publisher offers a teacher’s guide featuring character analysis, casting advice, discussion questions, and costuming ideas. More ideas include a project for creating a travel guide for a Medieval building researched by students.
http://www.candlewick.com/book_files/0763615781.btg.1.pdf
Have students create illuminated manuscripts.
http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/high/ken-illumination.htm
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