Title:

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village 'Tween #3

Author:

Laura Amy Schlitz

Illustrator:

Robert Byrd

Publisher:

Candlewick

Date:

2007

ISBN:

0763615781

# of Pages (Readership):

96 (‘Tween)

Genre

Historical fiction

Diversity

Social class and religion

Plot Summary:

Written for a group of middle school students with both verse and expository passages, these Canterbury Tales for ‘tweens beg to be read aloud! Schlitz’s characters, from all social strata, exude personality as well as reflect their station in medieval society. Chaucer would approve!

Illustrations:

The book opens with Byrd’s illustration of the Medieval manor and places the characters in the scene. Byrd’s illustrations strengthen the setting and add humor to the story.

Theme(s):

Members of different social classes have different worldviews based on their experiences within society.

Personal Response:

With a clever foreword, the glossary embedded in the margins on each page, an extensive bibliography, and read aloud potential, this book is designed for success in the middle school curriculum. Favorite characters: Modd, the Villein’s (peasant owned by Lord) Daughter (family tricks the Lord after father’s death), Isobel, the Lord’s Daughter, and Barbary, the Mud Slinger (class struggle), and two-voice entry Jacob, the Moneylender’s Son, and Petronella, the Merchant’s Daughter (attraction and religious differences)

Curricular or Programming Connections:

Excellent curriculum support for Middle Ages studies

Develop fluency through oral presentation of voices – dramatic readings

Medieval social classes

Vagaries of life