Karen Cushman
Newbery award-winning children’s book author
I hope you’ll share my delight at the gift of words from librarians, authors, and poets who are helping me celebrate the 20th anniversary of Catherine, Called Birdy. Thanks to everyone who contributed (librarians Edie Ching and Peggy Jackson, poet Julie Larios, authors Gennifer Choldenko, Barbara O’Connor, Augusta Scattergood, and Caroline Starr Rose), to the Nerdy Book Club, and to
The month of May begins our countdown to Catherine, Called Birdy‘s 20th birthday. Can it really be that long? Dorothy writes: “File this one under ‘good karma.’ First some background: This week, my dear friend, Her Awesomeness Karen Cushman is celebrating the 20th anniversary of her Newbery-honor winning novel, Catherine, Called Birdy. Set in Medieval England, the novel is written
In honor of Poetry Month (I know I’m late to the party, but it’s still April). I would like to share a poem from the Immigrant and Refugee Youth Voices Poetry Project at Foster High School in Tukwila, Washington. Poet and teaching artist Merna Hecht works each year with refugee students from war-torn countries as they struggle to find words
I appreciate the shout-out about Catherine, Called Birdy. It’s a thrill to find my book on your wonderful site. Readers, be sure to visit A Mighty Girl for more book recommendations. Post by A Mighty Girl.
An early sign of spring here on Vashon Island is the number of hungry, pregnant deer. I love to see them, as long as they eat only our meadow weeds and nothing that blooms. The raccoons are less welcome visitors because I worry about them menacing Otis, who is almost 18 and not as spry as he used to be.
In the past three days I have battled hurricane and pirates, floods and evil kings, false friends and kind strangers. I was angry, frightened, discouraged, and determined. All this while I rode a train from here to Portland and back. Yup, I was reading—two amazingly good books. Rodman Philbrick, author of the entirely splendid Freak the Mighty, took me to
There is no one reviewing or editing or criticizing my research. It is just me and a hundred thousand interesting bits of information. And I discover things I love knowing, like the fact that an unknown Egyptian laborer invented beer when his bread fermented. Or that Saint Simeon Stylites lived for thirty-seven years atop a pillar. Or that in the
I thought you might like to see what I’ve been reading (when I should be writing): Mrs. Hemingway (Naomi Wood, Penguin): Insightful fictional look at Ernest Hemingway’s four wives. There’s a lot to admire in the women but I still don’t get Hemingway’s appeal. The Bear (Claire Cameron, Little, Brown): Two children must find their way out of the wilderness after
Background: The Loud Silence of Francine Green: From reading the book, you know that Francine’s friend Sophie’s father was a screenwriter in Hollywood, which is a factor upon which the plot turns. You may find it interesting to learn more about Ring Lardner, Jr., a writer who won Academy Awards for M*A*S*H and Woman of the Year. In 1947, he
Happy Birthday, Birdy 2014 is the 20th anniversary of Catherine, Called Birdy. There will be celebrations all year, there will be hoopla, there will be cake. Here for your reading pleasure is a list, in no particular order, of my own favorite medieval novels for young people. Crossing to Paradise — Kevin
