Catherine, Called Birdy, by Karen Cushman

This Newbery Honor Book was intriguing to me. I am usually a big fan of historical fiction, and, this being an account of a girl from Medieval England should have pulled me right in. However, the last several books that I have read that have been in "diary" form from the perspective of an adolescent girl have been difficult for me to persist through to the end, Catherine, Called Birdy was no exception. I find the self-absorbed adolescent female mind to be quite tedious and the pace of life in the medieval ages doesn't help to kick up the action. I did finish, and was happy I did, there was something about the story that was interesting enough to pull me through, although, I'm not sure what it was. I checked on Amazon and found many who loved the book, and some who found it too lacking in action/plot to appreciate it. I also would be surprised to find many boys who would be interested in reading this one as the main character's major focus was on how to avoid the marriage that her father was attempting to arrange for her. There were also several reviews on Amazon that questioned the historical accuracy of such a female character as is portrayed by Catherine.

All this said, toward the very end, Catherine becomes more enlightened and mature, I found the author handled this quite simply and clearly and I enjoyed that and think that many adolescent girls would too.

My recommendation is to carefully choose readers who might enjoy this book - a middle school girl who loves history, or diaries, or medieval times. Those are the readers who will enjoy this book the most.

A Beginning, A Muddle, And An End, by Avi

A wonderful little book full of word play that can be enjoyed at so many levels. Grades 4 - adult! Great for elementary and middle school TAG students to discover all the double entendres. A thoroughly fun and quick read. Thanks, Avi!

"Don't try to confuse me with logic," said the tree frog. "The only things I hate more than logic are facts that tell me I'm wrong."

"What about facts that tell you you're right?"

"This being a free country," said the tree frog, "I don't care what you say as long as I get to decide which facts are right and which are wrong." ...

And where do you get your facts?" asked Edward.

"I make them at a factory."