Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices From a Medieval Village. by Laura Amy Schlitz. illustrated by Robert Byrd. 2007. 85p. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.
Genre: poetry
Honors
and Awards: Newbery Medal
Review:
School librarian Laura Amy Schlitz wrote the poems of Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! to be performed by a large group of students who were putting on a play, but each wanted an important part to in the production. The result of her work is a stunning collection of tales- historically informative yet incredibly moving- that each detail the life of a young person living in a feudal English village during the 13th century. Each monologue delivers an powerful story, and when considered as a whole the stories comprise an illuminating portrait of the social, economic and political structures of Medieval England.
School librarian Laura Amy Schlitz wrote the poems of Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! to be performed by a large group of students who were putting on a play, but each wanted an important part to in the production. The result of her work is a stunning collection of tales- historically informative yet incredibly moving- that each detail the life of a young person living in a feudal English village during the 13th century. Each monologue delivers an powerful story, and when considered as a whole the stories comprise an illuminating portrait of the social, economic and political structures of Medieval England.
Opinion:
Though this book has been on my radar for years, neither the cover nor the title immediately appealed to me, and I had always hesitated to pick it up. But when I read the book, I was absolutely blown away. It's wonderfully rich; at times wryly funny, at times absolutely devastating in its beauty and its pathos. I think that this is a superb book, but it's one that tweens may need a bit of prodding to pick up. I'd recommend it to kids looking for books of poetry and I think it'd see great use in classrooms.
Ideas: Though this book has been on my radar for years, neither the cover nor the title immediately appealed to me, and I had always hesitated to pick it up. But when I read the book, I was absolutely blown away. It's wonderfully rich; at times wryly funny, at times absolutely devastating in its beauty and its pathos. I think that this is a superb book, but it's one that tweens may need a bit of prodding to pick up. I'd recommend it to kids looking for books of poetry and I think it'd see great use in classrooms.
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! would be an obvious and excellent addition to lessons on Medieval history, or could be used in an English classroom to teach poetry appreciation. Pair this book with other fiction titles (Cushman's The Midwife's Apprentice, de Angeli's The Door in the Wall, etc.) and non-fiction books on Medieval history for a library display.
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