Magic in the Margins - W. Nikola-Lish

A Medieval Tale of Bookmaking
Illustrator: Bonnie Christensen
For: Grades 3-6
Published: May, 2007
Rating: 3.5

I think the story's too wordy in places but I'll have to read it to my 6th graders to get their opinions. The premise is excellent- telling how books were painstakingly handmade by monks during medieval times, before the printing press. This story tells about the drawings that accompanied the text, how they were clever and creative and even humorous. Simon, a young orphan, is taken in by the monks at a monastery, and it falls upon Brother William to educate him. It so happens that Brother William is a master scribe who works in the scriptorium, creating the parchment, quills, and inks before meticulously putting ink to paper.

The overly long story is how Father Anselem, the head of the monastery, won't let Simon actually work on manuscripts until he's able to "capture" mice. This turns out to be a riddle, he does not want Simon to catch the mice, but observe them and capture them in drawings.

There's lots of information about creating books, the people who created them. and the middle ages. Paired with Marguerite Makes a Book (Bruce Robertson) and Illuminations (Hunt, unfortunately out of print), these are three great picture books to emphasize calligraphy and illumination. I plan to use them, along with some calligraphy and illumination lessons, as I teach about the middle ages using the book Good Masters, Sweet Ladies by Laura Schlitz. Fun, fun fun!

The illustrations are coloful, set off by thick red "frames", with - guess - ILLUMINATIONS in the margins.

37. Robin's Country - Monica Furlong

For: Early/Middle Grades
Pub: 1995
140 pgs.
3/5
Finished: Aug. 13, 2008

This was my first foray into the tales of Robin Hood. It was easy-to-read and probably would give young people a good feel for Sherwood Forest, Robin Hood and Marian, the merry men, and some of the medieval history that surrounds these legends. The protagonist's name throughout the book is Dummy, which put me off every single time I read it. Sure, the poor kid couldn't speak, but...

Well, anyway, a mute orphan boy of an unknown age (ten? twelve?) runs away from his evil master and stumbles upon Robin Hood and his crew in Sherwood Forest, who take him under their wing/s. He finds food and kindness and even love from this gang, which makes him begin to have memories of his totally forgotten childhood. As he learns to become a topnotch archer, confidant to Robin, and expert rider, we are privvy to some of the mischievous shenanagans that Robin Hood pulls while trying to trick the Bishop of Hereford and the Sheriff of Nottingham. We realize that Robin Hood and his gang are devout Christians, loyal still to the missing King Richard, who do, indeed, steal from the rich and give to the poor. There's a very tidy ending, Dummy discovers who he really is, everyone lives happily ever after...etc.

This book would certainly give young readers a taste of Robin Hood. Just a taste, all cleaned up (though there are a couple of killings, most of the story is pretty tame). I'm going to have to read more widely about the tales of Robin Hood before I can better say how worthwhile this book really is.

35. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! - Laura Amy Schlitz

Illustrated by Robert Byrd
For: Children
Pub: 2007
2008 Newbery Award
Pages: 86
Rating 5/5
Finished (2nd time) Aug. 10, 2008

This really is a brilliantly conceived and written book, deserving of the Newbery. Laura Schlitz, a school librarian, created 21 short "plays", so that a class could perform it and all would have relatively equal parts. Each "play" is told from the point-of-view of one of the children living on a generic medieval manor in late13th century England. All but two are monologues, two are poems for two voices, some are prose, most poetry, some rhyme, all are loaded with information, great vocabulary words, and just enough footnotes to help the reader but not overwhelm. Schlitz has inserted six essays that she calls "A Little Background." These follow the child/speaker that she feels needs extra clarification (the Three-Field System, Medieval Pilgrimage, The Crusades, Falconry, Jews In Medieval Society, and Towns and Freedom). You can feel the fleas, smell the dung, shiver in the cold, and become totally absorbed in the village and life of this sobering time.

I would love to sit down and brainstorm with Laura Schlitz! I'd love to share ideas about the numerous ways this book can be used in a classroom. I plan to use it this year with my sixth graders as their central literature for the medieval period - I can imagine it becoming a touchstone text - and I can't wait!