1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cushman, Karen. 2000. MATILDA BONE. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 9780395881569
2. PLOT SUMMARY
"Saliva mucusque!" Poor orphaned Matilda is removed from her pleasant manor-life under the care of Father Leufredus into the gloomy and unholy likes of Blood and Bone Alley. Her latin, knowledge, and search for higher things in life are unappreciated and seem to serve no use in her new apprenticeship under Red Peg the Bonesetter. Matilda is uneasy and fears she will be "snatched by the Devil" if she consorts with her new irreverent community. She silently scrutinizes everyone's lack of piety and pleads to the saints for their intercession.
As Matilda observes the hard work and care they give to those in need, she begins to question all that Fr. Leufredus taught her. Why had he not instructed her on God's love? After a slow transformation, Matilda recognizes education comes in different forms. She also realizes her own unique talents and may take to bonesetting like a duck to water after all.
As Matilda observes the hard work and care they give to those in need, she begins to question all that Fr. Leufredus taught her. Why had he not instructed her on God's love? After a slow transformation, Matilda recognizes education comes in different forms. She also realizes her own unique talents and may take to bonesetting like a duck to water after all.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
You'll step out of the Middle Ages dusting off your Sunday kirtle and appreciating your doctor after reading MATILDA BONE.
It's a hard-to-imagine world for 21st Century learners, but Cushman includes every possible detail from milksops to chamber pots. Readers are transported to 14th Century England and exposed to the ghastly realization of medieval medicine. No good hygiene or public sanitation here; young Matilda must learn the trade of bonesetting in the medical quarters known as Blood and Bone Alley - where "ordinary people [go] to be bled, dosed, and bandaged," "barber-surgeons down this way and leeches down that."
The main character is fourteen year old Matilda, a snobbish, stubborn teenager who parrots everything she has learned from Father Leufredus. She is unyielding in her views and gives no independent opinion of her own until she meets kind, hardworking Red Peg, and a spunky loud-mouthed girl nicknamed Tildy. Matilda's internal dialogue demonstrating the struggle between what she's learned growing up and her new experiences leads readers to hope in her transformation.
Cushman's details of patron saints and the public's common ideas of incantations, devils, dream interpreters, and the need to balance the humors are accurate to the time and place. The dialogue (and lexicon) is authentic yet understandable for young readers. (The audiobook is spoken in an English accent and would offer additional genuineness to this medieval experience. Highly recommended!)
It's a hard-to-imagine world for 21st Century learners, but Cushman includes every possible detail from milksops to chamber pots. Readers are transported to 14th Century England and exposed to the ghastly realization of medieval medicine. No good hygiene or public sanitation here; young Matilda must learn the trade of bonesetting in the medical quarters known as Blood and Bone Alley - where "ordinary people [go] to be bled, dosed, and bandaged," "barber-surgeons down this way and leeches down that."
The main character is fourteen year old Matilda, a snobbish, stubborn teenager who parrots everything she has learned from Father Leufredus. She is unyielding in her views and gives no independent opinion of her own until she meets kind, hardworking Red Peg, and a spunky loud-mouthed girl nicknamed Tildy. Matilda's internal dialogue demonstrating the struggle between what she's learned growing up and her new experiences leads readers to hope in her transformation.
Cushman's details of patron saints and the public's common ideas of incantations, devils, dream interpreters, and the need to balance the humors are accurate to the time and place. The dialogue (and lexicon) is authentic yet understandable for young readers. (The audiobook is spoken in an English accent and would offer additional genuineness to this medieval experience. Highly recommended!)
4. AWARDS & REVIEW EXCERPTS
Parents' Choice Award, 2000
School Library Journal Best Books, 2000
Best Children's Books of the Year, 2001
Leslie Carter (VOYA, December 2000 (Vol. 23, No. 5))
No one has a better grasp of the flavor of the Middle Ages than Cushman.
Publisher's Weekly, starred review
Students will delight in the many peculiar cures used in Medieval England, such as: "pounded earthworms, ants' eggs, bull urine, the fat of a medium-sized viper, and a pinch of asses' dung" for failing eyesight. MATILDA BONE will be an excellent addition to the classroom library when studying the Middle Ages.
Students will delight in the many peculiar cures used in Medieval England, such as: "pounded earthworms, ants' eggs, bull urine, the fat of a medium-sized viper, and a pinch of asses' dung" for failing eyesight. MATILDA BONE will be an excellent addition to the classroom library when studying the Middle Ages.
5. CONNECTIONS
* Follow up with a discussion on some of the biased views portrayed:
http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/readers_guides/cushman/matilda.shtml#questions
*Learn more about life in the Middle Ages:
http://www.learner.org/interactives/middleages/feudal.html
http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/readers_guides/cushman/matilda.shtml#questions
*Learn more about life in the Middle Ages:
http://www.learner.org/interactives/middleages/feudal.html
*Read other books on the Middle Ages by Karen Cushman such as:
Cushman, Karen. 1995. THE MIDWIFES APPRENTICE. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 978-0395692295
Cushman, Karen. 1995. THE MIDWIFES APPRENTICE. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 978-0395692295
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