Good Masters! Sweet Ladies by Laura Amy Schlitz
So Good Masters! Sweet Ladies: Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz was actually a book that I was not looking forward to reading. But I had committed myself to read all the Newbery books and what better time to read it than just after it’s success as the winner of the 2008 Newbery Medal. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! just didn’t seem like anything that would hold my interest. This prejudgment was probably influenced by the front cover, which I do not like at all. So, I was pleasantly surprised when I found myself enjoying it.
From the forward written by Laura Amy Schlitz:
I wrote these plays for a group of students at the Park School, where I work as a librarian. They were studying the Middle Ages, and they were going at it hammer and tongs. they were experimenting with catapults and building miniature castles, baking bread and tending herbs, composing music and illuminating manuscripts. I wanted them to have something to perform.
The only difficulty was that there were seventeen children in every class, and no one wanted a small part.
It really isn’t possible to write a play with seventeen equally important characters in it. If you read Shakespeare, you’ll notice that he never managed it - there are always a few characters that have little to say or do. So I decided to write seventeen short plays - monologues - instead of one long one, so that for three minutes at least, every child could be a star.
Reading seventeen monologues about children in the middle ages? Yeah, that’s going to be exciting. But I found myself eagerly wondering what the next monologue would be and I really enjoyed reading the notes in the sidebar’s that explained about Medieval life. Each monologue was about a child raging in age between ten and fifteen and they ranged from the Lord’s nephew to the beggar. Some were laugh out loud funny.
All in all, a fun little read but personally, I liked Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis better which won a Newbery Honor. How do they decide those things anyways?
I haven’t a clue how they decide these things but I sure would like to know!!
on April 23rd, 2008 at 1:56 pmIsn’t it funny how we can judge a book by the cover (wait…isn’t that a saying? Ha!). I do the same thing sometimes. I read Johnny Tremain last year, which is an OLD Newbery winner (from the 40s?). Sounds like a great undertaking to read them all!
Still not getting followup comments via email.
on April 23rd, 2008 at 4:54 pmFirst, I admit that I did not like the book. You can find my review here for a dissenting point of view.
http://readywhenyouarecb.blogspot.com/2008/02/good-masters-sweet-ladies-by-amy.html
Second, I really like your blog. I’ve added a link to my own.
Third, I do know how they choose the winners for the Newberry. The American Library Association has a small committee, jury, of readers who read just about everything worth taking a look at that comes out in a year. They then have a week long meeting to debate which book should win each award. These debates can go on for some time and it’s often the case that someone has to stay up late reading or rereading a book.
I found this out in an article in Horn Book magazine, which is a magazine about children’s literature for librarians and teachers. You may be able to get it online. It was an interesting read.
They said that each year, the juries biggest fear is that they will completely miss the latest Charlotte’s Web, which is perhaps the greatest oversight in the award’s history.
on April 23rd, 2008 at 5:41 pmSamantha - Well, I’m glad CB James stopped by because know we know!
Trish - I always judge books by the cover. They are a huge influence for me. I hope to get through all the Newbery’s eventually. I’m still checking on the subscription problem. I can’t find anything in support forums or anything. I’m thinking maybe I should create a feed specifically for comments but I don’t know how to do that, so I need to talk to my super computer savvy sister.
Thanks CB James for your great explanation! I clicked over to your review, read it, and was going to post a comment and then I saw that I already had posted a comment on your book review! I even said the same thing a couple of months ago, that I said now, that I disliked the cover. Obviously, that didn’t change. This wasn’t the best Newbery I’ve read, but it wasn’t awful either. It entertained me. Also, thanks for your kind words and the blogroll add. I don’t keep a blogroll here but I have a great database of book reviews found here: http://bookreviews.mawbooks.com I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find your blog already listed.
on April 23rd, 2008 at 8:38 pmThis review came on a perfect day for me. The kids and I are studying the Middle Ages for history this year, and I was just wishing this morning that I had a first-person point of view book that would help them really feel what life was like then. I just ordered a copy!
on April 23rd, 2008 at 8:48 pmI don’t like that cover either! If I were a kid I’d stay away from it. Sounds like an interesting book.
on April 23rd, 2008 at 9:12 pmI loved, loved, loved Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! (even the illustrations!)
on April 24th, 2008 at 7:23 amI did a lot of drama, speech and readers theater type activities when I was in school and so I think that is part of the reason I was just so enchanted by this book. I would have loved to have been able to perform some of these monologues when I was in school. I am hoping my kids will put them to good use the older they get!
[...] reviews Good Masters! Sweet Ladies by Laura Amy Schlitz, and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate [...]
on April 25th, 2008 at 8:00 amI read this one back in the summer–before the Newberys obviously–and it was an okay, pleasant-enough, important for libraries kind of book. I didn’t see it as a glaring must-win book. But it was nice enough.
I personally liked Elijah of Buxton better. But then again, that’s almost always the case with me. I’m just the kind of person that likes Newbery Honors better than the winners.
on April 26th, 2008 at 11:39 amI haven’t read this book yet, but we’re going to be studying the Middle Ages next school year. SO if the monologues are good, I’ll probably have my urchins choose one of the seventeen to perform for the family.
on April 26th, 2008 at 1:32 pmCarrie - Oh good! It would be really fun to act out. She even has little acting tips in the side panels.
Rebecca - I understand why the cover and illustrations are the way they are stylistically speaking, but I agree, most kids wouldn’t like it.
Jeanette - I’m sure schools are using this in their classroom’s now. It does teach about the Middle Ages in a fun way.
Becky - Elijah of Buxton was great wasn’t it?!
on April 26th, 2008 at 11:32 pmI have learned not to judge a book by it’s cover - this sounds like it might be interesting
on April 27th, 2008 at 4:49 am[...] reviews of this book Natasha C.B. [...]
on June 2nd, 2008 at 6:39 pmWouldn’t you just love to see this performed?
About gravatars: I tried to go get one, and it said my email was in use! I have no memory of signing up, but I went ahead and tried with the passwords I would normally use, and no luck. So I’m sort of creeped out, thinking someone else is using my email address for a gravatar.
on June 3rd, 2008 at 2:16 pmDewey - But if it was set up completely with your email that you used just now than a gravatar would have shown up here. But it didn’t. So my guess is that you may have started to set it up, but it wasn’t completed. Can they email a password to you?
on June 3rd, 2008 at 3:01 pm