Module 4 - Daniel Boone and Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village

Several stories, monologues, and poems are put together to tell the story of a medieval village and the townspeople who live there.

Schlitz, L.A. (2008). Good masters! Sweet ladies! Voices from a medieval village. Candlewick Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. ISBN: 978-0-7636-1578-9

Impressions:
I thought this book would be more stories, but I was pleasantly surprised when it was written as plays almost. The reader is introduced to the human side of a medieval town.

Review:
Shelley Glantz (Library Media Connection, November/December 2007) Readers are introduced to the entire strata of an English medieval town by 22 villagers from all walks of life, from the lord's nephew and daughter, apprentices, trades people, and artisans, to the lowliest beggar. Most of these characters are children or young people. Characters describe themselves through first-person monologues that are written to be read or recited by students. Annotations and notes are included on page margins to explain factual information and old English terminology, a feature that gives the book a scholarly feel, but which are very age-appropriate. Monologues are followed by straighforward informational text, "A Little Background," written in a narrative style. Color illustrations in the style of medieval tapestries or panels illuminate the text. Margin borders are each a different pattern reminiscent of the age. Depending on the grade level of students using this title, it will make a valuable supplement to history classes, English literature studies including Chaucer, and as an unusual variation on reader's theatre. Art classes can also use the illustrations to supplement any study of medieval art. Recommended. 2007, Candlewick Press, 96 pp., $19.99 hc. Ages 10 up.
Retrieved from Children's Literature Reviews, Children's Literature Comprehensive Database)

Suggestions for use in a library or classroom setting:
This would be an excellent book to use for reader's theater. Students can choose whether they want to read a monologue or in a group or pairs. They can dress up, study their character, study the circumstances surrounding their character.



The tale of Daniel Boone, written by James Daughtery, won the 1940 Newbery Award. This story is about Daniel Boone and the land he loved - Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee.

Daugherty, J. (1939). Daniel Boone. Viking Press, New York.

Impressions:
The illustrations are lacking, romantisizing Boone and making the "savages" look especially savage. The story was long and tedious to read. I didn't especially like this book.

Review:
Michelle F. Bayuk (Review found here)
"Daniel Boone (1940 winner, James Daughtery, Viking) is fortunately out-of-print, but it was(and it) a real travesty that an apparently intelligent committee would choose a book of dubious scholarship and horrible insensiticty as something good for children to read. The book is racist, misogynistic, and quite frankly, not a work of nonfiction. It is the glorification of a man who, according for the author, never does anything wrong. When bad things happen to him (like losing his land - twice - because he fails to file the paperwork), it's not his fault. Daniel Boone, after all, is a man's man and a great hero. Why should he have to deal with little things like seeing to his own future? What is interesting is that the immediately proceeding Newbery winner is Thimble Summer (1939 winner, Elizabeth Enright, Holt) in which a girl acts with equality with the boys in the story. The book immediately following, Call it Courage (1941 winner, Armstrong Sperry, Simon & Schuster) is a fine attempt at presenting an island culture to a young audience. Given that the children's literature of the time was fairly progressive, we can't blame the pre-World War II isolationism or rhetoric for the committee's incongruous choice. Daniel Boone is both a travesty and a conundrum."

Suggestions for library and classroom use:
This book could be used when discussing Newbery Award winning books, shown as an example. Maybe ask the children why they think it won the award. Also can be used when talking or teaching about the colonization of America.