Matilda Bone
Publication Information
Author:  Cushman, Karen	Illustrator:
Title:  Matilda Bone	Date:  2000
Publisher:  Clarion	City:  New York
ISBN, paperback:  0-395-88156-0	ISBN, hardback:
Recommended audience:
ABE/ABLE:   Yes	ESOL:
Family:	Young Adult:   Yes
Picture:
General Information:
Book Type(s):    historical fiction
HSE Descriptor(s):    social studies
Summary:
Sometime in medieval Europe, a sombre-minded priest leaves a 14-year-old orphaned girl to be a bonesetter's apprentice. She reads and writes Latin but knows very little about the world and the people in it.
Teaching Ideas:
This books adds another look at the medieval world--how people eat, dress, shop, and heal people. By the same author as Midwife's Apprentice and Catherine Called Birdie, the books could be read together. Cushman demonstrates how people heal psychologically as well as physically. Learners could compare some of the remedies--like cutting a hole in Tildy's skull, or using cobwebs to sterilize a wound--with modern medicine. Which were erroneous and which were sensible in view of the times? Also, there are several surrogate mothers depicted--Peg, Margery, and Effie. How do they "mother" Matilda? Learners could make a list of the characters and describe what each contributed to Matilda's blossoming into a person who has feelings and thinks for herself.
Keywords: select any link below for a list of resources which also have that keyword
Social Studies > anthropology > daily life Education > reading Education > teachers Emotions-Personal Issues > emotions > loneliness Emotions-Personal Issues > personal issues > group > relationships > friendships History > time period > Middle Ages Science > medicine Communities > historical Work > apprenticeship

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