Newbery Medal Winner Step back to an English village in 1255 where life plays out in dramatic vignettes illuminating twentytwo unforgettable characters. Maidens monks and millers sons in these pages readers will meet them all. Theres Hugo the lords nephew forced to prove his manhood by hunting a wild boar sharptongued Nelly who supports her family by selling live eels and the peasants daughter Mogg who gets a clever lesson in how to save a cow from a greedy landlord. Theres also mudslinging Barbary and her noble victim Jack the compassionate halfwit Alice the singing shepherdess and many more. With a deep appreciation for the period and a grand affection for both characters and audience Laura Amy Schlitz creates twentytwo riveting portraits and linguistic gems equally suited to silent reading or performance. Illustrated with penandink drawings by Robert Byrd inspired by the MunichNuremberg manuscript an illuminated poem from thirteenthcentury Germany this witty historically accurate and utterly human collection forms an exquisite bridge to the people and places of medieval England. show more