< Previous page

Presentations vary as much as the cast. Sometimes stories are linked as when Isobel, the lord's daughter, complains about how someone threw dung and stained her beautiful dress when she'd done no wrong. In the next ode we meet Barbary, a poor peasant girl who can barely take care of her stepmother's twin babies, lives in a stink-filled cottage where she can't sleep and, in a bad moment, throws dung at the perfect Isobel, feeling nothing but remorse later. A dialogue shows Jacob, the moneylender's son, and Pentronella, the merchant's daughter, who escape parental and societal prejudices for a short, spontaneous session of rock throwing.

Schlitz's writings sparkle with variety of form as well. Some are free verse poems, while others rhyme. There are narratives and dialogues, and every so often Schlitz throws in a short nonfiction piece to explain crusades, pilgrimages or the three-field system of farming. All nonfiction pieces are brief and placed in the context of the character's lament. Alongside the elegant borders are notes about pronunciation or word meanings, each pithy and pleasing. Much like Chaucer did for his readers, Schlitz lets us see custom and controversy and how humanity and feelings never really change.

These authors challenge what is, take risks and are happily rewarded for their efforts. May political battles end the same.

Short take

New York Times best-selling author Haven Kimmel has shaken up her status quo by writing her first novel for younger readers, "Kaline Klattermaster's Tree House" (Atheneum, $15.99, ages 9-12). The hero is an inventive third-grader who is deeply disturbed by his father's leaving and his mother's dizziness. He argues and sometimes screams for (in annoying capitals) some kind of structure and parental understanding. This is a complex story, beyond the ken of most young readers, but here's hoping this author keeps taking risks.

< Previous page