Frances Temple (1) (1945–1995)

Wow. That's quite a story! The 'plot' is very simple - a girl and her betrothed husband, who has just returned from Crusade, go on pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. The language is even simpler - maybe 5th grade level? The words a modern child would be unlikely to understand - pilgrimage, Compostela, mummers - are explained as soon as they're used. And with that simple plot and language come some seriously deep thoughts - about truth and religion, the differences (and similarities) show more between Christianity and Islam, friendship, duty, marriage, beauty, death, hope, love, craftsmanship...a truly magnificent story. And it's also a very well-written historical story - the only anachronism I found I discovered only because I'm a word nerd (an etymologist). A character wonders if there's any relationship between 'shriveled' and 'shriven' - according to the OED, no, and shriveled is actually a 16th century word so wouldn't exist for another hundred years or so after this story. Talk about picking nits. Wonderful book - hmm, who can I push it on? show less

I love the sneakiness of Anansi and the humor at the end. Tiger is getting ready to enjoy some soup. Anansi doesn't seem interested in the soup but tricks Tiger into getting far from it so he can eat it up. Then he continues tricking other animals in the forest. I don't think Tiger ever figures out who ate his food. The author uses song words to keep the reader interested. Also, the other uses onomatopoeia to bring the book to life. The illustrations are very tropical and colorful.

The story follows Eleanor and her betrothed Thomas as they travel on a pilgrimage to Santiago. While the characters are not based on any specific person, they are very beleivable. Their mannerisms and actions, while mostly fitting with the time period help to convey their thoughts and attitudes. Over the book you can see the characters morals, values, and attitudes changing, whether it is Thomas learning about Islam (which he had fought against in the crusade) or Eleanor learning that Thomas show more isn't as scary as he seems. The plot could be something that had happened during the time period. Most women were married to people they had never met, the crusades were ending and the men returning, and people were doing pilgrimages to atone for sins. The book is written in a style that is easy for a younger reader to grasp the larger concepts. It is linear, following their journey and all the people and places they meet. The chapter's begin with a fancy block letter, conveying the middle English style. The language isn't full of "thees" and "thous" as the author tried to make it readable. However there are accents in it to convey the different nationalities. This is a very good late middle age book. It helps teach why things are happening in the time period and also is trying to show a bit a religious tolerance. I would recommend this to a middle school library. show less

Like much historical fiction geared towards young adults, this could get anachronistic at times with dialogue or description, but it was still a nice piece of fiction geared towards a younger audience.

The subject of arranged marriage is put off in a way that made sense (to me) and offered a temporary reprieve for the betrothed characters. Overall a decent piece of historical fiction for a younger reader.