By Lois Lowry
Illustrations by Jonathan Stroh
4RBooks: 3/6, grades 6-8
Amazon rating: 4.0/5, grades 5-6
Good Reads: 3.58/5
Common Sense Media: 3/5, ages 10+
190 pages
Synopsis:
This book is written in 5 parts. It was inspired by the discovery in 1952 of a body preserved in a peat bog. The body was determined to be that of a teenager from the first century AD. Lois Lowry was intrigued by the discovery and set out to fashion a story of what could have happened to the adolescent.
The opening section details the discovery of the body, the use of carbon dating to determine when it died there, and historical facts about that period of history. Originally the body was thought to be a girl because of its size. Section two is Lowry’s story of this young girl, Estrild, and how she came to have died in the bog. She creates a story of a young woman, ahead of her time, who wants to have the same rights as the men and boys in her village. She practices with her friend Varick to learn how to be a warrior like her uncle. Ultimately, this leads to her doom.
Part three is more history and recent research has determined that the body was a teenage boy with spinal abnormalities. Lowry then creates a story for a different character, Varick, who longs to do one brave thing. He accomplishes his goal but in the process gets sick and wanders into the bog to die. Part five is a final wrap up of the thought process in creating her works.
Parental Guidance: high for elementary students, medium high for middle school
*The readers know that both stories end with the teen dying in the bog.
*Lambs are used in religious sacrifices. There are references to the blood, to the priests checking the entrails for signs, the necks being stretched and cut, and the lambs and mothers crying out.
*People are led to the bog to be killed.
*A woman was punished for infidelity: clothes torn off, head shaved, and beaten.
*Estrild is stripped naked in front of the crowd, blindfolded, and led to the bog to be drowned.
*There are references to the men getting drunk, puking, and fighting among themselves.
*Varick’s mother died during his birth. He has a deformed spine and is shunned by most of the villagers and bullied by his peers.
*When Varick helps the iron forage reset his hip, he gets him drunk on cider before pulling and snapping the leg in place.
*Many villagers own slaves.
Recommendation:
As a former California sixth grade teacher who loved teaching ancient history in social studies, I was looking forward to reading this book. While I personally found it interesting, I’m concerned that it is too intense for most readers in its intended audience. An elementary teacher would have to be very careful about using this book. Middle school would probably be okay, but still there needs to be warnings and guidance about its content.
I think it’s also a tough book to read for many children because of its structure. Readers should be warned that it’s two different stories surrounded by history lessons and the author’s personal observations. The five sections are the only divisions to the book. The three author’s notes sections are fairly short, but the stories of Estrild and Varick are 50-70 pages long. Readers who like shorter chapters will find this difficult.
While the story of Estrild is inspiring from a modern-day perspective, Lowry herself admits it would never have happened during that time period. In her attempt to create a girl empowerment story, it can come across as a condemnation of traditional motherhood roles.
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