Catherine, Called Birdy

This is an okay book written by Karen Cushman. In 1290 England, 13-year-old Catherine begins a diary that quickly fills with the irrepressible joys and frustrations of her days. Always looking for ways to avoid drudging hours of embroidery, she fills her time with pranks, celebrations of saint feast days, and local gossip. Wriggling out of her gruff father’s plans to find her a prosperous husband proves to be her biggest challenge. Her antics include coloring her teeth and drooling to scare off the men, but those tricks don’t work when a rich man nicknamed Shaggy Beard shows up with his bag of silver.