Reviewed by Jonathan Zastrow
Background
and Summary
The
young adult novel Crispin: The Cross of
Lead was recognized as the 2003 Newbery Medal winner for best children’s
literature. Although this book marks the one and only Newbery winner for its
author Edward Irving Wortis, his books The
True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and Nothing
But The Truth: A Documentary Novel earned the Honor Book awards in 1991 and
1992 respectively. Edward, under the guise of his pen name Avi, uses
time-sensitive details and accurate descriptions to add a sense of realism within
his story captivating the reader’s attention. As the opening act of a three part
series, Avi uses Crispin to show the importance
of a name and, more importantly, self-identity.
The author
immediately begins his adventurous tale by introducing the reader to a nameless
boy. With no knowledge of his father and the recent death of his mother, this
orphaned boy is immediately thrust into a lonely and foreign world. Because he serves
Lord Furnival, the orphan must now pay a death tax for burying his mother on
the lord’s property. As the steward to Lord Furnival, John Aycliffe confronts
the boy trying to collect the fee. Overwhelmed by his circumstances, the young
man flees into the forest where he slips on some foliage and knocks himself
out. As he regains consciousness, the young boy witnesses a secret meeting
between Aycliffe and a mysterious knight and is discovered shortly after the
meeting starts.
Realizing
that their secret meeting wasn’t so secret after all, Aycliffe and the
mysterious knight provide false accusations against the young spy and declare
him a “Wolf’s Head,” giving anyone who finds the boy permission to kill him on
sight. Fearing for his life, the young man travels by night to meet with his
trusted advisor, a priest named Father Quinel. As Father Quinel explains what
is going on, the priest informs the young boy that his only hope for survival
is to leave town and find a place to start a new life. Sensing the boy’s internal
struggle, Father Quinel offers the young man some relief through the gift of
his mother’s cross necklace and the name Crispin, a name the boy never knew he
had. However, the priest also tells the newly christened Crispin that he will
reveal the truth of his unknown father. Fearing the villagers will discover
Crispin’s whereabouts, the priest makes arrangements for a later meeting. Travelling
to the rendezvous point, Crispin finds the priest’s lifeless body and realizes
that he must leave immediately.
As
Crispin flees his hometown, he travels further up the road and stumbles upon an
old, deserted town annihilated by plague. In this town, he runs into an
entertainer named Bear who then decides to take Crispin along on his travels as
his servant. During their travels, Bear teaches Crispin about music and
freedom. Eventually, Bear frees Crispin of his servitude and instead asks him
to be his apprentice. After Crispin’s agreement, Bear explains that he has an
appointment in the city of Great Wexly. Unfortunately for these two, Aycliffe
managed Great Wexly in Lord Furnival’s absence and was still looking for
Crispin.
Upon arriving
at Great Wexly, Crispin learns of Lord Furnival’s recent death and realizes that
the “Wolf’s Head” in still in effect. During Bear’s appointment, Crispin learns
that he and a friend, John Ball, are planning a peasants’ revolt. However, the
revolt fails and allows Acyliffe to capture Bear in the chaos. Trying
desperately to find a way to free Bear, Crispin learns the meaning of the
secret message on his mother’s lead cross: Crispin of Furnival. As Lord
Furnival’s son and heir to his lands, Crispin now knows how to save his new
friend. Upon meeting with Aycliffe, Crispin bargains for Bear’s life agreeing
to renounce his birthright in exchange for freedom. Initially agreeing to the
bargain, Aycliffe releases Crispin and Bear but then refuses to lift the
“Wolf’s Head” resulting in a fight between Bear and Aycliffe. As the fight
ends, Acyliffe dies and the “Wolf’s Head” is removed. Crispin and Bear are then
able to escape the town and enjoy their new found freedom.
Interest
Through
his simple language and easy plot scheme, Avi’s Crispin targets early elementary and middle school students. Girls
will definitely be intrigued because of the small cast of characters and
sensitive hero. They will also appreciate how Avi explains Crispin’s thoughts
and inner turmoil throughout his various trials. However, boys will enjoy the
story for even more reasons than girls. Although the cast is small and
sensitive, all the characters are strong and masculine fighting off the bad
guys and escaping trouble by the skin of their teeth. The medieval setting also
appeals to the boys’ adventurous side. In conclusion, although young girls will
enjoy this book, the target audience is clearly middle school boys.
Developing
Mature Readers
Throughout Crispin, Avi deals with multiple tasks that
help to develop mature readers. One of these tasks is gaining independence from
one’s parents. As the story begins, the author emphasizes that Crispin is all
alone. As a result of his father’s disappearance and his mother’s recent death,
Crispin is forced into solitude. However, he begins to make decisions for
himself and starts out on his new life without his parents. Even after he
decides to travel with Bear, the author portrays Crispin as still growing
independent. While showing Crispin’s
independence, Avi portrays the dangers of ignoring authority. As Crispin goes
out into the city to explore his new surroundings, he disobeys Bear’s direct instruction
to stay put and ends up responsible for his friend’s capture. However, Avi also
demonstrates Crispin’s independence in a positive sense when the young boy
devises a plan to bargain with Aycliffe and rescues Bear with no prodding or
help from others. From the beginning of the story to the end, the reader understands
both the positive and negative aspects of Crispin’s independence from his
parents and other authorities.
Crispin also
develops within his relationships with his peers. A major part of this book
revolves around the relationship Crispin fosters with Bear. Although Bear originally
takes Crispin as his servant, he eventually frees Crispin asking him instead to
become his apprentice. As time goes on, the relationship between these two
continues to grow. Ultimately, Bear becomes a father-figure to Crispin and
shares with him the lifestyle of a professional entertainer. This task is
important for developing mature readers because it shows the importance of
friendship. Avi uses this friendship as a positive influence in Crispin’s life
to show him that he is not completely alone after all. Through the friendship
of Bear and Crispin, the reader experiences the importance of developing positive
relationships with one’s peers.
Towards the
end of the book, Avi shows that Crispin is becoming comfortable with his role
in society. The author powerfully portrays the difficult lifestyle of peasants
during this time period. However, Crispin never complains or fights against the
system. Instead, he fully embraces his peasant lifestyle working hard as a
farmer and then as an entertainer and never looks for any social advancement.
On the flip side, Aycliffe portrays an individual who is not satisfied with his
current standings and will do anything necessary for advancement. Avi uses this
task in order to contrast the contentment Crispin had in the face of a hard
life with the discontentment Aycliffe felt towards his social position which
ultimately led to his destruction. Through this task, the reader realizes that life
can be enjoyed regardless of hardships or social status.
Most
importantly, Crispin becomes aware of his values and learns to live
consistently with those values. At the beginning of the story, Crispin
struggles to figure out who he is. He has no memory or knowledge of his father,
he was just permanently separated from his mother, and his childhood mentor was
murdered. Everything this child had ever known was stripped away from him.
However, as he meets up with Bear, Crispin begins to learn about freedom and
companionship. Crispin then lives consistently with those values as he seeks to
free Bear and enact for the first time his freedom to choose. As Crispin
rejects his birth-title, he demonstrates his desire to freely choose his own
path and lifestyle. Through Crispin’s example, the reader recognizes the
importance one’s values have on both choices and lifestyles.
Potential
Issues
A major
problem that Avi presents in this book is its portrayal of the Peasants’ Revolt.
Although this is a historical event, the fact that the people are revolting
against their authorities is not a positive example. However, this particular
event adds to the stories historical accuracy and believability. The historical
and literary aspect aids the reader in fully grasping the desperate position
many peasants were in. With that being said, Avi handles this issue appropriately.
Throughout the revolt ordeal, he shows the futility and resulting hardships
caused by the failed revolt. The author does not advocate revolting against
authority through his presentation of the Peasant’s Revolt.
Another major
issue with this book is its extreme violence. Throughout the story, Crispin: The Cross of Lead is littered
with gruesome violence ranging from death by plague to death by murder and all
forms in between. However, Avi always portrays this violence negatively.
Although not anyone’s fault, the plague is shown to be a ruthless illness that
terrorizes entire villages. Avi uses this plague to show the devastation and
hardships the loss of life produces. In every case of a murder or torture, the
actions taken by Aycliffe and the mysterious knight are always regarded with a
negative connotation. The reader despises these heinous actions and condemns
these men for the needless violence. Although violence is prevalent within this
story, Avi depicts the negative consequences of the loss of life.
A third major
issue Avi presents throughout this work is in the realm of Catholicism.
Although referencing back to historical accuracy, many Christian parents or
even public school teachers might find a problem with the constant Catholic
influence. Although Avi does not condemn Catholicism throughout his work, he
also does not necessarily condone it. Without a positive or negative
connotation, it seems to me that Avi simply put this aspect within the story in
order to stick with historical accuracy of the time. Parents and teachers
should not worry about the book’s Catholicism, since it does not affect the
outcome or lessons of the story.
Overall, Avi
deals with objectionable elements well. He uses the elements to enhance the
literary quality while not letting them overrun and destroy his work. Although
there are some objectionable elements within the book, Avi portrays these
elements with an appropriate outcome while still engaging the reader’s
attention. Even with the presence of some objectionable elements, Crispin: The Cross of Lead is definitely
a worthwhile read.
Recommendations
I
definitely recommend this book for both Christian and public schools. Crispin’s content and maturity level
makes it an excellent read for children between the ages of fourth to sixth
grade. Although there are some objectionable elements within the story, Avi
handles each of those elements in a positive light. Avi also uses those
elements for a specific literary purpose showing the historical details of the
gruesome lives people led during this time period. In my opinion, this specific
purpose makes the book an extremely worthwhile read. The contrast of time
periods can help the child to understand the free and relatively easy lifestyle
they enjoy in the world today. Although the content is not as in-depth as other
adolescent literature, Crispin is an
easily understood, action-packed attention-grabber that most middle school aged
children will thoroughly enjoy.
Resources
for Teaching or Research
As
I was looking for teaching guides and research material, Scholastic Inc. served
as a great resource helping me find various background information and book
reviews. With this website, I was able to use a search engine and the teacher’s
tab to find many different resources and teaching ideas. I was also able to
find great character and plot summaries, themes, and discussion questions
through Jacket Illustrations and the Nebo School District. These sources also gave
me insight to specialty areas such as author background and chapter summaries. As
I went through the book, another great help to me was a study guide put
together by Avi with the help of Winding Oak Web & Print Designs. This
study guide posed discussion questions helping me to read with discernment. Finally,
Multnomah County Library was also especially helpful in finding teaching guides
and resources. If still more resources are necessary, the internet is a
wonderful tool to find multiple resources at the touch of a button.
Avi.
“Crispin: The Cross of Lead.” www.avi-writer.com.
Winding Oak Web & Print Designs, 2013. Web. 26 March 2013.
“Crispin:
The Cross of Lead.” www.multcolib.org.
Multnomah County Library. Web. 26 March 2013.
Myrick,
Ellen Everett. Crispin: The Cross of Lead.
New York: Jacket Illustration, 2002. PDF file.
Nebo
School District. Crispin: The Cross of
Lead. 2007. PDF file.
Crispin: The Cross of Lead. www.scholastics.com. Scholastic Inc.,
2013. Web. 26 March 2013.
Wortis,
Edward Irving. Crispin: The Cross of Lead.
New York: Hyperion Books, 2002. Print.
