- Hardcover: 128 pages
- Publisher: Clarion Books; None edition (Feb 27 1995)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0395692296
- ISBN-13: 978-0395692295
- Product Dimensions: 18.8 x 12.8 x 1.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 263 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (92 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #653,315 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Karen Cushman likes to write with her tongue firmly planted in her cheek, and her feisty female characters firmly planted in history. In The Midwife's Apprentice, which earned the 1996 Newbery Medal, this makes a winning combination for children and adult readers alike. Like her award-winning book Catherine, Called Birdy, the story takes place in medieval England. This time our protagonist is Alyce, who rises from the dung heap (literally) of homelessness and namelessness to find a station in life--apprentice to the crotchety, snaggletoothed midwife Jane Sharp. On Alyce's first solo outing as a midwife, she fails to deliver. Instead of facing her ignorance, Alyce chooses to run from failure--never a good choice. Disappointingly, Cushman does not offer any hardships or internal wrestling to warrant Alyce's final epiphanies, and one of the book's climactic insights is when Alyce discovers that lo and behold she is actually pretty! Still, Cushman redeems her writing, as always, with historical accuracy, saucy dialogue, fast-paced action, and plucky, original characters that older readers will eagerly devour. (Ages 12 and older) --Gail Hudson
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Having focused on a well-born young heroine in her Newbery Honor debut novel, Catherine, Called Birdy, Cushman returns to a similar medieval English setting, this time to imagine how the other half lived. The strengths of this new, relatively brief novel match those of its predecessor: Cushman has an almost unrivaled ability to build atmosphere, and her evocation of a medieval village, if not scholarly in its authenticity, is supremely colorful and pungent. The protagonist here first appears asleep in a heap of dung; the "rotting and moiling" of the refuse give forth heat enough to compensate for the stench. Homeless and nameless, she can remember no time when she did not wander from village to village. She is rescued from the dung heap by a sharp-tongued local midwife, who feeds her in exchange for work. Gradually the girl forges an identity for herself and learns some timeless truths. Some of the characterizations lack consistency (particularly that of the midwife), the plot depends on a few too many conveniences and the development of the themes seems hurried?but no matter. The force of the ambience produces more than enough momentum to propel the reader from start to finish in a single happy sitting. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Positive Girl's Story from Cushman,
By
This review is from: The Midwife's Apprentice (Paperback)
Beetle is an orphan of indefinite age, wandering from village to village and working for food. At one stop, the midwife takes her on as apprentice and Beetle's life changes dramatically. The midwife is by no means a gentle mother figure, but she feeds Beetle regularly and the life is not hard. The reader follows Beetle (or Alyce as she later calls herself) as she matures, sheds her insecurities, becomes self-confident and self-loving, and finally learns to face up to and conquer her fears. It's a very positive tale, excellent for young girls who need to see positive female role-models face problems and succeed by sheer determination--and not fairy godmothers or money or good looks. While unconsciously absorbing these lessons, young readers will also find themselves learning about Medieval Europe. Cushman manages to slide historical facts in so casually that the reader will come away knowing about Medieval customs and practices, the art of early midwifery and life in a village. This is an excellent tale, well-written, witty and touching. I enjoyed it on many levels and would recommend it (along with Cushman's other excellent novel, Catherine Called Birdy) for pre-teens and teens--and adults like me who enjoy a light story with a postitive girl character.
4.0 out of 5 stars
From dung heap to Newberry Award Winner,
By Kirsten L. Marie (Fremont, CA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Midwife's Apprentice (Paperback)
From a dung heap blooms Newberry Award winner The Midwife's Apprentice. Cushman takes young readers on a journey of historical fiction to discover the challenges of the homeless in the Middle Ages while weaving a never-give-up moral.From the first memorable lines, morbit curiosity propels readers forward: "When animal droppings garbage and spoiled straw are piled up in a great heap, the rotting and moiling give forth heat. Usually no one gets close enough to notice because of the stench. But the girl noticed and, on that frosty night, burrowed deep into the warm, rutting muck, heedless of the smell" (1). Cushman artfully engages readers' empathy for the poor heroine who has no family, identity, or concept of her own age. She knows only the name she's been called town after town--Brat. Brat is taken in by a heartless, greedy midwife, Jane Sharp, who appears to want her just for free labor, but as the story develops, our heroine discovers self-worth beneath her filth and realizes Sharp is more than she appears as well. The dialogue is a simplified peasant dialect. For example, Jennett, the inn-keepers wife says, "There is a midwife in the village some walk down the road. I will point your man the way" (106). Although it may be uncomfortable for readers initially, the dialect becomes easier as s/he reads on. Appealing more to a female audience, Cushman's novel reveals the child-birthing dangers of medieval times where medical practices were as much superstition as trial and error. Leeches, herbs, oils, and spices are a few remedies readers will encounter in this enjoyable, brief novel told in third-person narrative.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sweet and fascinating,
By M. Alther (Michigan) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Midwife's Apprentice (Paperback)
A fascinating tale of one girl's life in the Middle Ages. The setting and story line alone are worth the read. You'll be spellbound and touched by every page.
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