The Midwife's Apprentice
by Karen Cushman. 
Novel. 144 pages. Grades 5-9.
Find this book: Amazon
Review
Cushman has a talent for writing small pithy novels as she did with Catherine Called Birdy. Again in this Newbery Award winner she propels us, within a few pages, into the life of a girl living in the middle ages, makes us like and understand her, shows us a lot about the times and a little bit about ourselves. In The Midwife's Apprentice Cushman presents life at the bottom of the feudal ladder in Medieval times.
Birdy was the daughter of a minor baron and, through her, we had glimpses of the life of the higher classes of the 13th century. Alyce is an insignificant, nameless child living in poverty and sleeping in a dung heap when we first meet her. We know her first as Brat. She is usually ignored and sometimes taunted by the other people in the village. Her progress from a Brat working for scraps of food to Alyce, the Midwife's apprentice, is painful and thought-provoking. By the end of these well-wrought pages, we know Alyce and accept her small steps toward a better life.
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Related Areas Within Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Web Site
- Middle Ages. Book list of some of our favorite books.
- Women's History Recommended Booklist (annotated)
Some of our favorite novels, picture books and nonfiction books organized under the categories of "Women Who Expanded Traditional Roles," "Women in the Arts," "Women Who Protested," and "Women's Rights."
http://www.carolhurst.com/subjects/history/women.html - World History Through Kids' Books
This is a subject category which links to articles and books on our site under various subtopics.
http://www.carolhurst.com/subjects/history/history.html - Work and Occupations in Children's Books
Featured Subject article with recommended books and activities for the classroom.
http://www.carolhurst.com/subjects/work.html
