The Midwife's Apprentice

Cushman, K. (1996). The midwife's apprentice. New York: HarperTrophy. ISBN 0-06-440630-X.

Plot Summary:

Set in the Middle Ages, a young girl with no known age, maybe 12 or 13, or given name aside from “Brat” by the different villages she visits,  immerses herself in a dung pile to keep herself warm overnight. She is found the next day by boys who start calling her “Beetle” for a dung beetle, the town’s midwife, Jane Sharp, stops the teasing and allows her to do chores for her in exchange for food. As time goes on, the midwife brings her along to help in birthing children and in different errands. Beetle starts to believe more of herself and what she can accomplish and gives herself the name of “Alyce.”  Alyce has to deal with setbacks in her journey to officially become the Midwife’s apprentice, and this discourages her and she runs away. She finds refuge and work in a different town, when she runs into a friend from her previous village. She has to learn to believe in herself and that though she may be a homeless orphan, she can persevere and become a helpful member of her village.

Analysis:

Cushman uses a descriptive language to really have the reader feel the setting of the Middle Ages. Readers can really feel the awareness of how she is nothing and discouraged Beetle starts off in the story;  and then see how she changes and gains a positive perspective in her own life, she really begins to enjoy being successful at helping women during childbirth. Cushman shares much information about midwifery during the Middle Ages in her Author’s Note, and the information is also used to explain some of the things that Jane used during the different times in the story as Alyce watches Jane helping women during childbirth.    

Review Excerpts:

Newbery Medal 1996

Reviewed By: KIRKUS, March 1995.m  “How Brat comes to terms with her failure and returns to Jane's home as a true apprentice is a gripping story about a time, place, and society that 20th-century readers can hardly fathom. Fortunately, Cushman (Catherine, Called Birdy, 1994) does the fathoming for them, rendering in Brat a character as fully fleshed and real as Katherine Paterson's best, in language that is simple, poetic, and funny. From the rebirth in the dung heap to Brat's renaming herself Alyce after a heady visit to a medieval fair, this is not for fans of historical drama only. It's a rouser for all times.”

Reviewed By: Horn Book Starred, From the January/February 1996 issue of The Horn Book Magazine Cushman brilliantly transforms her main character from the waif Brat — taking shelter from the winter night in a dung heap, hoping for and expecting nothing from her life — into the self-defined, confident Alyce, who bursts into bloom at the close of the book, just as the springtime world does.

Connections:

Social Studies Connection-Middle Ages-Great way to kick off or end a unit on Middle Ages.

Counselor’s Corner-Great way to have students see that in order to become something (like Alyce did to officially become the Midwife’s apprentice) hard work and earned respect is needed.