Module 4 - The Midwife's Apprentice

Summary
Beetle, a young girl about 13 years old is found sleeping in a warm dung pile by Jane Sharp a midwife.  In exchange for food and lodging, Beetle works and learns from the midwife.  Beetle is constantly belittled by Jane and the village.  She is harassed by the boys, and taunted with nasty names from the other villagers.  One day Beetle goes to a fair to purchase supplies for the midwife.  She starts gaining some self-esteem and renames herself Alyce. Despite some setbacks, Alyce earns respect from Jane and the villagers, and eventually learns to stand up for herself. 

Impressions
At first this book was frustrating.  You want Alyce to stand up for herself and stop taking abuse from the midwife and the villagers. At times I wanted to put the book down. However, you want to find out if Alyce eventually found inner strength so I kept reading.  I did enjoy the historical perspective of medieval England. There is insight into how commoners, rich, and orphans lived in medieval England.  There are also good revelations as to births and medical practices of the time.

Reviews

Gr 6-9--With simplicity, wit, and humor, Cushman presents another tale of medieval England. Here readers follow the satisfying, literal and figurative journey of a homeless, nameless child called Brat, who might be 12 or 13--no one really knows. She wandered about in her early years, seeking food and any kind of refuge and, like many outsiders, gained a certain kind of wisdom about people and their ways. Still, life held little purpose beyond survival--until she meets the sharp-nosed, irritable local midwife, which is where this story begins. Jane takes her in, re-names her Beetle, and thinks of her as free labor and no competition. Always practical but initially timid, the girl expands in courage and self-awareness, acquiring a cat as a companion, naming herself Alyce, and gaining experience in the ways of midwifery. From the breathless delight of helping a boy to deliver twin calves, to the despair of failure during a difficult birth, to the triumph of a successful delivery, Alyce struggles to understand how she can allow herself to fail and yet have the determination to reach for her own place in the world. Alyce wins. Characters are sketched briefly but with telling, witty detail, and the very scents and sounds of the land and people's occupations fill each page as Alyce comes of age and heart. Earthy humor, the foibles of humans both high and low, and a fascinating mix of superstition and genuinely helpful herbal remedies attached to childbirth make this a truly delightful introduction to a world seldom seen in children's literature.--Sara Miller, Rye County Day School, NY

Miller, S. (1995). Book Review: Junior high up fiction. School Library Journal, 41(5), 118.

Gr. 7-12. Like Cushman's 1994 Newbery Honor Book, Catherine, Called Birdy, this novel is about a strong, young woman in medieval England who finds her own way home. Of course, it's a feminist story for the 1990s, but there's no anachronism. This is a world, like Chaucer’s, that's neither sweet nor fair; it's rough, dangerous, primitive, and raucous. Cushman writes with a sharp simplicity and a pulsing beat. From the first page you're caught by the spirit of the homeless, nameless waif, somewhere around 12 years old, "unwashed, unnourished, unloved, and unlovely," trying to keep warm in a dung heap. She gets the village midwife, Jane Sharp, to take her in, befriends a cat, names herself Alyce, and learns something about delivering babies. When she fails, she runs away, but she picks herself up again and returns to work and independence. Only the episode about her caring for a homeless child seems contrived. The characters are drawn with zest and affection but no false reverence. The midwife is tough and greedy ("she did her job with energy and some skill, but without care, compassion, or joy"), her method somewhere between superstition, herbal lore, common sense, and bumbling; yet she's the one who finally helps Alyce to be brave. Kids will like this short, fast-paced narrative about a hero who discovers that she's not ugly or stupid or alone.

Rachel, R. (1995). The midwife's apprentice. Booklist, 91(14), 1328. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm

Suggestions

This is a good book to demonstrate young female empowerment.  Within a girl’s book study you discuss how Alyce found her inner strength.  It would be interesting to see how girls viewed Alyce’s plight. 

It could also be used to discuss medieval England and how people lived. It is also interesting to discuss medicine and how people of that time associated health with the magic.

References

Cushman, K. (1995). The midwife's apprentice. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

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