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Title: The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman, Bryan Leister ISBN: 0-06-440630-X Publisher: HarperTrophy Pub. Date: 30 September, 1996 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.25 (91 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Kids, don't try this at home
Comment: I was very taken with this story. This tale follows the trials and tribulations of a young girl (Beetle) in early medieval times. Finding herself apprenticed to the local midwife, the girl learns the tricks of the trade, even while gaining a little more wit and confidence in herself. The heroine is ignorant at the beginning and, quite realistically, does not suddenly end the book with a head full of knowledge and wisdom in everything she does. The arc of this book is especially remarkable. Following Beetle's successful delivering of a calf she also manages to deliver a baby to a poor woman that the official midwife left. Interestingly, this doesn't mean that Beetle is suddenly endowed with perfect midwifing abilities. Failing to deliver another child, she must rely on her mentor once again, crushing her burgeoning ego. The moral, that nothing is easy and that you must work at what you want, is a good one.
There were some slightly odd moments in the book. The midwife is described as being an envious/jealous type who cannot abide the notion of having a rival. Yet she is overheard later in the book, almost praising the girl's abilities. Still, this is a small quibble. I enjoyed reading about the girl's progress. It would be wonderfully paired with "Crispin: The Cross of Lead". Both stories follow ignorant orphans who learn a new profession and end their stories by going into the respective honest professions they desire. The time periods are not far off either. This book may or may not read aloud well. I don't know. There are some touchy moments (the near rape of Beetle by drunken boys, the midwife's affair with the baker, the well described births) that might make the squeamish (or their parents) uncomfortable. Nonetheless, I found this an important book and one worth remembering.
Rating: 5
Summary: Awesome!
Comment: Awesome! Awesome! Awesome! In the town where Beetle lives, Beetle is treated as a noone, but only until Jane takes her off the streets and hires her as her new apprentice. Then, she finds herself doing household chores such as cleaning, and helping Jane give birth. I don't want to tell you anything more about this book, I want you to read it. It's a great book and it deserves to be read!
Rating: 4
Summary: "If not scholarly in its authenticity..."
Comment: This is a fun book, not too long for your average 'chapter book reader,' that takes you to a different time and place.
I'm not sure what the time or place is -- the landscape is medieval Britain, as advertised, but the characters are most definitely not -- but the psycho-cultural inaccuracies are usually easy to overlook, and you get a funny, colorful, interesting book filled with details of what para-medical support was available at the time for pregnant women.
Cushman is at her best with intelligent, feisty, growing young women, and this book is true to that vein.
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Title: Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman ISBN: 0064405842 Publisher: HarperTrophy Pub. Date: 01 May, 1995 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
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Title: Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse ISBN: 0590371258 Publisher: Scholastic Pub. Date: January, 1999 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: The Giver by Lois Lowry ISBN: 0440237688 Publisher: Laure Leaf Pub. Date: 10 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
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Title: Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech ISBN: 0064405176 Publisher: HarperTrophy Pub. Date: 30 September, 1996 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
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Title: Missing May by Cynthia Rylant ISBN: 0440408652 Publisher: Yearling Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 1993 List Price(USD): $5.50 |
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