Review: The Midwife's Apprentice

Bibliography:

Cushman, Karen. 1995. The Midwife’s Apprentice. New York: Clarion. ISBN 0395692296

Plot Summary:

Medieval England is the setting for this tale of a young girls transformation from homeless “Brat” to “Alyce” the Midwife’s apprentice. At the beginning of Cushman’s short novel, “Brat” is burrowing in a dung heap for warmth on a cold winter night. Enduring the teasing and bullying of the town boys, Brat (now called “Beetle”, after the dung beetle) is taken in by the village midwife, Jane. The uncaring Midwife uses the girl as cheap labor, rewarding her with scraps from the table. Everyone around Beetle tells her that she is nothing, and Beetle believes them. When Beetle comes across the village boys terrorizing a cat, she rescues the creature, who becomes her one friend. The girl (who has taken on the name “Alyce” after being mistaken for someone else at the fair)manages to pick up some of the Midwife’s knowledge, despite the suspicious Jane’s effort to the contrary. A failed attempt to deliver a child herself causes Alyce to run away in shame, working for a time in an Inn outside of town. Redeeming herself during an emergency childbirth at the Inn, Alyce realizes that she has the potential to be many things. She returns to continue as apprentice to the Midwife, with renewed confidence and hope.

Critical Review:

In her Newbery Award winning novel The Midwife’s Apprentice, Cushman revisits medieval Europe, the setting of her earlier Newbery Honor book Catharine, Called Birdy. The world described in The Midwife’s Apprentice is one that will be foreign to many young readers, a world of superstition, a world before medical care and sanitation as we know them existed, a world that seems harsh, even cruel toward the young and the helpless. Cushman’s setting is a small village that can be viewed as a microcosm of medieval life. Through the villagers, readers come to know some of the different vocations and social positions that existed at the time: miller, blacksmith, midwife, baker, innkeeper, nobleman, etc. Cushman creates a vibrant world and characters that spring to life for the reader.

The world Cushman creates is enticing and exotic, but it is the rise of the main character that holds the book together. Beetle begins in such a low state (burrowing in a dung heap), that readers cannot help but look forward to her eventual rise. Defeated, passive, completely downtrodden by life’s events and the cruel people around her, a few key interactions and successes plant seeds of hope in Beetle. By the end of the novel, a new character has emerged, choosing the name Alyce to represent her own refusal to accept the limitations imposed by those around her. Alyce is clever, capable, and tentatively begins to recognize her own intrinsic value. In The Midwife’s Apprentice, Cushman has done an admirable job of bringing the past to life and creating a character that readers will care about and admire.

Review Excerpts:

Winner of the 1996 Newbery Award

“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."– Publishers Weekly (February 27, 1995)

“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.” – School Library Journal (May 1, 1995)

“Kids will like this short, fast-paced narrative about a hero who discovers that she's not ugly or stupid or alone.” – Booklist (March 15, 1995)

Connections:

Read other works by Cushman, such as Catherine, Called Birdy.

Pair with a nonfiction book about medieval life, such as DK Eyewitness Book: Medieval Life by Andrew Langley, Everyday Life in Medieval Europe (Uncovering History) by Neil Grant, and The Horrible, Miserable Middle Ages: The Disgusting Details About Life During Medieval Times (Fact Finders: Disgusting History) by Kathy Allen and Phillip C. Adamo.

Pair with a book about compost heaps, such as Compost Stew by Mary McKenna Siddals.

Students could create a compost heap as a backyard experiment.