Historical Fiction- THE MIDWIFE'S APPRENTICE

Cushman,Karen. 1995. THE MIDWIFE’S APPRENTICE. New York. Clarion Books. ISBN 0395692296

Plot Summary
She was known as “Brat” an unknown child wandering around looking for food and a place to sleep. She didn’t even know how old she was, her only clues were “ her scrawny, underfed body did give off a hint of woman, so perhaps she was twelve or thirteen.” She has “no home, no mother, and no name.” She is found one morning by the Midwife Jane Sharp in a “ dung heap” and taken back to her home to work for her. Although “Brat “ does not it at the time her life begins to change. Her only desires are to have food in her belly, a place to sleep and a place in this world. Brat watches and listens and learns about being a mid-wife and becomes the apprentice. A man who is looking for “Alyce” to read to him goes to “Brat” and then realizes it is not Alyce. “ Alyce”, she breathed.” “This then is me, Alyce.” As she learns from “the midwife” she sees her life as having a future. She makes friends with “Will” and finds a little boy only six years old and helps him find a name and a place to go for food and work. He is known as “Edward.” All is well until she is called to be the midwife and fails. Her failure makes her run and leave the life she had made for herself in the village. She begins again at “The Inn.” The Midwife shows up at the inn looking for the girl. Alyce overhears Jane say “ She was as stupid as some I have had.” The midwife continues to explain her disappointment in the fact “she gave up.” When Alyce has choices to make for the first time in her life where she might want to work she finds her future is with the midwife and goes to her for job again. After being turned away and starting to run away she remembered what Jane had said, “ she gave up.” Alyce turned around and stayed. She has a name, work, food in her belly and friends. From nothing and no one to Alyce the Midwifes Aprrentice.
Critical Analysis
Karen Cushman takes what is a cruel time in history, the Midevil Times and gives balance to the good and the evil of the times. She goes into great detail when describing her characters and the settings. She uses physical descriptions as “She was small and pale with a frightened air of an illused child, but her underfed scrawny body did give off a hint of woman.” Karen uses the other characters to continue to paint the picture of “Brat” as the boys from the village throw rocks and torment her because they could. Later while at the fair the merchant gives her a comb so she may “Comb those long curls till they shine.” The settings, names and activities are authentic to the time period. There are detals about spells, syrups ointments and plants used by the midwife that were true to the period. The research that Karen Cushman did makes the characters, settings and events as authentic as possible. The Autor’s Notes gave a lot of information and details about midwifery. A practice that has seen a resurgence in this decade in America. There is a comfort in knowing that midwifery is now regulated and midwifes are licensed.
Awards and Reviews
Newbery Medal (1996)
ALA Best Book for Young Adults
ALA Notable Book for Children
Booklist Editors' Choice
Horn Book Fanfare Selection
School Library Journal, Best Books of the Year
ALA Best Book for Young Adults

School Library Journal, starred review- “With simplicity, wit, and humor, Cushman presents another tale of medieval England.
Booklist, starred review- “This novel is about a strong, young woman in medieval England who finds her own way home. ... Kids will be caught up in this short, fast-paced narrative about a hero who discovers that she's not ugly or stupid or alone."
Connections
This is a book for older children fourth grade and up. It is an interesting time period that has many different beliefs in medicine, family and especially children. This book is a wonderful way to introduce this time period to younger children(4th grade) because Karen Cushman has a good balance of good and bad. There are very detailed descriptions of the dung heap, the dirty surroundings and the scarcity of food and the cruel behaviors of adults and children to children. Karen Cushman has a good web- site www.karencushmanbooks.com with lessons and insight to her research. This book as well as CATHERINE, CALLED BIRDY give an insight to the time periods. Karen’s writing style and ability to describe her characters and settings are great examples for the budding author. She is able to create a visual picture in your mind of how things look, sound and smell through her words.