The Midwife's Apprentice

By: Karen Cushman

Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin

Length: 2 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's Summary

Lyrical yet unsentimental, The Midwife's Apprentice won the coveted 1996 Newbery Medal. Filled with striking characters, it paints unforgettable pictures of village life in the Middle Ages, the midwife's craft, and a very remarkable girl's growing independence and pride.

Brat has no name, no home, and no shelter against the 14th-century English winter except the foul warmth of a dung heap. So when Jane the Midwife wakes her with a kick and takes the half-starved creature to her cottage, a curious relationship begins. Jane teaches Brat to gather herbs and make the poultices used to ease the pain of childbirth for the village women.

The skinny young girl quickly learns to obey the sharp-tongued midwife, and secretly watches Jane practice her art whenever she can. But Jane is also teaching Brat unspoken lessons that will take longer - maybe a lifetime - to master.

©1995 Karen Cushman (P)1996 Recorded Books

Unique

An imagined glimpse at ordinary life in medieval Europe—a bold endeavor in itself. The story of a girl's struggle for survival and socialization in a society which is largely indifferent, and sometimes harsh, although there are pockets of human warmth and hope.

A good morality tale for young people

A short but good book with a good moral. Written for young people, but if you want your kid to read it, be sure he/she is fairly mature and knows a bit about "the birds and the bees." A fairly young child would not understand what is going on. That is not to say there is anything in it that would not be appropriate. I think it is very appropriate. Still, I would want to read this book with my child because it has the potential to open up a lot of questions for discussion.

Wise in the end

If you are looking for adventure, romance or great historical detail, you will probably not find them here. There is not even that much dialogue. BUT--those are not the only attributes of a good story, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this in the end. What this story does very well is give an intimate view of the gritty side of life from the perspective of an underprivileged girl (well, homeless vagrant, really) who gets plucked from her warm dungpile and is thrust into the role of apprentice to a very stern, cold and critical midwife. I found myself pitying the situation of the apprentice, even while the character herself is grateful for this unexpected boon in her life--regular meals and a clean place to sleep. The crushing comments of the midwife seem purposely cruel, and the apprentice's self-esteem is just about non-existent. The events of the book seem almost depressing--until the very end, and then the wisdom of the midwife and her methods slaps you in the face, leaving you with a greater appreciation for the characters, and for the historical perspective through which this story is told.
If you liked stories like "The Girl With the Pearl Earring," you will probably enjoy this book.

Resilience

Beautiful tale of resilience & fortitude & coming of age. Bonus is learning about day-to-day life in Middle Ages

First 4 chapters only

I was expecting this to be the entire book, but instead, it's only the first 4 chapters.

read this as a young girl

I loved reading this as a girl and enjoyed listening to it with my daughter. will definitely listen to it again 😊

Clever

The kids and I were delighted to learn about medieval history this way. The characters were realistic and endearing in their own ways.

Midwife’s Apprentice

I truly enjoyed. This is the year 2018. It wakes you up as to how hard and tough you had to be to have lived back then, way back. I don’t think there is anyone today that could survived. The girl that survived learned with out confidence. But learned she did even though it was so very hard.

A simple story. Worth reading.

What made the experience of listening to The Midwife's Apprentice the most enjoyable?

I enjoyed the story of the girl and her experiences.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Midwife's Apprentice?

When she succeeded in delivering a baby by herself.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I was able to listen to this book in different pieces. I definitely did not want to just leave it unfinished.

Charming. Endearing.

The narrator really conveys the moodiness of the village scenes and depth of Alice's character. There is both sadness and triumph in this story.