The Midwife’s Apprentice
With no home and no family, a girl known as Beetle finds herself suddenly apprenticed to the village midwife, a knowledgeable but harsh woman. Set in Medieval England, this book boasts both humor and heart as the girl looks for "a full belly, a contented heart, and a place in this world."
Excerpt:
So Brat, newly christened Beetle, got up, and the sharp lady found some work for her to do and rewarded her with dry bread and half a mug of sour ale, which tasted so sweet to the girl that she slept in the dung heap another night, hoping for more work and more bread on the morrow. And there was more work, sweeping the lady's earth floor and washing her linen in the stream and carrying her bundles to those cottages where a new baby was expected, for the sharp Lady was a midwife. Beetle soon acquired a new name, the midwife's apprentice, and a place to sleep that smelled much better than the dung heap, though it was much less warm.
Free Resources:
Online word search and other puzzles
Discussion Questions from Karen Cushman (the author)
Karen Cushman's Medieval reference materials
Paid Resources:
