The Midwife’s Apprentice - Book Review

Written by admin on June 8th, 2007

If you are interested in medieval history, including all of the plant lore and magic that went on, The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman is a good read.

Karen Cushman is known for her historically accurate writing. I was amazed by the extensive use of herbal lore and herbal medicine in the book. I am studying to be an herbalist myself right now, so this aspect of the book really appealed to me and this book is full of real information about herbs.

My daughter is nearly 9 and we began reading this together as a read-aloud, though the target age for this book may actually be a bit older. Still, I think my daughter is capable of understanding what’s in the book. Alas, once I started the book, I felt led to build a medieval unit study around it.

There is a small touch of foul language in the book, but only to further define the characters. There is an affair in the book, but it is not described in great depth. I could smell the filth and feel the hardship of being poor and young and alone in medieval England, but not to a terrifying degree. There are births described in this book, but not to the extent that it is graphic or in poor taste.

Perhaps the most important lesson in the book is learning to try and fail and try again, as the main character does.

If you want a go-along chapter book for your medieval study for a mature-enough student, this may be a good one for you.

Posted in Book Reviews, Homeschooling |

2 Comments so far ↓

Jun
10
8:08
AM

ivy
THANKS LYNN, I’VE ADDED THAT TO OUR LIST OF READ-ALOUDS!
Ivy
Jun
11
8:34
AM

Lynn
We really enjoyed it. I hope you’ll find it acceptable. As I mentioned there are some things to know going in, but it fits into what we are doing here very well.

Lynn ~:-D

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About Lynn

I am a 40-something-year-old mother of four delightful children, have been married for 21 years and live in a 1921 farm-style house. I am married to my carpenter husband who is referred to here as the carpenter, papa bear, hubby, and big furry man (he has a full beard).

I am currently homeschooling my second oldest son. He has dyslexia and we have the most fun talking about words and the joys of reading and spelling. Really. Teaching him to read has been one of my greatest joys of my life. He will graduate from our homeschool next year.

I also homeschool my bright and bubbly (and very funny) 5th grade daughter, referred to as either Princess of the Universe or Miss Priss.

My homeschooling style is probably best described as eclectic. I love implementing Charlotte Mason-style ideas into my homeschooling as well as my parenting and I'm a huge fan of Karen Andreola's writings. The heart of our homeschool is Five In A Row.

I'm a North Carolina girl and I love sharing North Carolina links and information. I'm a book lover, bird lover, gardener and aspiring herbalist. I am a thrift store addict. I do medical transcription from home part-time.