The Midwife's Apprentice

Chapters 1- 5:

This book The Midwifes Apprentice is about a girl named beetle that was homeless and parentless. A lady named Jane, the towns midwife, found beetle sleeping in a dung heap(a pile of excrement from animals.) She offers her food and a place to sleep in return of work as the midwifes apprentice and that's how she became.

Question:

1. Why is Jane so mean to beetle?

2. Why can't beetle help during the birth?

Prediction:

I think what will happen next is that Jane is going

to go away for a few days and beetle is going to have

to give birth to a baby because Jane isn't there.

Reaction:

My reaction was happy for beetle because she go a place

to sleep other than poop and food. I was also mad because

Jane was being so mean to beetle.

Summary 5-10:

In these chapters, beetle names herself Alyce. She also names the cat Purr. In the village they are all finding the mysterious creature that left hoof prints all throughout the village. They believe that it is the devil. While she's picking apples, she sees willy and his pregnant cow. They are stuck so she helps deliver the calfs and they find out that the cow had twins. At last Alyce gives birth to her first real baby by herself.

Questions:

1. Why does she get fed so little?

2. Why is Jane so mean and careless to the mothers while they are giving birth?

Prediction:

What I think is going to happen next is that she is gonna be

able to deliver more babies and that Jane is going to be nicer.

Reaction:

My reaction was happy that she got to deliver her first baby.

Summary 10-15:

In chapters 10-15, Alyce found a boy laying in the barn and she helps him find a name and gives him food. She names him Edward and sends him to the manor to find a job in return of food and somewhere to live. Also, Alyce runs away to a hotel to work for food and a place to sleep because she failed to deliver a baby.

Question:

1. Why did she run away? Everyone makes mistakes.,

2. Why didn't Edward have a name or parents?

Prediction

I think that Alyce is going to go back to Jane and try again.

Reaction

I was mad that she gave up and ran away just like that.

Summary 15-end

In chapter 15, Alyce goes back to the manor to get Edward but he is happy where he is and doesn't want to go back. In chapter 16, a man and a lady show up at the inn. They complain that the lady has has a stomach worm but everyone at the inn think that it is a baby. No one knows how to give birth to a baby except for Alyce so she steps in and helps give birth to the baby using all of the techniques Jane does. In chapter 17, the last chapter, Alyce does something that changes the whole book but if you want to know what it is then read the book The Midwifes Apprentice by Karen Cushman.

Question:

1. Why weren't any one helping the struggling lady?

2. Why did Alyce move to the inn in the first place?

Reaction:

My overall reaction of the book was happy because she started out poor, hungry and living in a dung heap and now she has a job, food, a name, and a place to sleep at night.

Prediction:

I think that in the future, Alyce is going to marry will, become a midwife, and have many kids of her own.