Poor and destitute Brat, finds her way and a new name while working for the village midwife in this 1995 Newbury winning story from Karen Cushman. Voice actress Jenny Sterlin brings an entertaining accented context to this fast-paced medieval tale in her unabridged audio recording of the book. Running just under three hours, this 1996 recording takes readers into the world of a medieval village and a young girl's funny journey from surviving to thriving with wit and the timing of a professional. Sterlin, no novice to voice acting (involved in over 90 audiobooks including a beautiful recording of Diana Wynne Jones' treasure, Howl's Moving Castle), is also a seasoned actress having a career that includes performances on Broadway (Macbeth) and in popular film and television series (Law and Order). Her narration helps navigate the middle grade reader through the difficult medieval English dialect Cushman uses throughout her historical tale. For readers who need an introduction to the genre of historical fiction, this audio recording can act as a helpful introduction, reducing the potentially stressful encounter with unfamiliar language that often deters young readers from taking literary roads less travelled. Sterlin's English accent carry's the listener through our story with expert nuance, changing inflection slightly to differentiate between character and narrator voices. There is no music accompanying the narration and the afterword included in the print edition that elaborates on medieval village life is not included in this recording.
A note about the recording quality: There is a slight fuzz throughout the story that became unnoticeable after settling into the story. It was however, considering the quality available today, a bit of a distraction and may be helpful to note to students who might think it is "old" and so deemed unworthy of time. Again, this went away after I was 5 minutes into the tale each time I restarted my listening.
The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman
Narrated by Jenny Sterlin
2 hrs 49 mins
Recorded and Published by Recorded Books
1996
Release Date: October 22, 2008
A note about the recording quality: There is a slight fuzz throughout the story that became unnoticeable after settling into the story. It was however, considering the quality available today, a bit of a distraction and may be helpful to note to students who might think it is "old" and so deemed unworthy of time. Again, this went away after I was 5 minutes into the tale each time I restarted my listening.
The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman
Narrated by Jenny Sterlin
2 hrs 49 mins
Recorded and Published by Recorded Books
1996
Release Date: October 22, 2008