Cushman, Karen. The Midwife's Apprentice. New York: Clarion Books, 1995.

Plot Summary: A young girl who knows herself only as Brat is all alone in the world. About twelve years old, she keeps herself alive by stealing and begging food. She buries herself in dung piles to keep warm while she sleeps. In the small village in England during the Middle Ages where the story takes place, local boys tease her and call her "dung beetle."

One morning Jane Sharp, the midwife, finds her and takes Brat on as helper in exchange for a little food and shelter. The midwife is tough, mean, greedy, and stingy. She works the girl hard and gives her no more than she has to keep her alive. The girl makes friends with a cat who she names Purr, and feeds and protects from the village boys. One day the girl begins to value herself...
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