This is the story of a girl without a place or a name, who happens upon a village with one midwife. Hungry for food and with no place to go, she become's the midwife's apprentice, helping her to gather and prepare the herbs needed for her practice, though never allowed to be present for a baby's birth, for fear the midwife would have competition if the girl were to learn all her secrets. The girl befriends a cat, who she feeds scraps of her own meager food, and also a young boy named Edward. After suffering bouts of feelings of inadequacy and running away, she returns to the midwife to be the apprentice once again, and in the end finding herself a place and a name.
The last chapter has facts about the age-old practice of midwifery for those who know little of the subject.
Winner of the 1996 Newbery Award, 1996 Notable Children's Book (ALA), 1996 Best Book for Young Adults (ALA), New York Public Library 1995 List of Recommended Books, Booklist Book for Youth Editor's Choice, School Library Journal Best Books of the Year 1995, and An American Bookseller Association Pick of the Lists
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