A brave review for a brave character

            I had to be brave when I decided to review J.K. Rowling’s first novel, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I had to be willing to admit to my readers that I had not yet read the first book in the influential Harry Potter series. Yes, I saw the movies first. Yes, I’ve read the books out of order. I’m a reading rebel! Then, I had to share my own thoughts about a popular children’s novel about which countless reviews have already been written. Still, I had to read it because it is as it says on the book binding “the book that started it all.” I needed to know for myself how J.K. Rowling’s first novel helped create a generation of readers. Rather than attempt to summarize the plot in a short paragraph, I will attempt to intertwine the plot summary with my own reflections about the characters and the world in which they live.

            While reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, I realized that the movie captured the essence, but missed so many of the details that make Harry Potter’s world seem so fantastical and so familiar. Perhaps it is the book’s contrast of the muggle world with the wizarding world that makes the wizarding world seem so real to me.  J.K. Rowling spends several chapters introducing Harry Potter and the Dursleys.  Of course, the magical glimpses of Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and Hagrid let readers know something fantastical awaits them from the start. In just a few chapters, JK Rowling created the strong sense that life with the Dursleys was rough for Harry from the start. In the same few chapters, feelings that that take years to grow within are communicated to the readers. It’s clear that Harry feels unwanted and unvalued in the world that he knows. He feels as though he is a hand-me down nobody, with a funny looking scar on his forehead, just trying to avoid being knocked around or made the target of a cruel joke.  Now I understand why Harry’s clothes don’t fit in the movie.

            Perhaps the numerous characters developed in only 385 pages hints at the complexity of this novel. Mr. Dursley, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley are painted as Harry’s spoiled narrow-minded muggle relatives. Meanwhile, Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall seem to emit a regal yet comforting presence from their entrance into the novel.  The rumbling and bumbling entrance made by Hagrid starts adds to the unpolished, but benevolent image readers being to develop of him before they even meet him. After Hagrid essentially rescues Harry from the Dursleys, Harry begins his preparations to attend Hogwarts, the school of witchcraft and wizardry. Remembering my own school shopping memories, I sensed the excitement in Harry’s first trip to Diagon Alley where readers first enter the Harry Potter world that we have all come to know and love. To fulfill every child’s dream, nobody Harry is the famous Potter boy to everyone in Diagon Alley because of the scar on his forehead. Harry also learns that the scar was given to him by the evil Voldemort who killed his parents.

When Harry and Hagrid stop by the bank to pick up money that Harry’s parents left him, readers experience a banking errand like never before. Hagrid also picks up a special package from a “high security” vault. It is also in Diagon Alley that Harry and readers unknowingly meet Draco Malfoy, who reminds Harry of his spoiled cousin Dudley. I’d add that he has a touch more of arrogance than Dudley.  Continually, JK Rowling compares elements of the wizarding world with the muggle world.  Later in the same chapter, soccer is compared to the wizard’s game of quidditch. Interestingly, a modified version of quidditch is now becoming a popular game in real life.

            On the train to Hogwarts, Harry meets our familiar friends Ron and Hermoine. Much like in real life, they are the new classmates that you wouldn’t pick for best friends who really do make the best friends. Ron seems more intelligent in JK Rowling’s words than he does on screen. When reading, I also realized that Hermione is much more of a nosy “know-it –all” than I perceived her to be in the movie. When they arrive at school, Hermione’s chides for getting their school house, Gryffindor, in trouble seem much harsher in the novel than in the movie. At the same time, many of Harry’s sarcastic remarks or defensive remarks also seem harsher in the novel than in the movie. Harry’s harsh words reveal his human-like feelings and insecurities which make him seem less like the boy hero depicted in the movies.

            Many reading know how J.K. Rowling’s novel unfolds from here. At school, Harry meets Headmaster Albus Dumbledore who greets students with a few nonsensical words, yet exudes great wisdom. Harry also meets his many professors. He particularly dislikes Professor Snape who returns his sentiments from the start. A confrontation with the arrogant Draco Malfoy lands Harry a spot as the youngest seeker in a century on his house quidditch team. A brave encounter with a troll unites Harry, Hermione, and Ron. At the same time, it raises suspicions about Professor Snape and the mysterious package introduced earlier.  Knowing that the package is protected in the castle, Harry and his friends worry that someone is trying to steal it. Harry continually gets information about the mysterious package from little bits that Hagrid lets slip.  An interesting subplot about a dragon named Norbert also helps Harry put the pieces of the puzzle together, which is much less random than the movie made it appear. Eventually, Harry realizes that he must be the one to safeguard the contents of the secret package. For the select few who have managed not to read the book or the movie, the rest is waiting for you!

            Now I have a deeper understanding of what might capture the fascination of young readers as they turn the pages of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. While reading, they must continually blend the reality that they know with a world that stretches their imagination. Traces of the everyday world are scattered throughout every magical description. That’s what keeps the pages turning. Reading this novel requires the integration of several reading and comprehension strategies. More importantly, this rich text has the capacity to motivate mature upper elementary students to embark on a lifetime of reading.

Find your name, take a stand

             When I sat down to read Karen Cushman’s The Midwife’s Apprentice, a story about a girl named Brat, I was quickly absorbed by the girl who didn’t have a name or a place in the world.  The reader meets Brat when Jane Sharp, the pointy nosed midwife, finds her seeking warmth in a farmer’s dung heap. The midwife quickly gives Brat the name Beetle, for dung beetle. Whether out of compassion or more likely the desire to do what’s right, the midwife offers Brat food and shelter in return for work. Despite her slight improvement in life, Cushman’s writing made it clear that Beetle doesn’t have a lot going for her in life. It’s hard to decide what made life the hardest for her: having been a homeless child or having been born a girl. She spends most of her days being bullied by boys in the town or yelled at by the midwife.

Despite feeling small and useless, she works hard and focuses on learning as much as she can while serving the midwife. She also finds comfort in the friendship of an orange cat who becomes her confidant. Through a series of events and newfound friendships, Beetle finds herself growing in knowledge and skill as the midwife’s apprentice. As her confidence blossoms, she claims the name Alyce for herself.  Unfortunately, a laboring mother’s request for Alyce to act as midwife during a challenging birth leaves Alyce feeling like a useless nobody once again. Defeated, she runs away and the cat follows. Alyce and the cat find safety in an inn where they make many new friends.  At the inn, she does household chores that she feels she is not too stupid to do while an old scholar teachers her to read by talking to the cat. When unexpected visitors arrive at the inn, Alyce must look once more for her confidence. You’ll have to read the book to find out whether or not she finds it.

While the history about midwives interested me, the description of life for children and women captured my attention most.  As a young girl,  Alyce finds herself alone, hungry, and cold.  Her life does not improve much after she is taken in by the midwife who treats her harshly.  At the midwife’s, she sleeps on the cold floor and often finds her-self hungry. Later in the story, Alyce meets a young boy named Edward who seems to remind her of her-self. Found abandoned and hungry, he is also treated harshly by the world around him.  The childhoods of Alyce and Edward paint a clear picture about medieval views toward children, who were treated much like failing adults.  Such views seem unreal when compared to the views toward today’s children who are nurtured and protected from the harsh realities of the world as much as possible.

Certainly, women’s limitations stand out in The Midwife’s Apprentice.  Alyce has little say in what happens to her or what she does with her life at the beginning of the book. Going to school or mastering a respectable trade is not an option for her.  Aside from the midwife, the women’s roles in the story revolve around helping their husbands and motherhood. The author’s note laments that midwifery itself was not respected because it was women’s work with women.  I also noticed that the only educated reader in the story is Magister Reese, an older man deemed a scholar; however, he offers a ray of hope when he teaches Alyce to read.  Most pointedly,  he asks Alyce what she wants which sends a message of prophetic hope for both Alyce and the reader.

As briefly discussed above, The Midwife’s Apprentice lends itself to multiple discussions about “now and then” with regard to women’s roles, children, jobs, community life, health care, and more. The author’s note provides detailed information about the history of midwives, especially during the middle ages. This book left me with a clear message for all children and adults:  just as we all have a name, we all have a place in the world.  For more information about Karen Cushman and The Midwife’s Apprentice visit this website.