ALA Booklist (Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2004)

Based on her mother's fond memories, Hathaway's first book tells warm, funny stories of 11-year-old Viney growing up in a southern community in Richmond county in the 1930s. Readers will find a trickster tale and a ghostly haint horror story, told in folklore style with lots of local mischief, as Viney copes with her wild, troublemaker cousin. Only one story, about tricking a mentally disabled kid, seems dated. Best of all are the stories about Viney's work as helper to the beloved midwife Miss Violet, who teaches Viney about herbal remedies and about how to catch babies. The birthing scenes are realistic and exciting, and as in Karen Cushman's The Midwife's Apprentice (1995), there's no sentimentality about the mentor or her work. Great for reading aloud, especially with grandparents.

Horn Book (Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2004)

To work off a family debt, eleven-year old Viney goes to spend the summer with Missy Violet, the local midwife, to learn about "catchin' babies." During this eventful summer, Viney learns midwifery basics, acquires knowledge about roots, and has adventures with many memorable characters. This is a heartfelt glimpse into African-American life during the early twentieth century.

Kirkus Reviews

After 11-year-old Viney's sister Cleo is born, her parents realize that they are, once again, unable to pay the midwife's fee. So Viney helps to pay by assisting Missy Violet, the local midwife, and there she learns about life and death. Viney's innocent voice tells related short stories, giving this slice-of-life historical fiction its life. At first, Viney thinks babies come from tree stumps or grow in cabbage patches and that her mother's big belly came from eating a watermelon seed. She soon learns the intriguing truth and goes on to learn all about healing herbs and teas, the kindness of strangers, and how to rely on herself when things get challenging. Hathaway's narrative is at its best when describing Viney's reaction to birth; it falls off a bit when the narrative feels like a vehicle to explain history. No matter, first-time author Hathaway, through Viney's irrepressible, plainspoken voice, has a fine debut. (Fiction. 10-14)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Hathaway's debut book takes its inspiration from the experiences of the author's grandmother, who worked as a midwife in the rural south during the 1930s. Written in the ingenuous voice of an 11-year-old African-American girl, the novel chronicles her summer apprenticeship to Missy Violet, a charismatic midwife who was born into slavery. Though excited about the prospect of helping the woman with her "baby catchin'," Viney has a lot to learn. For instance, she assumes that the woman transports babies to various houses in her big black bag after finding them "inside tree stumps or cabbage patches." Hathaway's anecdotal narrative includes tangential tales about other local personalities, but readers may find these less involving than the episodes focusing on the narrator's adventures with Missy Violet—including her lessons on healing herbs and other remedies ("Missy Violet's kitchen always smelled like a holiday" from the baked goods she delivered to shut-ins)—and with Viney's rambunctious cousin Charles. The author includes some intriguing historical nuggets, such as Missy Violet's description of witnessing, at age seven, a Yankee soldier presenting to the newly freed captives a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation ("Never heard such shoutin' and singin' and ringin' of the cow bells in all my born days as I heard on that day"). Unspooled as leisurely as a summer afternoon spent on the front porch, this appealingly nostalgic tale conveys the tenor of the time as well as the affable narrator's growth during one momentous summer. Ages 7-10. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(May)

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6-A Southern town in the early 1900s provides the backdrop for this warm story of personal growth and finding one's value in the community. Episodic chapters tell the story of 11-year-old Viney, focusing on her informal apprenticeship to the local midwife. She learns about medicinal herbs, delivering babies, and life in general, eventually applying her knowledge to assist in a crisis. Hathaway uses ample dialogue and captures folksy speech patterns that give believable voices to her African-American characters, who refer to one another as "colored," as was true to the era. The chapters are readable vignettes, and while they succeed at capturing people and place, they are at times disconnected, detracting from the pacing and plot progression. The cover has the appealing look of a period photo album, and the length could be perfect for that book report due tomorrow. Harmonious interracial relationships are another plus. While not a first purchase, this title is a pleasant extra.-Faith Brautigam, Gail Borden Public Library, Elgin, IL Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.