The Women Who Caught The Babies: A Story of African American Midwives by Eloise Greenfield

 

The Women Who Caught The Babies: A Story of African American Midwives 

Written by: Eloise Greenfield 

Illustrated by: Daniel Minter 

Originally Published in: 2019 

This story speaks of the African American women who have trained to be midwives in the past and continue to train today to "catch" babies, highlighting their struggles and success over a period of time. The story goes back and forth in between prose and poems to show different kinds of storytelling that may be in a book. There is a combination of poetry and art to highlight the experiences of African American midwives and applauds them for their bravery and strength throughout history, not just when there was slavery. 

This book is targeted towards upper elementary, as the back and forth between prose and poems may not be best for younger readers. Also because this story highlights childbirth, it is intended for those upper elementary students rather than lower. Not only does this story highlight the slavery system and the inherent injustices that the system carried, but it speaks more towards the female side of slavery and the things they are forced to do without payment. This may spark a greater conversation about slavery in the classroom and could be a good topic of conversation. While most African American students you have in class will be descendants of slaves, it is of utmost importance to address it and recommend this book to all students to broaden their understanding of slavery, as this story should add more knowledge to aid students. 

Other information:

The Women Who Caught The Babies: A Story of African American Midwives is a Juvenile Nonfiction & Historical book.

Greenfield, E., Minter, D. (2019). The Women Who Caught The Babies: A Story of African American Midwives. Alazar Press. 

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