Nineteenth century medicine was often a combination of superstition and science, and sometimes a battle between the two, as 12-year-old Lucas Whitaker discovers. Lucas likes working as apprentice to Doc Beecher, who is also dentist, barber and undertaker in Southwick, Connecticut. But when consumption threatens the lives of several townspeople, Lucas is frustrated by Doc's unwillingness to give credence to a rumored cure that involves digging up the bodies of those who've already died. Lucas, who lost his entire family to consumption, understands Doc's sorrow and frustration at not being able to do more for the victims, but isn't that all the more reason to try something new, something that gives hope to the families of the dying? A fascinating narrative inspired by recent research which unearthed facts about folk-practices to cure tuberculosis in the mid-1800s. (Ages 10-12)

A Matter of Life or Death

It's 1849, and twelve-year-old, Lucas Whitaker is all alone after his whole family dies of a disease called consumption which has swept through the community. Lucas is grief-stricken and filled with guilt. He might have saved his mother, who was the last to die, if only he had listened to news of a strange cure for this deadly disease.

Unable to manage the family farm by himself, Lucas finds work as an apprentice to Doc Beecher, doctor, dentist, barber and undertaker. Doc amputates a leg as easily as he pulls a tooth, yet when it comes to consumption, he remains powerless, unwilling to try the cure he calls nonsense. Lucas can't accept Doc's disbelief, and he joins others in the dark ritual they believe is their only hope. The startling results teach Lucas a great deal about fear, desperation, and the scientific reasoning that offers hope for a true cure.

The Apprenticeship of Lucas Whitaker is a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.