Rosenthal, Betsy R. Looking For Me. Houghton
Mifflin 172p $15.99 978-0-547-61084-9 2012 ms/hs E-BN Realistic
fiction
The story
of Edith Paul’s life is told in this lovely free-verse novel of Depression-era Baltimore. Beautifully written, the book spans a year in
her life from the end of a summer through
the culmination of her sixth-grade school year, including the special events, both happy and tragic, that will mold
her character. The fourth of twelve children, Edith is
never quite sure how she fits into her family’s dynamics. When her teacher assigns a poem about family,
she realizes that she truly doesn’t know who she is. Is she the “good little mother” or her
father’s “diner slave”? She realizes for the first time that
she craves recognition as an individual.
It will be the first step in Edith’s emotional discovery of
herself. With the love of her large extended family and
the help of her understanding teacher, Edith grows and matures into a strong
and vibrant person.
Rosenthal based this book on memories of her mother and her large family. She ends with an epilogue that describes Edith’s actual future where she becomes the only girl in the family to graduate from college, a glossary of Yiddish words, and a collection of family photographs. This is a wonderful addition to collections that describe the search for the American dream.
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