And I hate to give it the kiss of death, but it would be a good class read. This would make a great addition to a classroom library as well. Both are memoirs in verse and feature themes of self discovery. I would give it to fans of Marilyn Nelson’s How I Discovered Poetry. I think I have a few fifth graders who might enjoy this and they could certainly read it, I just worry that these glimpses into everyday life are not quite what they willingly pick up. While appropriate for an elementary library, it seems better suited to middle schoolers who are really grappling with who they are.

He comes down with what, at the time, was a fairly common childhood disease (I’m sorry I can’t remember what it is right now) and is whisked off to the hospital. It’s a bit dramatic, but not detailed or gory. Where the Judaism infuses their lives, but isn’t front and center.Ī warning, one of Edith’s younger brothers dies.

Their faith doesn’t play into the book too much, which I appreciated in that I am not looking for Jewish Books, but books with people who happen to be Jewish. They run a diner and barely keep a lid on all their children in the best possible way (I sort of imagine my dad’s childhood was a little like this, actually, running a bit feral with all his siblings). Why are all books with Jews about the holocaust?! Here the family is loud and boisterous and always short on money. I am always looking for books that feature Jews, but not the holocaust. But she’s usually a happy kid with good perspective. She also must work in the family restaurant after school everyday until nearly midnight. This is a role she doesn’t necessarily mind, but she also resents having it be expected of her and having it be the only role her family sees her in. She helps care for all the younger children because she is “the little mother”. There are also a lot of expectations put on her. Edith really struggles to find her place and make her parents see her. It’s a memoir in verse of Betsy’s mother’s childhood growing up in a very large Jewish family. Edith is a really likable girl who seems to get short shrift in her family. Looking For Me was such an enjoyable book. When a kind teacher encourages Edith to be a teacher herself one day, Edith sees prospects for a future all her own. Between working at her father’s diner, taking care of her younger siblings, and living in the shadow of her more mature sisters, Edith feels lost in a sea of siblings. Looking For Me in this great big family by Besty Rosenthalįrom Goodreads: One of 12 siblings growing up in depression-era Baltimore, Edith isn’t quite sure of who she is.

Looking for Me by Betsy Rosenthal