Looking for Me (review)

Set in 1930s Baltimore, this novel in free verse explores the joys and tribulations of being number four in a family of twelve children. When Edith's sixth-grade teacher gives the assignment to write a poem about her family, she is somewhat put off ("It's not exactly fair/ because mine will have to be really, really long") then dumbfounded when her teacher points out that she forgot to write anything about herself ("I blurt out, 'I don't know/ who I am in my big family'"). Edith may not have her role perfectly figured out, but she has plenty to say about growing up in a huge Jewish family in Catholic Baltimore during the Depression. Her observations are laced with abundant humor and wit, and while many of them focus on the small frustrations (wearing "hand-me-down/ down/ down/ down/ downs"), there are also some serious themes touched upon over the course of the story, namely the death of her baby brother and its profound effect on the family. The writing has the authentic awkwardness and lack of polish of a tween's poetic efforts, and the author states that the events are based upon the life of Rosenthal's own mother. This would serve as an excellent class readaloud as well as appealing to fans of both poetry and memoir. Archival family photographs, an author's note, and a glossary of English and Yiddish terms are included.