by Betsy R. Rosenthal
Houghton Mifflin, 2012
Genre: Historical fiction, Novels in verse
Honors: Unknown
Review: In the middle of writing an epic-length poem for her teacher about the ups and downs of life with her Jewish-American family, Edith Polansky is asked why she only refers to herself as "number four" of twelve children. Edith is then given the task of completing her family poem by answering a vital question about who she is, and she begins to form an answer while learning to cope with the death of a sibling.
Opinion: Edith is a very endearing character, writing tenderly of her relatives at times and bitterly, at other times, about her mixed feelings regarding having a large family and having to stand in for her working mother when she is not in school. I discovered this book at an educational resource center when I was looking for titles for a group of 6th-8th graders, and I ended up bringing it home and am just now reading it. It seems like it would be a nice book for reluctant readers because it is a quick read and is riddled with cute quips and sarcasm.
Ideas: An activity similar to the one assigned to Edith can be used as part of a history lesson. Students can research the life of families of Jewish immigrants to the United States and write about their findings in a poem format.
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