(DOWNLOAD) "My Name Is Bertha" by Fran Lewis # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: My Name Is Bertha
- Author : Fran Lewis
- Release Date : January 22, 2008
- Genre: Fiction,Books,Young Adult,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 986 KB
Description
Bronx Times Reporter News: February 21, 2008
LOCAL AUTHOR TEACHES TOLERANCE THROUGH KIDS' BOOK
by Jeni Asaba
My Name is Bertha is a story of hope for all children living with differences that make them victims of criticism and outcasts among their peers.
Bertha is a young girl who feels misunderstood by society. Her heavy stature and awkward, uncoordinated movements made her feel like an outcast among her peers, while her own family deemed her different.
The fictional children's book is a compilation of stories based on past encounters and events the author, Fran Lewis, experienced during her own childhood growing up in the Bronx .
Lewis hopes to use My Name is Bertha as a mode of encouragement for those children whose weak self image is limiting their happiness and personal growth.
Children today have to know that they can achieve anything they want and no one should try to stop them from reaching their goals and dreams, Lewis said.
As a young girl growing up in the south Bronx , Lewis said she always felt excluded, an outsider in her own community.
Through My Name is Bertha, Lewis teaches that as long as people recognize and believe in their own personal strengths, there is and always will be light at the end of the tunnel.
Not everyone is born athletic, beautiful, thin or a genius, Lewis said, but everyone is born good in something, whether it is running track, playing board games or drawing. Who you are is what makes you special.
Working as a reading and writing staff developer at P.S. 78, at 1400 Needham Avenue , for 36 years, Lewis said it was a real joy to see young children learn from reading.
Now, through her book, she's proud to provide youth with the encouragement she never received.
Children are entitled to make mistakes, Lewis said. There are erasers on the end of pencils for a reason.
In a series of notes from 10-year-old Bertha, she tells her stories of struggle and despair - specific instances of humiliation that created the feelings of rejection she would spend many years fighting to overcome.
In the note titled Bertha Goes Bowling, she shares an embarrassing tale about a family outing at Southern Boulevard Lanes.
Not having good physical coordination, Bertha detested all sports activities. But even still she couldn't ignore the daunting persistence of her father's voice urging her to simply try.
The book reads, As I started to wind up, I guess I thought I could throw it harder if I used my punch ball skills to get some momentum on the ball. I bent over and heard a ripping noise. My pants split down the middle because they were too tight and I bent over too far.
After her mother did a quick fix tying her sweater around Bertha's waist, the encouragement for one more try continued.
It continued, I walked back up to the edge of the lane and wound up my right arm and threw the ball straight across my body three lanes to the left and got a strike for the man on that lane. He just looked at me in horror while everyone else just started to stare at me or laugh.
Bertha returned to her apartment on Southern Boulevard and Tremont Avenue , feeling sad and once again, different.
While it took her a while to realize that it was her differences that made her special, Bertha now proudly shares some advice with her young readers.
Concluding her stories Bertha said, Stay strong and think positive about yourself. I am learning to do that and so can you.
Lewis is currently contacting literary agents to publish her second book Bertha Speaks Out.
My Name is Bertha is available at all major bookstores. For more information, contact Xlibris at (888) 795-4274 or www.xlibris.com.
Barnes and Noble, at 2614 Central Park Avenue in Yonkers , will host a book signing for My Name is Bertha on March 16, at 2 p