Customer Reviews

On Being Sarah

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I bought this book for my daughter, who has CP, like the girl in the story. I was hoping that it would be a story about living with CP and becoming independent. And, while it was those things, it also had some disturbing undertones... one of her friends (also with CP) lives in an institution and his mother visits him there once or twice a week when she isn't working... reading this through the eyes of my daughter I am horrified. That particular impossibility is something that hasn't ever ocurred to her; I don't need this book to plant it in her mind. Also, "being Sarah" sounds like being a girl stuck in a family with a cruel and unthinking father, an overworked mother, and fears about being institutionalized. This does NOT get a good rating, and I'm glad I read it first -- I will NOT let my daughter read it.

I was very disappointed with the Product Description for this book. Saying that Sarah is a "victim" of cerebral palsy is not respectful, nor was the review from the School Library Journal that says that Sarah is "confined" to a wheelchair. Both ways of describing Sarah focus on the negative. That's not how I want my children to think about people with cerebral palsy. How about saying she "has cerebral palsy" and "she uses a wheelchair"? These are statements of fact, rather than a judgment. Subtle but powerful!

As a mother of a child who is non-verbal, I thought this was a great book. Through the main character in the book, I was given a little more insight as to what kind of thoughts might be going through my child's mind, and how he may feel not being able to communicate with words. The book created an awareness of how communicating with symbols can help a person who cannot talk. It also gives those who communicate verbally an idea of how they should interact with people who use alternative methods of communication.