Bertha Speaks Out [Hardcover]

Fran Lewis (Author)

Book Description

About the book ... Growing up was difficult for me being overweight, too quiet and really afraid to speak out in order to defend myself. In this book Bertha learns that she needs to let her voice be heard and no longer allows herself to be the scapegoat. Not everyone is beautiful, looks like a model or even dances like the pros, but everyone in the world every child and adult is good at something. Find out what your strengths are and build on them and success will be yours. Bertha also learns in this book how to deal with a family member's disease and how she and her sister Tillie work together to help the other members of her family when grandma gets Alzheimer's. I hope that you enjoy reading about Bertha and Tillie and learn that there is a little bit of her in everyone. Love Bertha, Tillie and Fran Lewis

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Fran Lewis My Name is Bertha is soon to be followed by this new book called Bertha Speaks Out. I spent my whole life living in the Bronx. I grew up on Southern Boulevard and Tremont Avenue. I went to P.S. 67 on Mohegan Avenue and to JHS 44 on Prospect Avenue. I really loved both of these schools and for the most part the teachers were great. In this book you will learn how one teacher in my JHS really helped me to find my inner voice and let it out in order to speak freely. Throughout my years in elementary school and the start of JHS I was always taught to remain silent and not speak out for fear of being disrespectful. I soon learned that adults can be mean and disrespectful to children for some reason often got away with it. As an educator I learned that in order to teach children respect and proper behavior you had to give them the respect and love they deserved. I learned to listen to them when they wanted to express themselves even if we disagreed. I learned to discipline without humiliating them. I gave them the right to speak in order to help them grow into the young adults and adults they are today. I am so proud of all of them and what I know many of them have accomplished. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 102 pages
• Publisher: Xlibris Corp (September 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1436328055
• ISBN-13: 978-1436328050
• Shipping Information: View shipping rates and policies
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

More About the Author

I am Fran Lewis the author of My Name is Bertha, Bertha Speaks Out and soon to be released Bertha Fights Back.
Fran Lewis
Growing up in the Bronx was great for my family and me. My sister and I had different interests, different friends but one thing stands out, and we lived in neighborhood with people from many different ethnic backgrounds. When we were growing, everyone seemed to get along and no one really cared whether you were African American, white or any other race or nationality. My parents owned a dry cleaners in the Bronx and so did all of my uncles and grandfather. I loved working in my father's store and going to my grandfather's on 180th street and Mohegan Avenue in the Bronx. Going to school in the Bronx, you learn how to get along with everyone in school and your neighborhood. No one ever cared where you came from or what you looked like. You were accepted for who you were as a person.

However, being over weight made things difficult for me and I often felt left out of many things that other kids could do. Being a total klutz did not help. I wrote these stories to teach children that we need to go back to the days when I grew up and everyone got along.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Stories for Children Magazine 5 Star Review, July 25, 2009

By 

Virginia S. Grenier "Children's Author & Stor... (Ivins, Utah USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bertha Speaks Out (Hardcover)

REVIEWED BY: Wayne S. Walker, reviewer with Stories for Children Magazine



How would you react if it seemed that everyone--parents, siblings, schoolmates, teachers, and many others--picked on you, made fun of you, and generally treated you with disrespect when you were a child? Bertha, the overweight girl who was constantly being humiliated and embarrassed in Fran Lewis's My Name Is Bertha, returns to tell us more about her problems and how she learns to cope with them now that she has gone from elementary to middle school. The seven stories told by Bertha in this book talk about an accident at camp involving a lot of money, playing dodgeball (or "kill") in gym class, a trip to her uncle's weight loss camp where overweight kids can try to lose weight, another adventure at camp involving frogs and skunks, having a test misgraded at 98% when her mother is expecting a perfect score, being accused of cheating on a paper that she writes for a contest, and finally her grandmother's diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.



While reading this book, I will admit that sometimes I was a little frustrated with Bertha's behavior, but it is important to consider what Bertha is going through. For example, on one occasion, Bertha becomes very upset, locking herself in her room, stomping on the floor, and throwing things around. Often, she is very blunt. However, Fran says that Bertha doesn't intend to be mean or rude. But as an educator Fran knows that kids do blurt out their true feelings and do not always express themselves in the right way. Again, I understand that this book is supposed to be based upon real events. I think that most of us realize that there are situations in life where people are not fair, and children's words may be the result of frustration and always being a scapegoat. When I first read the book, I noticed that while it is not written as a novel with a plot but as a series of stories, it might have been a little easier to follow by having the incidents arranged in some kind of chronological order. However, Fran told me that the arrangement of the stories was not her doing but the publisher's.



Having said that, I still find myself drawn to Bertha and her troubles because I know, based on my memories of being a child, that both kids and adults can be mean and disrespectful to children with no good reason. Bertha herself is certainly not perfect, but she understands her own weaknesses and faults and tries to learn from them. Concerning her weight problem she says, "But I really can't blame anyone but myself. I have to believe in myself." And after the event that has led to the temper tantrum, she writes, "I probably could have told the teacher how I felt about her in a better way." All of us have undoubtedly made mistakes, so we just have to learn how to overcome them and to do better the next time. Both children and adults can come to understand the kinds of pressures that Bertha is facing and also to appreciate the good advice that she offers on how to solve or avoid problems based on her experiences. Author Fran Lewis is a longtime educator in New York Public Schools and writes as one who knows whereof she speaks. And the description of Bertha's grandmother with dementia is especially poignant and sympathetic.

5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended for Children and Adults, March 11, 2009

By 

Martha A. Cheves (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bertha Speaks Out (Paperback)

Bertha Speaks Out - Fran Lewis, Author
In Fran Lewis' first book My Name is Bertha you meet Bertha who is an overweight young lady that is teased, laughed at and hurt by both her peers and some of the adults in her life.
In Bertha Speaks Out, she learns to take up for herself by speaking out and expressing her feelings. When a child is not "perfect" other children as well as adults can be cruel. As adults we sometimes ignore the hurt that our own children may inflict upon a child that is not "perfect". If a child has a handicap, kids may mock them. If they have a speech problem, they may mimic them. If they are overweight, they may call them names and exclude them. All of these actions damage the child that is not "perfect" as well as the child doing the hurting. We as parents need to teach them that this is wrong and how their actions hurt.
Bertha Speaks Out is a very enjoyable book to read. Bertha finds herself in positions that will make you laugh and cry. You will feel her pain but also feel her pride when she stands up for what is right. It's a must read for children as well as adults.
Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat