On Being Sarah (Hardcover)

by Elizabeth Helfman (Author), Lino Saffioti (Illustrator) "Sarah moved her wheelchair closer to the big picture window in the Bennett living room..." (more)
Key Phrases: Aunt Laura, Ruth Burroughs, Girl Scout (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-- Sarah, 12, is confined to a wheelchair, with limited movement and no speech, the result of cerebral palsy. Her story involves her struggle and growth in regard to self-image; her relationships with family, peers, and neighbors; her adjustment at school; and the beginnings of a romance. Her thoughts are set in italics, reminding readers that she is nonverbal. Charles Bliss's system of pictoral/symbol communication is worked in throughout the story, as Sarah uses this system. Helfman supplies keen realism and compassionate descriptions of the girl's response to physical and emotional frustration, and her heroine is both introspective and outwardly determined. She thinks and feels with complexity. The story's closure is a bit abrupt, but overall, the book is very successful.
- Judith Lipshutz, Norristown Public Library, PA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description
Twelve-year-old Sarah Bennett, a young victim of cerebral palsy, yearns to become a part of the "normal" world, and she gets her chance when she is mainstreamed into a regular school, makes a new best friend, and learns to come to terms with her special challenge.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 172 pages
• Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company (October 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807560685
• ISBN-13: 978-0807560686
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,854,271 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars disappointing and disturbing, May 8, 2001

By	JS Langevin (Nova Scotia, Canada) - See all my reviews

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Creates great awareness about non-verbal communication, March 16, 2002

By A Customer

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.

1.0 out of 5 stars Talking about people with disabilities, June 10, 2009

By	cpgpubco - See all my reviews

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!