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.m.
___________________________________________ Dear Bertha,
Falling in the hole must have been painful. I know it hurt a lot when I broke my arm playing baseball. You were brave to stay in the hole all night and not get too scared.
Love, Casey
Dear Bertha,
I am so sorry that you could not dance. I am not so great either.
Love, Dani
Dear Bertha,
So what if you will never be an Olympic skater. You are really smart in school. That instructor needs to learn to be nicer to his students.
Love, DJ
Dear Bertha,
You see, there are nice boys in the world that judge girls not by how they look but by how nice they are. Just like you!
Love, Katie and Carly and Cade
Dear Bertha,
You are a great puncher. Who cares if you can’t run fast you always get a homerun. Good Job.
Love, Josh and Jake
Hi! I’m Bertha, Thank you for your encouragement. I am ten years old and not matter what I do I can never get it right. Whether it is dancing lessons, ice skating or just playing punch ball, I poor Bertha can never win. Either I would fall down, trip over my feet or want to hide under the covers and never come out. Dancing lessons were a nightmare because standing on toe shoes required 5 people to hold me up to prevent me from falling. Skating lessons were hazardous to the instructor and even trying to convince my mother to let me my own outfit for my first dance took all of my powers of persuasion and a whole lot more. These are stories of me ten year Bertha who had a tough time growing up. I was over weight, not very pretty and got teased and picked on. For anyone who has ever had someone make fun them, I hope you will learn from me Bertha that who you are inside makes the person, not what you look like on the outside. Love, Bertha