The Talent Show
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Rachel kept a diary and wrote in it every night before she went to sleep. Sometimes the entries she made were very short because her days were ordinary, but if something unusual happened, her entries were a little longer. The day that Nancy pushed her down in the schoolyard, in third grade, and made her knees start to bleed, she wrote two whole pages. She even included the words she yelled at Nancy because she was so angry and she had to try very hard not to cry in front of everyone. "Nancy Hansen," she said, "you are the worst girl in this whole school and I wish the principal would throw you out!" She knew what she said was not very nice, but what Nancy had done was not very nice either, and the words just flew out of her mouth. She couldn't help it. The day that her mother took her out for ice cream she wrote three whole pages. She loved reading that part because she could practically taste the ice cream every time she read it. Rachel did not know why she kept her diary, but it always made her feel better when she wrote things down. It made her feel like her heart went into the words on the page and the page listened to all of her happy and sad thoughts. It was like having another best friend. "I love my diary," Rachel thought, as she pressed her diary against her chest and hugged it tightly.
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About the Book
Ten year old Rachel has many decisions to make. She first has to recognize that her writing is indeed, a talent. It takes her best friend to convince her of this. Her next decision is even tougher. She must decide whether or not to enter the fourth grade talent show and compete against the meanest girl in her grade, who not only won the talent show last year, but who has made her life miserable for the last two years. The Talent Show is a book that many children in elementary school can relate to, presenting problems that most of them will face. It teaches lessons in self-confidence, courage and forgiveness.
About the Author
Barbara Berkowitz is a retired radiation therapist who always had a passion for writing. During her professional career she treated many terminally ill children who could do nothing about overcoming their illness. After her retirement she wished to write a book that would not only entertain young children but teach them to overcome the obstacles over which they had control and that they would face throughout their early school years. Her ten year old grandaughter, to whom she has been reading since she was born, inspired this book which was based on many of their conversations. She lives in Florida with her husband and this is her first children's book.