What kind of research went in to writing your book Looking for Me?Īs far back as I can remember I've been hearing stories from my mother's childhood.

My favorite part of practicing law was the research and writing, and so, after having children, I left the law work behind and returned to my first love-writing. However, I took a long detour and attended law school and practiced law for a while. It seems that ever since I learned to put words on a page, I've been on the path to becoming a writer. Even ideas for a couple of my picture books came from my youngest son's life. My family is a fountain of inspiration, which has led me to write about them in personal essays for magazines and newspapers.Īnd, of course, my book Looking For Me.in this great big family, is entirely based on my mom's childhood and the antics of her many brothers and sisters (who are my aunts and uncles). I've always been a keen observer of people, objects, sights, sounds, and smells. Most everything inspires me to write, and particularly to write poetry. It would be easier to list what doesn't inspire me to write.

Today we're chatting with Betsy Rosenthal, author of PJ Our Way selection, Looking For Me. To learn more about Ms.In each installment of ' Three Questions With,' we get to know a different writer, musician, or illustrator by asking three questions about their work, process, and interests. Her extended family is spread out all over the country, but she has so many local relatives that she’s convinced she’s related to every other person in L.A. She lives with her husband and kids in Los Angeles. In addition to her writing, she has a business helping high school students with their college application essays. Rosenthal has also had many essays published in national and local newspapers and magazines, and is a writer for WriteWisdom, Inc., a memoir writing business. Looking For Me… in this great big family, her first novel, is a Junior Library Guild Selection, has been designated a Sydney Taylor Notable Book for Older Readers and is the winner of the 2013 Children’s Literature Council Myra Cohn Livingston Award for Poetry. Her fourth picture book, A String of Ponies, is due out in 2015.

She is the author of three picture books: My House Is Singing, It’s Not Worth Making a Tzimmes Over!, and Which Shoes Would You Choose? and has poems included in two Phonics Through Poetry anthologies. She left that career behind to raise her three children and concentrate on her writing. About The Authorīefore she began writing children’s books, Betsy Rosenthal was out there fighting the bad guys as a lawyer for the Anti-Defamation League. About this PoemĪ teacher’s guide to poetry, which uses poems from My House is Singing, is included on my website. From the book My House is Singing. HMH Books for Young Readers. Reprinted by permission of the author.

Looking for Me by Betsy Rosenthal