Who Am I?

by Katherine Paterson

The author uses her own experiences and stories to help young people understand God and the relevance of their Christian faith to everyday life.

Genres: Childrens

95 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1992

About the author

Katherine Womeldorf Paterson is an American writer best known for children's novels, including Bridge to Terabithia. For four different books published 1975–1980, she won two Newbery Medals and two National Book Awards. She is one of four people to win the two major international awards; for "lasting contribution to children's literature" she won the biennial Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing in 1998 and for her career contribution to "children's and young adult literature in the broadest sense" she won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award from the Swedish Arts Council in 2006, the biggest monetary prize in children's literature. Also for her body of work she was awarded the NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature in 2007 and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal from the American Library Association in 2013. She was the second US National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, serving 2010 and 2011.

Reviews

[Alexandra Medina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paterson tackles life's big questions at a middle grade level, and does it well. She points to our purpose, our longings, and our communities as integral components of God-centered lives. This is definitely written for a middle-grade audience, but it will get students thinking about these deeper questions. And hopefully, this book will lead them closer to Christ, which should be the ultimate goal for us all.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Would read it again...krb 2/16/18

[Larena · Rating 4 out of 5]

C: CHILDREN: No offensive language, sex or nudity but might contain occasional comedic Violence.

E:Easy: 3rd grade Vocabulary

Method: Physical Book

Location: Chautaugua-Cattaraugus Library System

[Ashley Canuteson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written for 9-14 year olds, but I’m not sure it’s relatable enough for them. I want my 17 year old to read it and I’m not sure he will connect with it, but I pray he does.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katherine Paterson wrote one of my favorite childhood books "Bridge to Terabithia" so when I came across this book by her I was very intrigued. Although we do not share the same faith, most of the teachings in this book I consider to be true. I especially appreciate how she wrote it to teenagers without condescension but with real understanding. I would LOVE for my kids to read this when they are teens; I think it will help them to come to a good understanding of who they are as Children of God and how to interact with those around them. I also, as a parent to young children at this point in my life, found it to be a helpful reminder.
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"And yet, there were certainly people in Palestine that Jesus did not heal, hungry people he did not feed, those he did not work miracles for. One of the thieves crucified with Jesus said to him, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us." But Jesus did not come down from the cross... The apostle Paul says he prayed repeatedly that God would take away a "thorn in his flesh," some illness or difficulty that he longed to be rid of. But God chose not to relieve his suffering...But other times people pray and no miracles occur. It is then that people are tempted to lose faith... When terrible things happen, even when I can't understand why, it is a comfort to me to remember that God in Jesus chose, and I believe, still chooses to be with those that suffer."

"There are many things about yourself that you had no choice in and that you cannot change, but remember that it is you whom God created. God has a purpose for exactly the combination of body, mind, and spirit that is you. God can help you know how best to use the body and mind you have been given."

"We can change our families by the love or hate we bring into them. We can change our society by the way we act in it."

"There are things about yourself that you like and some that you don't like. There are some things you can change (and perhaps ought to) and other things you can't help. But it is you (not some dream of what you wish you were) that God made and loves. It is you that Jesus Christ calls to be his friend and follower. It is you that God wants to become fully yourself - the person you were created to be."

"God's care for us has nothing to do with our goodness or our worthiness. God loves us because we are God's beloved children."

"Ironically, the very fact that we are most at east at home and don't have to impress our families sometimes makes us less kind to them than we would be to a total stranger. An important part of kindness is respect. Each member of the family needs to respect each other member. Even the smallest child deserves respect. ...I try to think of him as an ambassador from another country, she said." He hasn't yet learned our language or our customs, so he can't express himself well, and he often behaves in appropriately. But still, in his own country he's an ambassador, so I have to treat him politely even when he seems impossible."

"Now this larger family [speaking of church] is also an imperfect one. There will surely be occasions when people in the church will hurt you or disappoint you. But there will also be times when members of this family will be the bearers of God's loving-kindness to you...When God meets us at the corners of our lives, he nearly always does so through another person. Christians are called by God to share one another's burdens."

"God can use even bad situations to strengthen us and help us to grow. God can break into lives that may seem closed to any new possibilities."

Dorothy Day Quote: "One of the greatest evils of the day is a sense of futility...They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time. We can be responsible for only the one action of the present moment. But we can beg for an increase of love in our hearts that will vitalize and transform all our individual actions, and know that God will take them and multiply them, as Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes."

"Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever."

"We need to remember that God's judgment is meant to set things right, not destroy us."