NAOMI IN THE MIDDLE

by Norma Klein

Seven-year-old Naomi tries to come to terms with being the middle child in the family after the arrival of the new baby.

Unknown Binding

First published August 19, 1989

About the author

Norma Klein was born in New York City and graduated cum laude and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa from Barnard College with a degree in Russian. She later received her master's degree in Slavic languages from Columbia University.

Ms. Klein began publishing short stories while attending Barnard and since then she had written novels for readers of all ages. The author got her ideas from everyday life and advised would-be writers to do the same -- to write about their experiences or things they really care about.

Ms. Klein died in 1989.

Reviews

[Cheryl]

3 stars -- *On the plus side, Klein - a well-respected author - presents a realistic picture of a family that is good, but not perfect. Naomi, the title character, is 7. Her sister, Barbara aka Bobo, is 9. They live with their mom & dad in an apartment in the big city (logically NYC). Their grandma lives in a house nearby. At the beginning of the story, the girls learn that their mom is pregnant, so the rest of the story is filled with the girls' discussion of that and their anticipation - or lack thereof - of the impending birth of their brother or sister. *On the other side, this book is just not for today's elementary library. There are multiple conversations about a man's penis - why the word sounds funny and that it is stuck in a woman's vagina. Naomi also notices the hair between her mother's legs and says it looks like moss, which vaguely cracked me up. Don't get me wrong; I am no prude, but the 2020s are not the women's lib 1970s, nor should they be expected to be. Let's just say that with condition issues, no checkouts ever, and no library other than mine to have the title, #35 in the 2026 Search & Purge is an easy weed.