[Witnessing the awkward, then tender, reunions of her parents in "Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself," Sally] feels the impact of their need for one another without fully understanding what it means. It's a reminder to all of us that there's a time when children know the facts of life without understanding them. Beyond that, the book is largely a chronicle of Sally's adjustment to a new life, of wishes and nervousness and fun, and the author's memories of the 1940's.

Interestingly, Mrs. Blume herself has become a much discussed subject of the sub-teen culture she writes about. Kids read her books with a blushing curiosity once reserved for certain words in the dictionary, parts of the Bible and naughty passages in Hemingway. They know they will find some frank discussion of prurient matters like breasts and menstruation. Some of her readers may also have read [Erica Jong's...