Elem. – The Name Jar

Choi, Yangsook. The Name Jar. Alfred A. Knopf, 2022. Reprint of 2001 copyrighted book. Unpaged. $17.99. 978-0-375-80613-1. Grades K-5. 

Unhei is new to America from Korea, and she’s worried, mostly about kids mispronouncing her name. When her teacher introduces her to the class, she decides to wait and possibly choose a different name. “I haven’t picked one yet, but I’ll let you know by next week.” That night, her mother tells her how they chose her name, and that it means Grace. Unhei tries new names at home, but none of them sound right for her. At school the next day, she finds a jar on her desk with pieces of paper in it. Each piece of paper has a name suggested by her classmates: Daisy, Tamela, etc.  When classmate Joey presses her, “Don’t you have any name?” Unhei decides to show him her name using the wooden block ink stamp given to her by her grandmother. Joey thinks it’s beautiful, and they walk to the school bus together. That night, Unhei receives a letter from her Grandma, and she sees Joey at the Korean grocery. The next day at school, the name jar is missing. Unhei and her classmates search but do not find it. Then Joey approaches her at the end of the day to say he took the name jar because he wanted her to keep her own name. Also, the grocery store owner, Mr. Kim, has given Joey a name stamp like Unhei’s; this stamp spells, “friend,” and Unhei and Joey realize that they are friends.   

THOUGHTS: This is a very kind way to show friendship arising from self-acceptance and acceptance of others. Unhei learns courage in herself and her cultural background.  

Picture Book          Melissa Scott, Shenango Area SD

Elem. – That’s Not My Name

Syed, Anoosha. That’s Not My Name. Viking, 2022. 978-0-593-40517-8. Unpaged. $17.99. Grades K-2.

In That’s Not My Name readers meet Mirha who is extremely excited for her first day of school, but it doesn’t turn out the way that she thought it would. No one can pronounce her name, and she is too shy and unsure to correct anyone. Mirha thinks maybe she should change her name into something that everyone can pronounce, and she goes home and tells her mom that she wants to do just that. Her mother teaches Mirha where her name comes from and tells her that she should be proud of her name, and Mirha decides that she will correct everyone at school the next day. Mirha ends up making a new friend, and learning how to tell people who pronounce her name incorrectly, “that’s not my name,” and learning about her classmates and what their names mean.

THOUGHTS: This is a wonderful read aloud for the first week of school to teach students about empathy. This would also be a great read aloud before an ice-breaker type activity. 

Picture Book          Mary McEndree, Lehigh Valley Regional Charter Academy