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Loading... THAO: A Picture Book (2021)by Thao Lam
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. 117 This book is a great example of how people of color are discriminated against in the United States. It shows students that this can be as simple as mispronouncing someone's name and not caring enough to learn how to correct yourself. It helps students reflect on the discrimination their fellow classmates might be facing, or even reflect on discrimination they've faced. It's also a great way to open up the room for discussion. A practically perfect picture book! The author Thao Lam describes how no one could say her name, instead mangling it, misspelling it, and making up nonsense words. She decides to go by the name Jennifer but in a lovely moment of cultural realization (and a clever reverse move on non-Vietnamese speakers), she is and always will be Thao. Told with simple humor that will resonate fully with readers whose own names have been debased, and to inform discussion on the importance of respecting others' names. Fantastic! no reviews | add a review
""Thao" seems like a simple enough name. Only four letters--all of them belonging to many other names! And yet Thao had been called everything from "Tail" to "Theo" to "Towel." At one point, completely fed up, she decided it was time to try another name. Something "easy." Something like "Jennifer." But trying to be someone else only works for so long. And eventually "Jennifer" is swayed back to being herself when she opens her lunchbox and finds her mother has packed her Gȯi cuõn (also known as Vietnamese spring rolls)! Thao's favourite! Her name is pronounced "Tow" like the English word "how." While simple on the surface, this story of cultural assimilation and celebration of cultural pride runs deep. It is a personal one for Thao. And it will strike a chord with readers who have struggled to fit within a mainstream mold--then realized it was just more comfortable to be themselves. Visually, this book will also be a personal reflection of Thao in that she will be incorporating childhood photos into her usual cut-paper collage style! She has also opted to minimize the number of illustrations and instead play with type and typography as a way to highlight her name--and the many variations of it that appear in the book!"-- No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.00Literature English (North America) American fiction By typeLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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