Your Name Is a Song

At her brand new school, a young girl is so frustrated and discouraged when no one -not even the teachers- can pronounce her name correctly that she tells her mother she never wants to go back. On the way home from school, her mother tells her that names are songs and demonstrates this melodic concept to her as they continue home in a musical way. The little girl returns to school with a whole new perspective. She teaches everyone how to sing their names and her own both to everyone's delight.

Critical Analysis: This book helps children to develop self-confidence and pride in their name and can teach children to view situations with new perspectivels, to see the viewpoint of another, and to engage in prosocial behavior. It also embraces show more differences and fosters an appreciation for diversity.

Favorite quotes: "From your heart, say your name.", "Made up names come from dreamers." show less

A little girl is upset because people can not say her name. Her mother teaches her to sing peoples names. There are stories behind everyone's name and each name deserves to be celebrated. There is also a glossary of the names used in the book with their pronunciations and meanings. Author concentrates on inclusion with Black and Muslim children.

Frustrated by a day full of teachers and classmates mispronouncing her beautiful name, a little girl tells her mother she never wants to come back to school. In response, the girl's mother teaches her about the musicality of African, Asian, Black-American, Latinx, and Middle Eastern names on their lyrical walk home through the city. Empowered by this newfound understanding, the young girl is ready to return the next day to share her knowledge with her class. Your Name is a Song is a celebration to remind all of us about the beauty, history, and magic behind names.

I want this book to win the CLEL award for Sing. WHY? Because I love that embodies what we try to teach in early literacy. Song helps breaks down the syllables of words....and yes even names. Songs help people remember (trust me, it's still how I remember Jesus's disciples). For our young heroine, and her struggles with her teacher saying her name properly....when she learns to break it down and encourage others to do the same....beauty is seen.

What I appreciated was the pronunciation key that immediately followed certain words. As a storyteller, I would owe that to the audience that I am reading to.

Everyone deserves to feel special and beautiful, and everyone ought to feel connected to their name. When children tease each other about names they don't know how to pronounce correctly, it sticks in your heart. This story is about a little girl who feels ostracized because no one at her school is saying her name correctly. Her mother teachers her how to sing her name so that everyone will say it correctly. Her mother teachers her the beauty of our names and reminds the reader about why it is so important to speak others' names correctly.

Goodreads Review:
Frustrated by a day full of teachers and classmates mispronouncing her beautiful name, a little girl tells her mother she never wants to come back to school. In response, the girl's mother teaches her about the musicality of African, Asian, Black-American, Latinx, and Middle Eastern names on their lyrical walk home through the city. Empowered by this newfound understanding, the young girl is ready to return the next day to share her knowledge with her class. Your Name is a Song is a celebration to remind all of us about the beauty, history, and magic behind names.

It's sometimes hard to pronounce new names. This beautiful story is about a mom helping her child learn to love her name and be proud of it. Readers will enjoy the pictures, phonetic spelling of names, and rhythm added to help sound out the names and then eventually sing them!