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"Paletero Man is a truly refreshing tale of determination, kindness, ice pops— and the true meaning of being part of a community."

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a gorgeous picture book about caring for your own heart and living with kindness and empathy.

My heart is a window. My heart is a slide. My heart can be closed...or opened up wide. Some days your heart is a puddle or a fence to keep the world out. But some days it is wide open to the love that surrounds you. With lyrical text and breathtaking art, My Heart empowers all readers to listen to the guide within in this ode to love and self-acceptance.

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A heartwarming story about the new girl in school, and how she learns to appreciate her Korean name.

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Having just moved from Korea, Unhei is anxious about fitting in. So instead of introducing herself on the first day of school, she decides to choose an American name from a glass jar. But while Unhei thinks of being a Suzy, Laura, or Amanda, nothing feels right. With the help of a new friend, Unhei will learn that the best name is her own.

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Used in Black Ants and Buddhists

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Used in Black Ants and Buddhists

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Used in Black Ants and Buddhists

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Used in Black Ants and Buddhists

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Used in Black Ants and Buddhists

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Used in Black Ants and Buddhists

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The book recounts how Ann and Liv made their dream a reality and shares the fascinating details of the what they packed, what they ate, how they ice-sailed, and what they saw.

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10 Little Rubber Ducks fall overboard and land on shores all around the world. Inspired by the true story of these ducks at sea, Eric Carle has imagined their voyage in the wide open waters and the creatures they meet who live in and around the ocean.

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Used in Black Ants and Buddhists to teach students about evidence. It prompted a student to from that point forward always ask critically "what's your evidence?"

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Gawain the goose is really devoted to King Basil the bear and so he takes his job as Chief Guard of the Royal Treasury seriously. When rubies, then gold ducats, and finally the world-famous Kalikak diamond vanish from the treasure house, there is no way to account for the disappearances. Only Gawain and the King have keys!
Woe and misery must be borne--by Gawain, by King Basil and the entire community, as well as by the real thief--before the goose's good name is restored. Brought to trial, Gawain escapes from his faithless friends into lonely self-exile. Now the thief, burdened by guilt, sees that the right thing must be done and determines, heroically, to do it.

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This book can be used to introduce argumentation to students, having students in pairs take stances throughout the book. It deals with sibling relationships and greed and temptations. It also features a Pakistani-American family and some different cultural ideas. It can do a lot to affirm readers in their experiences or offer a window into the viewpoint of an older sister.

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Rubina has been invited to her first birthday party, and her mother, Ami, insists that she bring her little sister along. Rubina is mortified, but she can't convince Ami that you just don't bring your younger sister to your friend's party. So both girls go, and not only does Sana demand to win every game, but after the party she steals Rubina's prized party favor, a red lollipop. What's a fed-up big sister to do?

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-Jane Addams Children's Book Award
-WILLA Literary Award for Children's/Young Adult Fiction
-Judy Lopez Memorial Award for Children's Literature
-Pura Belpré Award

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Esperanza believes that wealthy people are inherently better than poor people-this idea is present throughout the novel. This can start a conversation about the stigma against poor people and wealth inequities.
There are also underlying themes of sexism, as Esperanza's mothers only two options after her husband dies are to either marry his brother, so she can stay in her home, or escape to the US.
At one point in the novel, immigration officials round-up and deport many Mexicans, even some that were natural-born Americans. This might open up a discussion about ICE inequalities and disparities in modern times.
This book features Mexican-American characters during the time of the great depression. It's a perspective not usually depicted in media.

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Esperanza's world is turned upside down when her father is murdered and she is forced to move to America with her mother.

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-Newberry Medal
-Coretta Scott King Awards

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This book focuses a lot on the civil rights movement that happened during the '60s in the US. It can be a good pairing to history lessons on that time period, prompting conversations about racism and social justice. It also deals with the topic of estranged parents and feeling abandoned/neglected/unwanted by your parent. That could possibly be a sensitive subject for some, but it could also be a powerful classroom tool to open up that discussion.

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Set in 1968, three sisters are sent to stay with their estranged mother where they are introduced to the black panthers and the civil rights movement.

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Nathan Hale, author, illustrator, cartoonist

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Like The Magic Tree House, Nathan Hales Hazardous Tales covers a wide variety of historical events, offering something for everyone! The books are probably appealing to students who like more "boyish" books (idk what other word to use), as they are often gruesome and are labeled as "hazardous." They seem badass!
There are books about people of different cultures, races, genders, etc.

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More Memoir/Graphic Novels by Raina Telegemeier<3

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More Memoir/Graphic Novels by Raina Telegemeier<3

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-Eisner Award for Best Publication for Teens
-Horn Book Honor for Nonfiction

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Another coming-of-age story, but this one offers a bit of a twist. We watch Raina deal with her teeth journey, as well as the relationships with her classmates that change because of it. Seeing someone struggle with self-image and bullying can be comforting to students who are going through any sort of similar situation. The book also deals with other topics such as growing up less fortunate, expecting siblings, etc.
It's also a graphic novel!!<333

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Raina Telegemeir recounts the time she severely injured her mouth and teeth, and all the trials and tribulations that came after.

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-Newberry Medal
-National Jewish Book Award for Children's Literature
-Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award

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This book is deserving of a child audience because it teaches them about a specific perspective from World War II, and further helps contextualize what they know about that time. It's also told from the point of view of a child, which helps them to better relate to the story. This book includes tales of immense bravery. Even though they could face death or worse, Annemarie's family works with the resistance to help save even just a few Jewish people from the terrible fate they would otherwise face. It teaches children to stick to your morals, and that doing what's right doesn't always mean doing what's expected.

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Set in World War II, Number the Stars Annemarie and her family as they help Jewish people escape Denmark to safety.

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-Newberry Medal
-Walter Dean Myers Honor Award
-Malka Penn Award for Human Rights in Children's Literature

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Not only can this book teach children about the split between Pakistan and India, over the course of the book, the narrator works through a number of problems that are present in her life. Some of these issues include having a single-father, religious confusion, poor self-image, gaining of courage, etc.
There are definitely some harder topics present, such as violence, religion, fighting and war, near death experiences, etc.

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This book is very fun and imaginative, but it's also something many students will be able to relate to. Most kids have had experience with arguments with parents/guardians. Seeing how Max deals with his emotions and learns a lesson can be the beginning of a conversation about the students' own experiences.

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After getting in trouble with his mother for being too "wild," Max goes to his room to find it transform into a different world full of monsters. He plays with and rules over the monsters until he gets homesick and decides to go back.

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This series is practically never-ending. It covers so many different time periods and areas of the world, every student could find one that they are interested in. There are books about dinosaurs, knights, mummies, pirates, ninjas, vikings, and so many other topics. There's so much to be learned from and discovered in this series. I also recently found out that there are non-fiction companions to many of the books in the series. These offer more information on the topics present in the novels.

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This series follows siblings Annie and Jack as they use their treehouse to travel across the planet and through time, going on different adventures in each book.

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"I only have one subject. The question I am obsessed with is: How do children survive?" Maurice Sendak told Leonard Marcus, a children's book historian, in a 2002 interview. Sendak died today at age 83.

In just 10 sentences, Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are," illuminated not only the protagonist Max's imagination, but also rage, a reaction to a mother's emotional absence and the overall darker, and neglected, parts of a child's psyche.

Clearly, Max, a young and unruly boy who is punished by his mother and sent to his room without dinner, depends on his mom. But his rage is apparent, and soon his room morphs into a strange forest. He takes a private boat to where the wild things are, and, despite their terrible roars and ghoulish features, manages to become their ruler through a magic trick. Max becomes the "most wild thing of all."

They play, but soon, Max commands them to stop and go to bed without supper, and he finds himself lonely as the king of the wild things, and wants to be where someone loves him "best of all." He returns to his room, where supper is waiting for him, and, with an added reassurance and charm that maybe only Sendak could pointedly portray, Max finds that the food is still hot.

In a 2009 article published in The Psychologist, Richard Gottlieb, a psychoanalyst based in Phoenix, analyzed the influences and motivations behind Sendak's illustrations and writing.

"Sendak's work in 'Where the Wild Things Are' is of particular interest to psychologists due to his strikingly unusual abilities to gain access to, and to represent in words and pictures, fantasies that accompany childish rage states," Gottlieb wrote in the paper.

"It is this capacity, I believe, that contributes to the appeal of his work to children who are unable or unwilling to articulate these states, and to adults who have forgotten them or do not wish to know about them," Gottlieb continued.

Sendak's other children's books, including "In the Night Kitchen" and "Outside Over There," focus on child rage and emotional unavailability of a mother. That rage then manifests in an altered state of consciousness, like a dream or fantasy, Gottlieb wrote. Ultimately, that fury and conflict is reconciled and signified through an otherwise innocuous even. In "Where the Wild Things Are," the reconciliation is represented through the warm food that Max finds from his mother has left for him.

And it likely could have been the author's own childhood from which he was pulling. Sendak was born in Brooklyn in 1928 to parents of Polish descent. In the interview, he told Marcus that his father's family was "destroyed" in the Holocaust.

"I grew up in a house that was in a constant state of mourning," he told Marcus. He also described his mother as disturbed, chronically sad and emotionally unavailable.

In the paper, Gottlieb noted that Sendak was surrounded by psychological proddings and teachings throughout his life, having undergone psychoanalysis for a period of his adult life. His partner, Eugene Glenn, with whom he lived for 50 years, was also a psychoanalyst.

It is disappointments, losses and destructive rage allow children to survive, Gottlieb wrote, and that is what Sendak captured so vividly in "Where the Wild Things Are." The power of art, imagination and daydream allow children to turn traumatic moments into vehicles for survival and growth.

Stanton Peele, a licensed psychologist and attorney who has authored several books on addiction, called Sendak's best-selling book, a "model for mindfulness," in an article for Psychology Today.

"'What an empowering, psychologically astute parable about a child learning that his anger, while sometimes overwhelming and scary, can be safely expressed and eventually conquered," Steele wrote in the article.

When Max leaves his imaginary land, Steele noted in the paper, "he - like the Wild Things - has made substantial progress in resolving his demons and rectifying his relationship with his Mom. And once again, great art has encapsulated a crucial psychological vision."

In a story that seems to ring true to Sendak's authentic perspective on childhood emotions, the author told NPR's Terry Gross in a 2011 interview that one particular correspondence with a young fan has always stuck out in his mind.

After responding to this child with a postcard and a drawing of a Wild Thing, he told Gross, "I wrote, 'Dear Jim, I loved your card.' Then I got a letter back from his mother and she said, 'Jim loved your card so much he ate it.' That to me was one of the highest compliments I've ever received. He didn't care that it was an original drawing or anything. He saw it, he loved it, he ate it."

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psychology behind where the wild things are

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'Where the Wild Things Are:' The Psychology Behind Maurice Sendak's Classic

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Sendak's 'Wild Things' gave a glimpse into the child psyche.

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Caldecott Medal

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Grace Lin reads a chapter of "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon"

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-Newberry Medal
-Mythopeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature

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I read this book for one of our lit circles, and I loved everything about it. It's so whimsical and fantastical and well written. The book had me captivated throughout the entire time. There's magic, Chinese mythology, unlikely friendships, character development, and so much more - truly everything you could want in a children's novel.
This book is set in China and contains boatloads of references to Chinese culture and mythology, which can really broaden student's knowledge of the world.
One of my favorite parts of this book is watching Minli's mother grow from someone who hated stories to someone more fun and loving, as well as the life lesson that Minli learns on her journey. Sometimes the things you wish and yearn for are keeping you from seeing the beauty in your current situation.

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A young girl named Minli goes on a fantastical journey to find the Old Man of the Moon and change her family’s fortune.

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Ah, the glorious Chronicles of Narnia. They are a post-boomer parent's dream, a readable - even lyrical - series of engaging, Christian-friendly fantasy novels for children by C.S. Lewis, a certified literary lion. And now, even better, there's a big-budget holiday movie of the second and most famous book in the series, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Bookstores are chockablock with the seven-volume chronicles of the imaginary kingdom populated with humanlike animals and Britishlike humans. Look for those sets on children's nightstands this holiday season and for weeks afterward. It's like Harry Potter, only - some would argue - better.

But as is often the case with great children's literature, if things were really that simple, life and letters would be just a little too pat.

Consider the problem of the fifth book in the Narnia series, The Horse and His Boy. Now here's a book that isn't soon to be a major motion picture. In fact, the BBC produced versions of four Narnia books in the late '80s (now available on DVD, in highly respectable renderings, but with cheesy '80s-era special effects). The Horse and His Boy wasn't among those four.

Small wonder. The book, first published in 1954, may never get to the screen, at least not in anything resembling its literary form. It's just too dreadful. While the book's storytelling virtues are enormous, you don't have to be a bluestocking of political correctness to find some of this fantasy anti-Arab, or anti-Eastern, or anti-Ottoman. With all its stereotypes, mostly played for belly laughs, there are moments you'd like to stuff this story back into its closet.

In its simplest form, the plot seems mild enough. A boy named Shasta, raised in the southern land of Calormen and sold into slavery by a simple fisherman who claims to be his father, runs off with a talking horse from the free northern kingdom of Narnia.

But the land of Calormen is not simply a bad place to be from. Worse, the people are bad - or most of them, anyway - and they're bad in pretty predictable ways. Calormen is ruled by a despotic Tisroc and a band of swarthy lords with pointy beards, turbaned heads, long robes and nasty dispositions. Calormen is dirty, hot, dull, superstitious. In truth, it's more Ali Baba than Osama, but it's still pretty unsettling.

Here's Lewis' description of ordinary Calormenes: "men with long, dirty robes, and wooden shoes turned up at the toe, and turbans on their heads, and beards, and talking to one another very slowly about things that sounded dull."

And here's the city: "What you would chiefly have noticed if you had been there were the smells, which came from unwashed people, unwashed dogs, scent, garlic, onions, and the piles of refuse which lay everywhere."

The North, on the other hand, is where the "fair and white" people live. Shasta (no surprise) resembles those jaunty freedom-loving, Aslan-fearing Narnians. This is his first impression of some Narnians walking through the marketplace. "[T]hey were all as fair-skinned as himself, and most of them had fair hair. Their tunics were of fine, bright, hardy colors. Instead of turbans they wore steel or silver caps, some of them set with jewels, and the swords at their sides were long and straight ... [T]hey walked with a swing and let their arms and shoulders go free, and chatted and laughed. One was whistling."

The examples pile up throughout the text like bacon at a hearty English breakfast - the virtues of which are also lengthily extolled. Hmmmm. Swarthy, freedom-hating Calormenes versus light-skinned, freedom-loving Narnians - which would you like better?

It must be said that C.S. Lewis, born in 1898, was a product of his somewhat stuffy, academic and Anglocentric environment. And he was writing a time when educated Brits were hardly horrified by stereotypical depictions of viziers and Saracens and dark-faced slavers.

But it must also be said that times have changed: Both parents and filmmakers would have to do some fast dancing to get around the nastier aspects of The Horse and His Boy.

Hollywood has managed to pull off culturally neutral fare such as Aladdin, and if The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe makes enough money to please a Tisroc, culture-scrubbers may well be employed to clean up The Horse and His Boy for general consumption.

Such scrubbing has worked for the highly problematic Oompa Loompas in two film versions of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, though the Disney movie Song of the South has so far not been remade in a racially acceptable form. Generations have struggled to wrap their heads around the racial complexities of Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, with ongoing mixed sentiment.

So what can you do, given that your kids will want to read The Horse and His Boy in its unfiltered book form long before Hollywood gets around to dealing with it?

Here is an idea for what to tell your children:

The man who wrote this book wrote a lot of great stories. But they were great when they were complicated and magical, when his imagination took him into places and stories that were close to his heart.

In his time, people thought it was amusing to make fun of other cultures. We don't. Read the stories, ask questions, and remember that the person who wrote this story was altogether too human.

And don't be surprised if, a few years from now, the movie looks nothing like the book.
kyrie.oconnor@chron.com

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Ah, the glorious Chronicles of Narnia. They are a post-boomer parent's dream, a readable - even lyrical - series of engaging, Christian-friendly fantasy novels for children by C.S. Lewis, a certified literary lion. And now, even better, there's a big-budget holiday movie of the second and most famous book in the series, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

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Some of the books were adapted into movies!

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Some of the books were adapted into movies!

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The Chronicles of Narnia depicts a wonderfully developed, magical, and whimsical world that can offer an escape from real life. It's one of the most popular and well-known books of the children's fantasy genre, so it's a staple to have in the classroom.
Like most books written before the turn of the century, there are some areas of the book that are offensive or dated, so that's something to keep in mind.
There are also some interesting parallels to the bible and Christianity in this series, specifically The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, that could be interesting to explore.

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The Chronicles of Narnia is a series that features the magical and mythical world of Narnia.

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-Hampshire Book Award
-Best Books for Young Adults

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There are also graphic novel versions of some of the books <3

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There are also graphic novel versions of some of the books <3

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Rick Riordan | Welcome to the Online World of Rick Riordan

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The Lightning Thief: The Graphic Novel | Rick Riordan

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You’ve read the book. You’ve seen the movie. Now submerge yourself in the thrilling, stunning, and action-packed graphic novel. Mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking out of the pages of twelve-year-old Percy Jackson’s textbooks and into his life. And worse, he’s ange…

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The Lightning Thief: The Graphic Novel

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This series includes a variety of diverse characters, which we see even more of in some of his later series'. There are lots of hidden and gracefully covered topics dispersed throughout the series. It deals with topics of single parenthood, disability, race, family, friendship, and many other things both explicitly and in metaphorical ways.
Greek mythology is something that is really interesting to some students, but it gets really inappropriate for children at times. Riordan incorporates loads of mythology into a modern and exciting setting, all written specifically for younger audiences.
There is also a lot of discussions on ADHD and Dyslexia. In this universe, every demi-god has ADHD and Dyslexia. Riordan actually included this detail for his son, who has both of these.

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This series follows Percy Jackson, a half human, half god, along with his two friends Annabeth, another half blood, and Grover, a satyr. Together the three of them go on quests and adventures that include many different components of Greek mythology.

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Matilda is deserving of a child audience because it has to do with children's empowerment. I think oftentimes children can feel really small in the world of adults, but this book offers an escape from that. Hopefully, it won't cause kids to start taking out creative revenge on their parents.
I also like that Matilda finds such comfort and is able to come to trust Miss Honey. It's important that students are able to trust their teachers.
Matilda does deal with ideas of child abuse and neglect, but not in a very straightforward or serious way.

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Matilda is a book about a young girl who develops magical powers after not being challenged enough academically.

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This entire series is exciting from beginning to end, never once did I want to put the books down while reading them. There are many interesting topics like synesthesia, alchemy, secret societies, magic, and much more.
The narrator of the book is very Lemony Snicket from the Series of Unfortunate Events books. There are many times in which the narrator states that what he's saying is secret or dangerous or something else of that nature. This can be really appealing to kids, for it really makes them feel as if they're a part of the universe.
Another fun thing for kids to figure out is that each book in the series is associated with one of the five senses!
In one book, the characters infiltrate a chocolate plantation in the US, where they discover that they are using child labor. Like in Amal Unbound, this might be a little weird and uncomfortable for the children to read, although this book isn't quite as explicit about it.
Overall, The Secret Series is a fun and exciting series.

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This series follows Cass, Max-Ernest, and Yo-Yogi as they join the Terces Society and fight against the secret society of the midnight sun.

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Newberry Medal

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This book deals with death, specifically the death of a child. It can be potentially triggering for some students, but it can also be a tool for dealing with or learning about loss. There are also themes of religious confusion, similar to The Night Diary and Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
There are both magical and realistic aspects to the book, so it can appeal to lovers of more than one genre.

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Jess and new girl Leslie become friends, and together, they build an imaginative and magical world in the woods that they call Terabithia. One day, when Jess is gone, Leslie tries to go to Terabithia and drowns trying to cross the creek. The rest of the book follows Jess as he grapples with the loss of a friend.

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-ALA Notable Children's Book
-ALA Teen Top Ten
-Stonewall Book Award

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This book holds a special place in my heart because it was the first book I ever read that featured an explicitly gay character!!! It brought me so much comfort to see a gay character in a book, and at such a formative in my life. I only hope that this book could do for some of my future students what it did for me.
I also think that it can be helpful for students who have friends or other people in their lives that are LGBT+, as Drama specifically shows how Callie, a (most likely) straight person, figures out her own struggles with it.
It's also a graphic novel, which is something many students are drawn to!
(This book does include kissing, which I know some students will get very silly and excited about lol)

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Drama is a coming-of-age story that covers friendships, crushes, and much more.

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-YALSA Top Ten Pick for Reluctant Readers
-ALSC Notable Children’s Book
-Amelia Bloomer Top Ten

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I LOVE to have books that are set in countries other than the United States. It's so good for students to read about places other than the place they currently live, to get a grasp of what other parts of the world are like.
There are a few other discussions that might come from this book. Before Amal is forced to leave her home, she loves to attend school. When her mother gives birth to another child, Amal has to stop going to school in order to take care of the house and her family. Ideas of gender discrimination and differences in cultural norms are present throughout the book.
This book, Saeed has said, was inspired by Malala Yousafzai, so this book could also spark a conversation about the fight for female education.

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Amal is a young girl living in Pakistan. One day she is forced to work as a servant at a ruling family's estate. While there, she bonds with the other servants and devises a way to get back home.

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-Forest of Reading Red Maple Award
-Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Award
-Rocky Mountain Book Award
-IODE Violet Downey Award

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-Time Magazine 10 Best YA and Children Books of 2020
-Black Caucus of the American Library Association Best of the Best 2020 Booklist
-African American Children’s Book Project Best Picture Books of 2020

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Interview with Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow <3

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Interview with Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow <3

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Happy Publication Day to author Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow! Her latest picture book, Your Name is a Song, releases today.

This phenomenal picture book (illustrated by Luisa Uribe and published by Innovation Press) is the story of a young girl who doesn't want to go back to school after the first day because no one is able pronounce her name...and of a mother who encourages her daughter to reframe and confront the situation in an empowering way.

I had the opportunity to read an ARC of Your Name is a Song and before I was even half-way through, I knew this was going to be one of the star releases of the year. I reached out to Jamilah to find out the story behind YNIAS. Here's what she told me:

* * *
TFB: The first time I read Your Name is a Song, I said to myself, "This one is really special." What motivated you to write this particular story?
JT-B: I was motivated by the kids I've worked with throughout the years who have beautiful names but might not recognize those names as being so because of the ways their names are mispronounced or mocked. I'm hoping they see themselves in the main character (whose name isn't revealed until the end) and go through the same empowering journey. I thought about how they probably needed an affirming voice telling another story about their names. Mispronouncing or mocking someone's name can be a way of belittling a child even if unintentionally, and I wanted those kids to come away from reading this book feeling just as proud as the main character.
TFB: Did anyone ever say or do anything to make you feel bad about your name growing up?
JT-B: A few times. I had a teacher call me Jamal all school year no matter how many times I corrected her. A boy used to call me Ja-Miller Lite for kicks. I think my twin brother got it the worst. His name is Bilal (Bee-Laal), which is the name of a very important historic Muslim figure, but kids would always call him "Blah" and snicker and teachers almost never tried to get it right.
TFB: What was your reaction when you first saw the art for your YNIAS? Were you at all involved in the process of identifying the illustrator, Luisa Uribe?
JT-B: Love, love, love! I loved the art she produced from the start because I could see how much she loved these characters in the little details she included and the sunny color palette.

I definitely had a voice in choosing the illustrator and we (my editor, agent, and I) went through a number of portfolios before I was introduced to Luisa's work. I saw her first sketches for the book and I knew she was right for it. Her work is visually stunning, period, but what's more important is from the start, she seemed incredibly attached to this project. She seemed to love these characters and their story and it shows in her art.
TFB: Can you share your favorite spread for the book? Why is it your favorite?
JT-B: This question is impossible to answer because I probably have several favorites. Luisa did an amazing job! One I adore that hasn't been shared as much in previews is a tender moment when Momma has helped our main character feel proud of her name and leaves her at the school yard gate. This is this girl's time to be strong on her own and Momma is giving her her blessing and letting this girl know that she can definitely handle this situation.
TFB: What are you hoping this story does for the reader? How do you hope it makes them feel? What do you hope someone might learn or take away?
JT-B: I'm hoping that this is an empowering and loving book for readers whose names haven't always been so valued. I want these readers to feel that Momma has got their backs too. I want them to feel like singing their names by the end of it. And I'm hoping that this book also creates empathy, especially from people who have names from the dominant culture and may never have thought about how the way they treat the names of others can be demeaning.
TFB: Why is YNIAS an important book to use in classroom settings? Do you have any professional advice for educators on how they could or should use it with their students?
JT-B: For the same reasons I just stated: because it can empower and create empathy. This is especially important in US classrooms that are taught predominantly by white teachers while the children in those classrooms are increasingly populated by Black children and children of color. I feel first that teachers themselves may want to read and sit with Your Name is a Song and reflect on how they have treated students with names they found hard to pronounce in the past. Have they made jokes about certain kinds of names? I think they need to make a commitment to respecting and saying the names of their new students correctly, and they need to state this explicitly to students from the very first day of school. And then, they need to do the work to get their names right and to not embarrass them. Don't make your first interaction with a student be you loudly taking attendance if that means loudly saying their name wrong. I say this as a former classroom teacher; there are multiple ways to take attendance without doing the embarrassing first-day-of-school roll call. I think reading this book aloud could be used to underscore that commitment and to also have discussions about how to ensure everyone feels like their identities are validated in the classroom. I also think this is a book that could launch a school year practice of celebrating and learning about identity and diversity.
TFB: If you were speaking directly to someone right know who had suffered any kind of microagression or traumatic experience regarding their name-or anything specific to their cultural identity-what would you want to say to them?
JT-B: I'd say: READ MY BOOK! Run out and buy it NOW! I'm joking, but then again... I'm not. I wrote this book specifically for the person you're describing. In talking to adults who were able to review the book in advance, I've heard that this book was a healing book for them. This word "healing" has been used multiple times and I cherish and am humbled by that word. I've read bloggers write again and again "my name is a song" in their reviews after reading this book because they needed to say those words. Their younger selves needed those words. So, I say to that person, "Your name is a song." Who you are is a song. Your identity is beautiful, it is valuable, and you didn't deserve to have your identity-any aspect of it-treated that way.

Your Name is a Song is available wherever books are sold. Again, Happy Book Birthday, Jamilah!

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Do You Know YOUR NAME IS A SONG? - The Brown Bookshelf

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Happy Publication Day to author Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow! Her latest picture book, Your Name is a Song, releases today. This phenomenal picture book (illustrated by Luisa Uribe and published by Innovation Press) is the story of a young girl who doesn't want to go back to school after the first day because no one is able [ Read the full article...

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I love this book because it gets rid of the stigma Americans tend to have against "ethnic" names. By showing how upset Kora-Jalimuso was when people were mean to her about her name, students who have more common-to-the-US names can learn not to make fun of other kids for something like that. It also teaches kids to love what makes them special. This book could also be paired with Chrysanthemum.
One issue I did have with this book was that Kora-Jalimuso had to be the one to educate her teacher and classmates. I don't really think it's fair to the child, but I'm sure it's the reality for a lot of people.