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You and your name from Multcolib Families

These stories for preschool and early elementary ages share the importance of names. Your name can say a lot about you, your family, your culture. Remembering and saying someone's name correctly shows that you value them.

Multnomah County Library

20 items

  • 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,…
    Book, 2020Seattle, WA : Innovation Press, [2020] — jE THOMPKINS 2020
  • When Alma Sofia Esperanza José Pura Candela asks her father why she has so many names, she hears the story of her name and learns about her grandparents.
    Book, 2018Somerville, Massachusetts : Candlewick Press, 2018. — jE MARTINEZN 2018
  • Book, 2018Somerville, Massachusetts : Candlewick Press, 2018. — SPANISH jE MARTINEZN 2018
  • When Zimdalamashkermishkada starts a new school, he decides to shrink his name to the shorter, simpler Zim, but when his new friend Elly sees him for who he truly is, Zimdalamashkermishkada finds the confidence to step proudly into his long name.
    Book, 2023New York : Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2023. — jE PARAPPUKK 2023
  • Mirha questions her name after her classmates continually pronounce it wrong on the first day of school so her mother helps her to learn the significance of her name and to be proud of it.
    Book, 2022New York : Viking, 2022. — jE SYED 2022
  • When an Indian American boy starts school in a new classroom, one child can't pronounce his name properly. It stings, but his parents remind him that his name shows how special he is.
    Book, 2023New York : Farrar Straus Giroux, 2023. — jE KELKAR 2023
  • Little Antonio has a LOT of names. Different relatives call him different names, but the real culture shock happens when he goes to school for the first time.
    Book, 2022Reedley, CA : Familius, 2022. — jE SACRE 2022
  • It is time for her baby sister's naming ceremony, and Amira has a name picked out, but as friends and family pronounce the names they have brought, Amira starts to wonder if her chosen name is really the blessing she thought it was. Includes a note…
    Book, 2023New York : Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2023. — jE WEDLICK 2023
  • One day Amma tells Sona she is going to have a baby. Is that good? Sona isn't sure -- she has always enjoyed being an only child -- and straight away she has a word with her best friend, Elephant. When Sona learns that there will be a baby naming…
    Book, 2021Somerville, Massachusetts : Candlewick Press, 2021. — Green Reader SOUNDAR 2021
  • "Thao" seems like a simple enough name. Only four letters. 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…
    Book, 2021Toronto, ON ; Berkeley, CA : Owlkids Books, [2021] — jE LAM 2021
  • Names have power, they reveal our personal histories, weaving an intricate story of the past and connecting us to the future. Names -- and saying them correctly -- are important. Six captivating kids of Chinese, Tongan, Persian, Navajo, Mexican, and…
    Book, 2023New York : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2023] — jE HO 2023
  • Unhappy with her name, a little girl tries to find the perfect name, but with help from Gogo, her grandmother, Kantiga learns about her identity and where she is from.
    Book, 2023Northampton, Massachusetts : Crocodile Books, an imprint of Interlink Publishing Group, Inc, 2023. — jE MNENSA 2023
  • "What a happy day! Zachary's baby sister will have her naming ceremony. In the temple! With his moms, the congregation, and all their friends! He's so excited he can barely contain it. On the walk from their home, they meet neighbor after neighbor…
    Book, 2024Montclair : Levine Querido, 2024. — jE NEWMAN 2024
  • Names can be a greeting, provide comfort, act as a warning, or honor our ancestors and heroes. Sometimes growing into a name, or selecting a new one, can take a little time. Names connect us to others and help create who we are and what makes us…
    Book, 2022Somerville, Massachusetts : Candlewick Press, 2022. — jE MURGUIA 2022
  • Anjali and her friends are excited to buy matching personalized license plates for their bikes--but Anjali can't find a plate with her name. Anjali is so upset that she demands her parents let her pick a new name! When they refuse, Anjali decides to…
    Book, 2018[Herndon, VA] : Bharat Babies, [2018] — jE SHETH 2018
  • When a classmate makes fun of her name, eight-year-old Stella picks a new one for herself, but discovers that the name she abandoned suits her just fine.
    Book, 2012Ann Arbor, MI : Sleeping Bear Press, ©2012. — j SHEINMEL 2012
  • Every summer, when Sora's Halmoni visits from South Korea, the two of them take the bus to the beach to search for seashells. When Sora starts kindergarten, some of the kids tease her about her "weird" name. One day, Sora's parents receive a sad…
    Book, 2023Somerville, Massachusetts : Candlewick Press, [2023] — jE RHEE 2023
  • "Gigi wants to go by something besides her baby name--but Geraldine is too long to write and Hanako, her middle name, doesn't feel quite right. Will Gigi find the perfect name?"
    Book, 2023New York : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2023] — Blue Reader IWAI 2023
  • Daisy's older brother is thrilled when he gets a new sibling. They are best buddies who do everything together. But in kindergarten, things change. His sibling tells him she is a girl and wants to be called Daisy.
    Book, 2021North Mankato, Minnesota : Capstone Editions, an imprint of Capstone, [2021] — jE KARLSSON 2021
  • Yefferson, Actually

    En Realidad, Es Yefferson

    Trejo, Katherine,
    En su primer día como el chico nuevo en la escuela, el nombre del tímido Yefferson es constantemente pronunciado mal para su incomodidad y vergüenza. Con el apoyo de su familia, Yefferson encuentra el coraje para defenderse a sí mismo y a su…
    Book, 2021[Los Angeles, CA] : Lil' Libros, 2021. — SPANISH jE TREJO 2021