names – Mom Read It

Blog Tour: You Can Call Me Katelyn

Posted on May 3, 2019 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Ever wish you could change your name? A young girl decides to do exactly that in Keri T. Collins’s new picture book, You Can Call Me Katelyn.

You Can Call Me Katelyn, by Keri T. Collins/Illustrated by Marcia Adams Ho, (May 2019, Purple Butterfly Press),
$19.99, ISBN: 978-1948604185
Ages 5-7

Inspired by Collins’s daughter and told in the first person from Katelyn’s point of view, readers learn that Katelyn was never thrilled with her name. Her parents didn’t even have a first named picked out for her in the hospital! Her parents settled on Carly, which she is NOT a fan of – and even less of a fan when she discovers that people can’t spell her name right. Katelyn decides to take charge of her happiness, which means changing her name: she likes Katelyn; a mashup of her two best friends’ names, and starts telling everyone around her to call her by her chosen name. Don’t want to call her Katelyn? She doesn’t want to answer you. She’s upbeat and enthusiastic, and lets readers know that all it takes is some determination and a little bit of sparkle to make the world a better place.

At some point, most kids aren’t in love with their names. It’s not like we have a choice when we’re born, after all. You Can Call Me Katelyn delivers a big message in a little story: overcome your fear and make changes where you can. It’s an inspiring message, and I’m sure this will be a popular read-aloud. I enjoyed the bigger message in this story – overcome fear and look within yourself for the power to effect change – and the author’s tips, available at the end of the book, for taking action and moving past fear. There’s a crown coloring sheet that kids can cut out and color; if you don’t want to damage your book, you can receive a coloring sheet via email at the author’s website.

The artwork is colorful and the pages are loaded with activity, always giving readers somewhere to look. There are humorous moments that kids will get a kick out of: Katelyn’s mother, holding her new baby in the hospital, covered with sticky notes scribbled over with baby names; baby Carly’s pacifier popping out of her outraged mouth as she sees her name misspelled on the sign welcoming her home from the hospital.

Pair this with some books and activities on the importance of names. Brightly has a great list and ideas here.

Alma and How She Got Her Name is a beautiful family story

Posted on May 15, 2018 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Alma and How She Got Her Name, by Juana Martinez-Neal, (Apr. 2018, Candlewick Press), $15.99, ISBN: 978-0-7636-9355-8

Recommended for readers 4-8

Alma is a little girl with a big name: Alma Sofia Esperanza José Pura Candela! She asks her Daddy how she ended up with six names, and her dad tells her the beautiful story behind each name.

I adore this book. So many of us have interesting origins for our names: some of us are named for family members; some for historical figures; some, just because our parents really thought the names were cool and interesting. Here, little Alma learns, through beautifully illustrated spreads, about her family history and her place within that history. We tend to put our hopes and dreams into a child’s name; Alma reveals those inspiring stories through Alma’s father, as he tells Alma her own story.

The drawings are largely monochromatic; black pencil on ivory pages, with washed reds and pinks (and the occasional blue) to liven things up. The names get star treatment, with beautiful, expressive fonts and pictures of namesakes throughout.

I can’t say enough good things about Alma. She belongs in every storytime and every shelf, because every family deserves to explore their history together. Candlewick has a great activity kit that will help kids create their own family trees and research their name(s); it’s free for downloading through their site.

Alma and How She Got Her Name has starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, and School Library Journal. The book is available in English and Spanish.

Early Reader, Fiction, Preschool Reads, Realistic Fiction

Fun with Phonics: Phoebe Sounds It Out

Posted on March 9, 2017March 9, 2017 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Phoebe Sounds It Out, by Julie Zwillich, (Apr. 2017, Owl Kids), $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-77147-164-0

Recommended for readers 3-7

Phoebe’s teacher announces that the children are going to learn to write their names today. All they have to do is sound it out. Phoebe doesn’t quite agree. First of all, Mama sewed her name on her school bag, and she’s convinced that she made a mistake: Phoebe’s name begins with a P, but that’s not the sound her name makes! She dawdles as the teacher encourages the class to sound it out, and finally, she gives it a shot. Her encouraging teacher tells her that it’s a great start – she did sound it out, after all!

I enjoyed so much about this book. I love that there’s a child of color main character and the diversity reflected in the classroom. One of the two teachers is also a person of color, and there is diversity in the classroom, including a classmate in a wheelchair. I enjoyed Phoebe’s thought process while the rest of the class works on their assignment: she fidgets, she goofs off, she “borrows” a letter from a classmate’s name to jazz up her name as she sounded it out. Kids will recognize themselves in Phoebe.

I’ve seen comments questioning whether a teacher would let Phoebe’s misspelling stand. I tend to say yes, especially for this first attempt. The point of the story is to sound out a word, and Phoebe does just that. When my older kids were in elementary school, the practice for teachers was not to correct spelling errors on similar assignments; the kids were expected to catch on eventually, and they did, through vocabulary words, spelling tests, and reading and being read to.

Denise Holmes’ art is rendered in ink and colored using Photoshop, and it’s very cute. There are bright colors and fun patterns, and sweet touches, like the children’s pictures on their cubby spaces and the handwritten children’s work.

This book presents a fun chance for a similar Sound It Out activity, complete with glitter glue to finish up your kids’ work. Let them sound out their names, or other fun words around them.

Julie Zwillich is a television personality with shows on Food Network Canada. You can see more of Denise Holmes’ illustration at her website.