[Monday Reading] Your Name And Where You Are From

Myra here.

It’s Monday, What are You Reading is a meme hosted by Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers (new host of Monday reading: Kathryn T at Book Date). Since two of our friends, Linda from Teacher Dance and Tara from A Teaching Life have been joining this meme for quite awhile now, we thought of joining this warm and inviting community. 

I have been meaning to feature these two vibrantly coloured and beautifully told narratives for awhile now. Our current reading theme is a perfect fit for both of them.

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Where Are You From? [Amazon | Book Depository]

Written by Yamile Saied Mendez Illustrated by Jaime Kim
Published by Harper Collins (2019)
ISBN: 0062839934 (ISBN13: 9780062839930). Literary Award: CLEL Bell Picture Book Awards Nominee for Talk (2020) Bought a copy of the book. Book photos taken by me.

As a woman of color who has lived in two countries different from my country of birth, this is a question that I often get asked. My own teenage daughter and my husband have their fair share of similar queries. Often, we are left feeling stumped, as we are unsure whether to mention our country of birth, or the country we just moved from, or where we are presently living.

I actually like the answer of the little girl above: “I’m from here, from today, same as everyone else, I say.” Sadly, people are often not satisfied with such a vague response. In the image above, I like how the artist, Jaime Kim, played with the book’s gutter, as it powerfully served as a barrier between the girl and those who are asking this seemingly-innocuous-but-actually-fairly-loaded question. The young girl then asks her abuelo, because “like me, he looks like he doesn’t belong.”

The abuelo’s response is a poet’s view of the universe, the chanteuse’s song of freedom, and the bird’s trill in the open skies. I am certain it will not pass the scrutiny of immigration officials, but it warmed this cynical reader’s heart.

While the message is ultimately empowering and joyful, the narrative does not shy away from historical roots of oppression without meaning to lecture or pontificate. There is just this single, powerful statement that is a perfect take-off point for discussion in the hands of a skilful and thoughtful adult who can then initiate meaningful conversations about race, identity, and sense of place. I hope this book finds you – and you get a chance to read it to as many young people as possible.

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Your Name Is A Song [Amazon | Book Depository]

Written by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow Illustrated by Luisa Uribe
Published by Innovation Press (2020)
ISBN: 1943147728 (ISBN13: 9781943147724). Literary Award: CLEL Bell Picture Book Awards Nominee for Sing (2021). Bought a copy of the book. Book photos taken by me.

A young girl shares with her mother how upset she was that her teacher was unable to pronounce her name and how her classmates made fun of her name thereafter. While she seemed angry as evidenced in the stomping of her feet, it was also pretty obvious that she seemed more hurt than mad – and her mother astutely recognized this.

Instead of offering her well-meaning platitudes, Mother told the young girl how her name is a song. She makes mention of various other names coming from Arabic, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, African roots – showing how they can be melodious, with its own heartbeat, fire, and joy.

For each sad incident that the girl recounted, her mother has a powerful rejoinder – a way of transforming pain into beauty, tragedy into something hopeful. And so when the girl shares that her classmates teased her that her name is a made-up name, this was the mother’s response:

Made-up names come from dreamers. Their real names were stolen long ago so they dream up new ones. They make a way out of no way, make names out of no names – pull them from the sky!

The book creators cleverly inserted Trayvon’s name as can be seen in the image above, which in their glossary they characterized to be of “African American origin. The author included this name to honor the memory of Trayvon Martin, an innocent victim of gun violence.”

I truly love how contemporary picturebooks as of recent are able to boldly and beautifully touch on these themes with a feather touch and such poetic grace – undergirding a fierceness that glow and burn. These are both exquisite stories. Find them and be blessed by the joy they bring.

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#SurvivalStories2021 Update: 6-7 out of target 100