Your Name Is a Song
Musical patterns give the child a joyful, public method for teaching that unfamiliar names can be learned rather than avoided.
Your Name Is a Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow is estimated to take about 9.5 minutes to read aloud (800 words, 2 sentences a spread). Best for ages 4-6.
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- Estimated read-aloud time
- about 9.5 minutesEstimated read-aloud time
- Words
- 800Word count
- Sentences per spread
- 2Text density
- Re-read tolerance
- 4/5repeat friendly
- Vocabulary level
- 3/5a few new words
- Best for
- Ages 4-6Age range
Our review
After a teacher and classmates repeatedly struggle with her name, a girl’s mother turns names from many cultures into rhythm, pitch, and percussion. The next day the child sings the names aloud, changing pronunciation from a private burden into a communal listening task.
Practice only the names the book supports and let people remain authorities on their own. My Name Is Yoon concerns a Korean child’s unease with English letters; Your Name Is a Song more directly challenges others to listen and pronounce unfamiliar names with care.
Before you buy it
The triumphant classroom response is aspirational; real name-based teasing may require direct adult intervention beyond celebration.
Themes
- names
- music
- mothers
- school
- Black and Muslim families
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