Book Teaches Young Dreamers’ that Their Names are Songs

Your Name is a Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow discusses the power and purpose of names. When the main character’s name is mispronounced by her teacher, she wishes her name was easier to pronounce. Hearing this sentiment, the mother begins to teach her daughter the beauty and intention of names. She does the aforementioned through the powerful tool of song. At the end of the singing journey, the little girl has the confidence and deep understanding of the importance of her name. The next day the girl goes to school and teaches her teacher that her name and all other students names are songs too.

The colorful illustrations capture the seriousness and joy of the topic while also showing a powerful mother-daughter bond. I especially love how the illustrator’s images and author’s words use the community as the classroom to teach the girl about names.

For parents, this is a powerful tool to reinforce the beauty and meaning of your young dreamers’ name. For educators, this book shows the impact and internal struggle kids endure when their name is mispronounced.

As a person of African descent with a Nigerian name, this book resonated with me. As a kid, I always knew when my name was about to be called in class because the teacher would pause and literally butcher it. The butchering of my name would result in laughter from my classmates, which caused me to dislike my name. I remember wishing my mother gave me a common American or European name. When I would ask my mom why she didn’t give me a normal name, she responded, “I gave you a name with a meaning. Your name means God’s way is the only way.”

Years ago, I met a man who lived in the region in Nigeria where my name comes from, and he said, “You must say your name correctly because every time someone calls your name, they are calling you by your purpose.

Too often, names from African, African-American and Middle-Eastern traditions are mispronounced by educators. This book captures negative impact that mispronouncing names has on children. It also captures the role of parents in encouraging their children to teach their teachers how to say their name.

I bought this book for our home library because I wanted to continue teaching my sons, who both have multiple Nigerian names, that their names are meaningful songs!

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