What Are The Best Books For Teaching Children About Cultural Identity?
My name is Laura, I live with my family in Japan, in Japanese my name is pronounced like roller ローラ.
Before our children were born we did give consideration as to whether their names had phonemic equivalence, that is, all of the sounds in their English names had an equivalent sound in Japanese. Ann and Joe for example have phonemic equivalence in English and Japanese. Gaijin Pot has a great post, if you are looking for baby names that work in English and Japanese. Even before my children were born it was important to me that people would be able to say my their names because names are important. What are your thoughts on chosing bilingual friendly baby names?
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When my daughter started Japanese nursery school I worried excessively, in a way only a first time parent who is leaving their child at daycare for the first time can. Should I label her clothes with her name in English, hiragana or katakana? Keep the middle names or drop them?
We did not go down the route of finding kanji for their names. I was happy that people would be able to pronounce them. Although, the sounds of my children's beautiful names can be pronounced in Japanese they do still stand out boldly in the register.
Helping Children Embrace Their Unique Names
There are some really great children's books about unique names that teach children about how special their names are, about how to say them loudly and proudly and how to embrace being different. These picture books about celebrating cultural identity and stories about having a different name often coincide with starting school and meeting new groups of people. Having to explain how to say your name is frustrating but these books reassure children that their wonderful unique names are part an important part of their identity. Children shouldn't have to shorten or change their names for others. They should feel empowered to teach other people how to say their name.
My daughter will be starting elementary school here in Japan in April and in preparation, we've been reading some of these diverse childrens books and talking about how we should celebrate our multicultural differences. These picture books are perfect for children starting school.
How Can I Celebrate My Child's Unique Name in A Multi Cultural Setting?
The Name Jar Yangsook Choi
In The Name Jar Unhei moves from Korea to America but on the first day of going to her new school, the children on the bus can't say her name. When she gets to class Unhei thinks she should pick a new name that is easier for Americans to say, so she tells them she hasn't picked a name yet. Unhei means Grace in Korean, she tries out some other names but nothings feels right. Her classmates make suggestions too filling a jar with ideas for her new name. Which name should Unhei pick?
Your Name Is A Song
In Your Name Is A Song Kora-Jalimuso is sad because no one can pronounce her name on the first day of school. It gets stuck in her teachers mouth and the children make fun of the sounds. Her mother tells her her name is a song, that names can have fire, that tongues can bow to say them. She learns to sing her beautiful name and makes name songs for all of the other children at school too.
How Can I Help My Child Feel Proud Of Their Name In A New Culture?
The Day You Begin
The Day You Begin is an beautiful book about self acceptance and being different. This book doesn't focus soley on having a different name but being different to others in your class. I liked the directness of the book, it highlights that we are different and sometimes we will standalone, we can be our own strength.
"There will be times when you walk into a room and no one there is quite like you."
Stories About Children Learning To Love Their Names
Yoko Writes Her Name by Rosemary Wells
In Yoko Writes Her Name Yoko an anthropomopic cat who lives in America, has learned to write her name in Japanese but her classmates laugh at her writing and tell her she won't graduate kindergarten because she can't write in English. The teachers makes Japanese the classes second language and has all the children learn to write their names in Japanese.
The book is set at the start of kindergarten and Yoko teaches her classmates how to write their names in katakana and the kanji of the numbers up to 10. This books learning goals don't align with what children can do at kindergarten but it is still a cute series that looks at acceptance and giving consideration to multilinguals. There is a whole series of books about Yoko and her adventures.
How To Explain Cultural Identity To Kids
Alma and How She Got Her Name Juana Martinez Neil
In Alma and How She Got Her Name Alma Sofia Esperanza Jose Pura Candela thinks her name is too long. Her Dad tells her about all of the special family members that she is named after and Alma comes to love the story of her name. A good book for teaching children about the naming process, their family heritage and ancestors that went before them.
Teaching Cultural Acceptance Through Books
That's Not My Name by Anoosha Syed
In That's Not My Name Mirha finds at her new school that no one can pronounce her name, even some of the teachers don't say it properly and she is hesitant to correct them. Mirha is frustrated, Mirha means happiness in Arabic, she doesn't want to her special name to be mispronounced all the time so she vows to teach everyone how to say it properly.
The Boy Who Tried To Shrink His Name
The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name is about Zimdalamashkermishkada starting a new school and feeling uncomfortable with shortening his name to Zim. He doesn't like his name being shortened or people using a nickname for him. It takes him some time to gain the confidence to correct people but in the end he becomes proud to say his long name aloud instead of trying to fold it up and hide it away.
Chrysanthemum By Kevin Henkes
Chrysanthemum loves her name and thinks that it is perfect until she starts school. Her classmates bully her over her long flower name and how many letters it has, they taunt her saying they are going to pick her petals. The teacher does nothing to stop this bullying. Her parents are dismissive and say her classmates are just jealous. Chrysanthemum starts having nightmares. A fun new music teacher shares that her name is delphinum and that flower names are the best. The other children want to have flower names too and chrysanthemum decides she likes her name again.
Written in 1991 the acceptance of the bullying feels dated but it does offer a starting point for a discussion about treating each other with acceptance and kindness.
Gigi and Oiji: What's In A Name
in Gigi And Oiji: What's In A Name Gigi wants to change her name, she thinks Giji sounds too babyish. She has two names Geraldine which is shortened to Gigi and her Japanese name Hanako which is easiest for her grandfather to say. She experiments with using both and learns about where her names come from.
While this book can be read alone, it is part of the I Can Read Level 3 graded readers series. In the first book of this series Gigi's Japanese grandfather comes to stay with her family. That first book explains why the relationship with her Grandfather is important to her. This accessible series also introduces some Japanese vocabulary as Gigi is learning Japanese while teaching her grandfather English so they can communicate more easily.
Married Couple Must Have The Same Surname In Japan
When I got married in the UK I did not take my husband's last name. My name is my identity and it was too important to me to change it. I see this issue come up a lot in the Japanese news about married couples having to have the same family name and it is nearly always the women that change their name. It always makes for a interesting talking point about cultural differences and navigating identity in Japan. Do you feel strongly about your name?
Share this list with other parents or teachers looking to celebrate name diversity.
More Resources For You
Youtube playlist with read alouds of books about having a different name.
How To Write Foreign Names In English, Tips For Labelling Preschool Belongings
Coming soon books about communicating with family member that speak a different language.
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