Alma and How She Got Her Name
(a Heartwarming Story About Family History and the Meaning of Names - for Kids Ages 3-8)
Candlewick Press · Print & ebook · September 5, 2023
“A beautifully illustrated, tender story to be shared with all children, sure to evoke conversations about their names.” —School Library Journal (starred review) If you ask her, Alma Sofia Esperanza José Pura Candela has way too many names: six!
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- Who it’s for
- A long name opens a tender conversation about family, memory, and making a name your own.
- Themes
- Family history, The meaning of names, Personal identity
- Genres
- US: Hispanic & Latino Stories, Multigenerational Families, Diversity & Multicultural
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“A beautifully illustrated, tender story to be shared with all children, sure to evoke conversations about their names.” —School Library Journal (starred review) If you ask her, Alma Sofia Esperanza José Pura Candela has way too many names: six! How did such a small person wind up with such a large name?
Continue reading
Alma turns to Daddy for an answer and learns of Sofia, the grandmother who loved books and flowers; Esperanza, the great-grandmother who longed to travel; José, the grandfather who was an artist; and other namesakes, too. As she hears the story of her name, Alma starts to think it might be a perfect fit after all—and realizes that she will one day have her own story to tell. In her 2019 Caldecott Honor Book, Juana Martinez-Neal opens a treasure box of discovery for children who may be curious about their own origin stories or names.
Names With Stories
A long name opens a tender conversation about family, memory, and making a name your own.
Come here for
- Curiosity about the stories tucked inside a name
- Family history shared through generations of namesakes
Expect
- A warm read that can start conversations about names
- A child’s changing view of her own many names
Where it sits
| Multigenerational Families | 80% |
|---|---|
| US: Hispanic & Latino Stories | 57% |
| Diversity & Multicultural | 56% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Multigenerational Families
- Caribbean & Latin American Stories
- Self-Esteem & Resilience
- Authors
- Juana Martinez-Neal
- Publisher
- Candlewick Press
- Published
- September 5, 2023
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Family history · The meaning of names · Personal identity
- Reading lane
- Multigenerational Families