Thao: A Picture Book by Thao Lam
Thank you to Netgalley and Owlkids Books for access to a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.
Thao: A Picture Book by Thao Lam
Thao: A Picture Book is a deceptively simple story that perfectly conveys how it feels to be othered because of a name. It’s simple enough to share with little ones who still need an adult to read aloud, but it will resonate with early elementary readers as well.
The book features beautiful cut-paper collages by author Thao Lam. They drew me into the story, inspiring wonder and creativity. (I definitely wanted to collage when I finished reading!) It’s fitting that only Thao is represented by an actual childhood photo, emphasizing how her identity is viewed and treated differently by adults and kids at her school.
Her name is mercilessly and consistently mispronounced by adults and children, leading her to resignedly respond to anything even close to Thao. “Letters get added, scrambled, and left behind.” Her teachers call her Thou, Theo, or Towel. Her classmates not only butcher her name but call her racist nicknames like Tofu and China Girl.
Thao longs for an “easier” name and finally decides to be called Jennifer. The book’s artwork disappears as “Jennifer” goes about her day and Thao disappears into a new identity. But at lunchtime, “Jennifer’s” mom sends Thao’s favorite — gỏi cuốn — and her face lights up. I loved that her mother’s cooking reconnected her to her culture and family, returning her name to her.
As someone who’s gone through life with a ‘hard to pronounce’ last name (and even my own family members are confounded now that I’ve hyphenated), I took special joy in this book. If you love it too, visit Thao Lam’s website to view more of her exuberant art.
Thao: A Picture Book is available to purchase now.
Related articles and resources
How We Pronounce Student Names, and Why It Matters by Jennifer Gonzalez for Cult of Pedagogy
Pronouncing Students’ Names Correctly Should Be a Big Deal by Punita Chhabra Rice for EducationWeek
Other books you might like
Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal
Your Name is a Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
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