Thao: A Picture Book
by Thao Lam (Author)
A funny, eye-opening story about the challenges of growing up with an unfamiliar name and learning to be true to yourself, new from the critically acclaimed Thao Lam
Even though it's only four simple, familiar letters long, nobody can ever pronounce Thao's name. She's been called Theo, Tail, even Towel! But the teasing names--Tofu, Tiny, China Girl--are worse. Maybe it's time to be someone else? Thao decides to try on a different name, something easy, like Jennifer.
It works, but only until she opens her lunchbox to find her mother's Vietnamese spring rolls, gỏi cuốn--Thao's favorite! Now, it feels a lot more comfortable to be herself.
Simple on the surface, this story inspired by Thao's own childhood is full of humor, heart, and important ideas of diversity, inclusion, and cultural pride. The story will be instantly relatable to readers who have ever felt different.
Designed with a playful emphasis on typography, and Thao's own childhood photos added to her signature cut-paper collage, THAO champions being true to yourself and your background, and being empathetic towards others. It is a celebration of all that's in a name and the power of owning your identity.
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School Library Journal
Gr 1-3--Lam (The Paper Boat) again draws from her experience as a young immigrant from Vietnam, recalling how her new classmates and others mispronounced or even made fun of her name so much that finally she announced to her comically stunned parents that she just wanted to be called "Jennifer." The conceit lasts until lunchtime, when "Jennifer" discovers that her mom has packed "Gỏi cuổn! Thao's favorite!" From then on: "My name is Thao. It helps if you take out the h when you say it. But remember to put it back in when you spell it." For illustrations Lam inserts a family snapshot of herself amid a diverse and expressive crowd of paper collage school children in some scenes, and large hand-lettered words in others suspended, like the pithy narrative, on generous expanses of white space. The premise has been explored elsewhere, most notably in Helen Recorvits's powerful My Name Is Yoon, and Karen Lynn Williams and Khadra Mohammed's My Name Is Sangoel, but the autobiographical element here adds a distinctively personal inflection. VERDICT A lighthearted assertion of identity, particularly strong on appeal for younger children who have had to adjust to the demands of white American culture.--John Peters, Children's Literature Consultant, New York
Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.JUV039230 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Bullying
JUV009080 - Juvenile Fiction | Concepts | Words
JUV074000 - Juvenile Fiction | Diversity & Multicultural
