The Name Jar
by Yangsook Choi
Your name is yours to keep
For you if
you've ever been told part of who you are is inconvenient
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Unhei just moved from Korea and classmates can't pronounce her name — so they offer to help her pick a new one. A quiet, tender story about belonging without erasure. Perfect for the moment when a child is navigating what to keep and what to change about themselves. P&P note: names are not problems to be solved. They are introductions.
Where This Book Lives
- Themes
- belongingimmigration
Same pattern, different era
Different time, different place. The same thing keeps happening.
The Arrival
Shaun Tan
An immigrant's journey. No words. Every feeling.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
Swimmy
Leo Lionni
All the small fish were scared. Swimmy had a different idea.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
My Two Border Towns
David Bowles
The border as home, not crisis.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
Others: A Story for All of Us
Kobi Yamada
Curiosity beats fear. Every time.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
For the grown-up bookshelf
Same idea, written for a grown-up. Good for the adult in the room, too.
Me Talk Pretty One Day
David Sedaris
Grammar, meet neurosis.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
Borderlands/La Frontera
Gloria Anzaldúa
The border isn't a line. It's a wound that won't scar.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
Honeymoon in Tehran
Azadeh Moaveni
She goes back to Tehran to build a life there.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
Lipstick Jihad
Azadeh Moaveni
Iranian American, going back to find out what that is.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST