My Name Is Not...

Picture book
Just how big can a little kid dream. Jennifer Fosberry's my name
is not Isabella and my name is not Alexander hint that the sky is the
limit.
Aided by understanding parents, imaginative youngsters go
through a day trying on new identities. Isabella becomes Sally Ride,
Annie Oakley, Rosa Parks, Marie Curie, Elizabeth Blackwell, and
Mommy. Alexander changes into Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Edison,
Chief Joseph, Fred Astaire, Jackie Robinson, and Daddy. At the end of
the book you find biographies of all the heroes including Mommy and
Daddy.
As they go through the day the identities the children try on
are clearly tied to their activities. The parents enter into the
spirit of adventure. When Marie Curie arrives home from school her
mother invites her to discover the answers to her homework. When
Jackie Robinson is about to help do dishes his father advises him to
clear home plate and admits, "You stole my heart." Don't you just love
that?
Interestingly, shelving in Orono Public Library, I've heard my
name is not Isabella read out loud quite often by moms. I have never
heard my name is not Alexander. Dads, what are you waiting for? Our
sons need to dream big too.
On a personal note, I was dismayed recently to read that a 5-year-old
kindergarten student was suspended from school for talking to a
classmate about a Hello Kitty Bubble Gun. How anyone could see a
child that young as a potential terrorist (that's right, folks) is
beyond me. When are we going to admit that zero tolerance has gone
way too far and often does more harm than good?
A great big shout out goes out to the school boards and administrators
who remember to exercise common sense.
Julia Emily Hathaway

Sent from my iPod