What's Her Name?

On one hand, I would have liked to have seen adult intervention and/or consequences for the kids who made fun of Bunu's name, but that's not always a realistic outcome and so I liked the fact that the book took a more practical approach to making friends and overcoming bullying. I'm glad Bunu made friends, but I'm even happier that she gained the confidence to disregard people who insist on staying unpleasant.

I loved the art style in this book--it's very colorful and lively. I loved the story of Bunu's name too!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

Thank you NetGalley and Indigo River Publishing for a copy of "What's Her Name?" in exchange for my honest review.

The story is about Bunu and her mother moving to a new town. She misses her friends but wants to make new ones. She's excited to go to her new school and even packs her own lunch. When she is introduced by the teacher in class she yells her name out in her excitement. The kids start making fun of her name, they laugh at her. At lunch she sits alone and finds that she didn't pack her lunch very well and it has gone bad. The kids then start making fun of her smelly lunch. She goes home crying that day. She tells her mom how mean the kids are. She asks her mom why her name is so different.

He mother tells her that her name is not weird but very, very special because she named her after her great-grandmother who lived in a small village in India. She was s very beautiful woman, so beautiful that a prince wanted to marry her. She was more than beautiful she was a strong woman who chose to marry for love not because a prince asked her.

Bunu becomes very happy and confident that she was named after such a strong woman. The next day she makes a friend on the bus. Vince asks her to sit with him at lunch. She had made cupcakes to share with her class. Some kids liked her cakes but others still laughed at her. She was still sad that she was being laughed at but she was making friends and that was exciting.

The kids told her to ignore the mean kids because they were missing out on knowing how cool and fun she really was. She felt better about herself and went home with a smile.

Parents and educators can use this story to teach kids to be themselves, to stay positive. Everyone is unique and special and they should be proud of that. Never give a bully power over you. Bullying and taunts have long lasting effects on children. It is important to start the conversation and this book is a great way to do that.

'What's Her Name' clearly conveys important messages to young children- to be themselves, to not retaliate when facing bullying, and to be proud of their heritage. The story is memorable and enjoyable for young children, as are the bright illustrations. However, I feel that there is a slightly excessive use of exclamation marks, and it would also have been nice to see some form of apology or punishment for the children who have bullied Bunu. That said, this book is still a wonderful form of comfort for youngsters experiencing bullying.

I loved the illustrations in this book. The colors and images immediately stuck out to me. It definitely was in the cool family of colors. I loved that this book focused on a young child's name and then shared its family story. It is important for every child to know the story of their name, its importance and why they should not let anyone else butcher it. We say this to our high school students all the time.

What's Her Name? is a book that explains to children that they should be proud of who they are and not worry about what others think. It was a nice story with nice illustrations to match.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy.

4.66 stars

In What's Her Name? We follow Bunu, the new girl in school who isn't welcomed in her new school. As soon as she is introduced to the class, other children make fun of her name. Not knowing what to do, she reaches out to people she loves for guidance.

Casey Pardue's illustration was beautiful, and I love how she used more subdued colour palettes but still managed to make them vivid and bright. I felt this choice complemented the overall tone of the book.

What's Her Name? started with a bang. Scott managed to evoke the impact bullying has on children. The first pages really impacted me - we see this beautiful little girl happy to make new friends, and then her soul is crushed and mine with hers! But the way Scott handled her heartbreak was so tender! Bunu went to her mom, which tells me they have a relationship of trust; also, I appreciate that Bunu's mom empowered her to love her name and taught her to show kindness to others despite their meanness.

I love the whole of Bunu's story, and I feel it has the perfect ending for children. Although my first reaction when I finished reading was hoping that the final message was more of someone finding their value within themselves and not look for external validation, reading the author's bio at the end changed my mind. I realized that he was speaking from experience - which made me reevaluate my initial reaction and realize how much sense the end made, and the message became more powerful.

What's Her Name? is an excellent addition to every pre-school, Kindergarten, and Grade 1 classroom as well as any home library for parents who care to raise kind children. With its accessible language, beautiful illustration, and powerful message, What's Her Name? is a fantastic tool to discuss empathy and kindness with children in your life.

Disclaimer: I first read it as an ARC. In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to Tomac Scott. Indigo River Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of What's Her Name?

I relate to this book so much! My name is different because my dad is from India, and there was nobody else like me at my school. I hope this book can help children that were like me know that they should keep being theirselves. We are great just the way we are! I also hope that this book will help other kids stop bullying someone for their name.

Short but beautiful story.
The story is about bunu going to a new school where is constantly bullied and made fun of by the students there.
She is sad and angry until her mum explains the meaning and backstory behind her name and bunu decided to wear her name with pride, making friends that don't care about her name and pursuing a nice future.

I read this to a girl name salt who was having the same issue as bunu and she really find it helpful.

The illustrations were nice and wonderful and a strong story.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Pretty cute book tho the ending is different. Wish there would have been books like this when i was a kid lol

This is a wonderful story about being proud of your name and finding inner strength to persevere through bullying. I deducted one star for the ending, because I worry that younger kids may take away that Bunu needed to become a model to be accepted. Otherwise, it's a great book.

This is such a really important story to tell. Sometime kids are given this amazing family names and their peers don't understand the importance and make fun of them. It's important for kids to realize it's okay to have unique names and where they come from. The illustrations were stunning as well.

Lovely story with a lovely meaning.
About a little girl who moves to a new school, but people laugh at her because she has an unusual name.
Her mum tells her a story regarding her name, which then makes her happier.
Everyone in her class eventually comes around though.
Lovely illustrations

Bunu has just started a new school and is really excited until she introduces herself and the other kids are mean and make fun of her name, she returns home in tears not wanting to go back because they call her 'boo boo' but the next day she begins to make new friends and learns about her name and becomes proud of it, eventually everyone wants to be her friend.

This was a lovely little story about overcoming bullying and being proud of who you are. Bunu makes her mum proud and makes lots of friends. A very inclusive book.

An adorable story with a lot of super pictures, so colourful and nicely laid out.

The author had been bullied at a young age because he was different, he also had an unusual name.

Kids can be so cruel.
Mind you, some adults can be too.

The way he’s written this is encouraging.
She didn’t have a good day at school and she told her mom why.
So that’s showing a child to open up, communicate.

Also as the days went by her personality and her friendly nature was her strength I thought.

There will always be bullies. It’s how you handle yourself which is very hard without support around you. I loved how she made some friends yet some of the taunting because of her name continued, but she could manage it. She had found some good friends. Her support.

Loved it.

As a kid, I definitely moved around a lot so I felt this very emotional connection to Bunu. I felt as if some of the experiences I was reading about were my own.. "What's Her Name?" was an absolutely delightful book. I'll be recommending this one to my friends.

I enjoyed this book! The illustrations are colorful, and it touches on the issue of bullying at school. It's hard to be someone with an unusual name, and being identified as "other." I think this book could be a great one to start discussions with kids on how to be kind to others. I love the story behind Bunu's name. However, I do think that the ending is a bit abrupt.

I thought this was a sweet book that really illustrated the importance of kindness, especially when someone may be different than you. The illustrations were cute and the story was nice.

Thanks a lot to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read a copy of the book, to the author as well.

This book was great to read, it made me realize the imperfections of some people's behavior and reality. Not long ago something similar happened to me on snapchat, however, I didn't pay much attention to it. Now, I realize it's because they think they are different from it.

The book is about a girl who enters a new school. although, the kids there laugh at her because of her name. Until she started to thrive, first she got her group of friends, second she...(You will be able to know what will happen when you read it).

5.0

Thank you NetGalley and Indigo River Publishing for a copy of "What's Her Name?" in exchange for my honest review.

This was a cute book about a young child who started a new school and was bullied about her name. She then learned she was named after a very strong family member and grew to love her name.

This book was cute in the fact that she grew to love her name and that she quickly name friends at the school. But the ending what a little strange which brought it down a star.

This book harbours an important message for young children... bravely stand up and be proud of who you are and your heritage.

Bunu is very excited to attend her brand new school and when she introduces herself to the class she faces bullying and mocking due to her unusual name. Devastated she returns home to her mother in tears asking why some of her classmates are so mean to her. Her loving mother explains to her daughter the reason her name was chosen for her and how special it really is. Bunu reacts to her aggressors by baking her classmates cupcakes to share the next day. Will Bunu's act of kindness change things? Will Bunu finally gain the respect and acceptance that she rightly deserves by her peers?

The illustrations are colourful, the classroom is full of diverse faces, and the message is positive. Being a former classroom teacher and principal I am angered that no teacher, lunchroom supervisor, or principal intervenes to stop the cruel bullying behaviour and shelter Bunu from all the harassment and beastliness. That never, ever, ever should be allowed in any school. This important book would be a lovely tool to start conversations about how to treat others with kindness, respect and dignity. I highly recommend this book.

A very relatable book for so many people about a girl whose name, Bunu, is a little bit different and so a number of children at school make fun of her for it. In order to overcome the bullying (even as it continues sometimes) we see Bunu make friends whom appreciate her for her. See here is where I start to have issues. These friends approach her and just magically appear. As a child I do not ever remember that once happening to me. Maybe if you're super outgoing and interesting with a charism that draws people to you kids just randomly wanted to be friends. But in my case I had (and still have) a very hard time making friends. So I'm not sure I buy into the idea that friends just magically appear.
That said, I did really like the acknowledgement that Bunu is still picked on by some people but has the courage and self-esteem to ignore them and carry on as herself. I think we often imply in children's books that the world will be all better at some point. When in reality there is always something hard happening, daily. And so if we are realistic with our children then hopefully we can set them up for success and not for continued small failures that eventually grind them down to nothing.
Certainly an excellent daycare, school, or babysitting book as it's relatable to many.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

Thank you Tomac Scott for creating such a wonderful book. Being bullied since elementary though junior high, I know very well that rejected feeling.

The story about an Indian-descent girl with weird name, that made her schoolmates joked on her, is not nice. I was wondering why the teacher didn't interfere, though. But just like Bunu, we have to fight that feeling of being unimportant. You are all special in your own way.

This is such a sweet tale and really highlights how it's the things that make us different are the things that make us special. Unique names, looks, colors, and personality are all things that make a person who they are. No one is right and no one is wrong. Everyone is wonderful in their own way.