Alma and How She Got Her Name
“My name is Alma, and I have a story to tell.”
“Alma and How She Got Her Name” by Juana Martinez-Neal is a lovely story about a little girl who learns the story of her name: Alma Sofia Esperanza José Pura Candela. Alma is concerned that her name “doesn’t fit,” which intentionally has a few meanings.
It doesn’t fit when she tries to write it out on a piece of paper. In an illustration, Alma has to attach an additional piece of paper to the first in order to fit her name in one place. There is also a suggestion that her name doesn’t fit how she sees herself - what connection does she have to this name? Finally, there is the subtle idea that her name doesn’t fit in.
Throughout the story, her father tells Alma exactly why each of her names was chosen for her. He describes the characters in her family for whom she was named. Slowly, Alma sees how she is like them and how little pieces of her ancestry all came together to help create her story. However, those names were just the beginning of her story. The name Alma is all her own, passed down from no one so that she too could write her own history.
As a teacher, one of my first thoughts when coming across this book was, “How many children have shortened their names because a teacher/adult refused to learn to say it correctly and completely?” I should know. With a name like Johanna, I have been called everything from “Jo” to “Yolanda” - intentionally and unintentionally.
At a young age, I learned to respond to every variation of my name people assigned to me so as not to make the person stumbling over the letters feel uncomfortable. I wonder what would have happened if I asked them to learn my name? To say it the way my mother intended?
Names are incredibly important. A person's name is the greatest connection to their own identity and individuality. Some might say it is the most important word in the world to that person. I wonder, if Alma were a real person, would those around her bother to say them all? Bother to say them all correctly?
We have all mispronounced someone’s name at some time - but to disregard their corrections, or to assign an unwanted nickname because it’s easier is actually a form of bigotry. Whether you intend to or not, what you’re communicating is this: Your name is different. Foreign. Weird. Too Long. It’s not worth my time to get it right. That person is likely already familiar with the feeling of marginalization, the message that everyone else is “normal,” and they are not. Some names fit but theirs does not.
What would happen if we took the time to honor people with the clear, beautiful pronunciation of their full, given names? For a child or person whose name has been deemed too difficult or too long, it would be the loveliest surprise. Asking someone to correct you in saying their name empowers them and tells them you value who they are. What a gift our names are. What a gift it would be to honor them as such.
Some things to think about…
Teachers: I have used this story at the beginning of the school year as we are learning each other’s names. It’s an important part of communicating who we are. I’ve also used it as a way to introduce the idea of determining our own class name. Often in early childhood education, there is a propensity for teachers to choose a class name for the students and then use that name to inspire classroom identity. It’s adorable, but it could be much more meaningful if we included our students in that choice and let them share how they would like to be identified.
I have led classrooms of Blue Lays, Sparkles, and Panthers, and more - each name truly representing the group itself. Instead of choosing a name like “Ms. Spath’s class” or “ The Butterflies,’ let the students tell you who they are! Use this book to talk about what names tell us about each other and what a class name could tell others about your class.who you are as a group.
Discussion questions for all: How did you get your name? Ask your family about how they chose your name. Find out how people you know got their names too. It is amazing to hear about all the ways families choose names.
What makes you like your family? What makes you different?
Activity idea: What does your name mean to you? Create an acrostic poem using your name. For each letter of your name, chose a word or phrase that starts with that letter that describes you.
Story and illustrations by Juana Martinez-Neal
