Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal

Alma is just a little girl, but she has a very long name—six names, in fact! As she learns to write out all six names, she lets her daddy know that her name is so long it never fits. So he tells her the story of each one of her names. “Pura” is for her great aunt and “José” is for her artist grandfather, and so the stories go. Alma realizes that each name fits her perfectly. And then Daddy tells her about her first name. Alma knows that soon she will have her own story to tell. Alma is a precious character and her father is equally endearing

Author-illustrator Juana Martinez-Neal writes out of her own experience, coming to the United States from Peru as a young child with a name that “sounded way-too-Spanish.” She asks her readers, “What is the story of your name?” and “What story would you like to tell?”

A sweet and timely story to read with children, Alma and How She Got Her Name is an inspiration to be curious about and share the significance and stories of the given names of those around us. Ages 3 and up. (Candlewick Press)