Oh now this is a good one. A great one. Not only because of the story - a little girl with a mouthful of a name who nonetheless would prefer it if people did not shorten it - but the art: fat lovely swipes of gouache or black ink, little scritchy lines, and a vast color palette encompassing exactly two colors - sun orange and pale blue - plus black and white.I especially like the wordless page where we see six little drawings of Elizabeth getting ready for school while intoning the syllables of her name. Her mouth makes the E, the L (probably: it's obscured by the toothbrush), the I, purses up for the B, opens for the second E, and then the tongue is between the teeth for the TH. I would make an entire storytime group say it slow with me as I pointed to the pictures.And the moment she stands tall and in an assertive but polite voice announces her full name, I like that too. But what slays me is the ending, when her toddler brother cannot quite manage all those consonants, and she graciously acknowledges his effort. Good big sister. “My name is Elizabeth! Not Beth, Liz, Lizzie, or even Betsy!” Elizabeth loves her name, it is just perfect for her with its nine letters. She cannot understand why people want to change it though. In My name is Elizabeth, a young girl named Elizabeth deals with the daily frustration of people trying to shorten her name! I understand this frustration, because ever since the first day of kindergarten people have been trying to change my name. I wonder if Elizabeth’s mother sent her to school with a not saying that her daughter’s name is Elizabeth and if she wanted her called Liz, she would have named her Liz. Maybe that was just my mother then. Elizabeth is quite a character and she is determined to make sure people get her name right! Even if she has to tell them five hundred times…a day!
What do You think about My Name Is Elizabeth! (2011)?
My daughter fits with this character so well, if you mispronounce her name you are done for.
—summababy
A great book, especially to those of us who have problems with other people and our names.
—miranda1998
GREAT color palette, and of course I love a picture book about respecting a kid's wishes.
—datoine
Elizabeth likes her name. A queen is named after her. So call her Elizabeth.
—peanutbutterisyummy
a little too plucky for my taste - but the art was really great to look at.
—sanah2210
