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.

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.

*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

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.

Banu is moving to a new town and she is excited, until the first day of class when the kids start making fun of her name. She sits alone at lunch and goes home so sad. But her mom tells her the story of where her name comes from, and Banu starts to feel excited about her name. The next day she goes to school with and makes some new friends. There are still those kids who make fun of her, but Banu has learned to have pride in her name and doesn't let them bother her.
This book teaches the valuable lesson of having confidence and pride in who we are as individuals. It is a great story to help instill this power in young kids so they can avoid bullying. I wasn't a fan of the continuation of the story of her becoming a model and having a clothing line use her name. It felt a little less genuine and less realistic. Brought the idea of confidence needing to come from an outside source. But it was a good story overall.

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?

(3/5) I picked up this book because my sons have unusual names so I thought it might have a good message. The story follows a girl who starts a new school, and the other kids make fun of her for her unusual name. Her mother tells her the meaning behind her name, and the girl works harder to make friends. But, then at the end, a fashion agency tells her she has a unique name, puts her in a commercial, and then everyone likes her. The ending didn't work for me, and although my 5yo said he liked the books a whole lot, it was his fourth favorite of the four new books we read today..

I enjoyed the illustrations, and the diversity of the children they portrayed. The story is about a girl named Bumu who is bullied because her name is different.

The about the author mentions that you have to show bullies that they have no power over you, and they’ll see in you something they don’t have themselves. I love that sentiment, and didn’t really feel like it came through in the story itself. That said, the story is short enough that it could make a good starting point for conversations with Preschoolers about bullying and about embracing things that make us unique.

An important story about names, their importance, and what it feels like to have others mock your name... I love love loved that they put her pronunciation of her name right at the front of the book so that every teacher and parent reads it right. Nothing really happens to the kids who are mean and mocking her name, which sucks to read -- but is very realistic. Often, sadly, nothing happens. No grown-up intervenes. So, I get that, and it also could open a conversation when read as a class about how to be upstanders when adults are not around. It could also be used to teach kids to have empathy and think about how other kids feel when their names are mocked or messed up.

I was less thrilled about the ending, where Bunu becomes a famous model, which leads to no one making fun of her anymore. I think I would have liked it better if it ended with something with her friends.

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.

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' 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.

This is a kids book about a young girl who goes to a new school and gets made fun of for having an unusual name, Bunu. Initially she is upset but then learns to embrace her name.

I was hoping this would be a book that would teach both being respectful and how to handle if kids are mean to you,. However, I didn’t really feel like it successfully did either. Bunu’s mom tells her a story about the grandmother she is named after, but doesn’t really give her any tools about dealing with someone bullying you. Eventually she develops friends, but the kids being bullies are referred to as “they were just haters” which I didn’t love. I found the message at the end where she is chosen to be a model kind of odd; and it feels a bit like someone’s high school fantasy.

Overall, it is an okay book, but misses the potential to help kids learn what to do or empathy in why we treat others kindly.

#WhatsHerName #NetGalley

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.

The text is clunky and some of the jargon is likely to date the book pretty quickly. The illustrations are done in blue tones that are likely to blend together when reading to larger groups. The message is strong but there are better books that cover the same topic.

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!