Sticks and Stones

Ethel King-Shaw is professor emerita of curriculum and instruction in
the Department of Teacher Preparation, University of Calgary.

This translation of Nom de Nom! is about a 3-year-old girl with a very
long name, Gwendolyn-Joy Morrison-Power. At first, she enjoys the rhythm
of her name as she repeats it while singing and playing. But as she
grows up, the children in day care (and later school) taunt her about
her name, which she also finds cumbersome to write. Since each part of
her name has special family significance, there is no easy way to
shorten it.

Hyphenated and invented names are becoming increasingly common, so a
number of children will relate to Gwendolyn’s problem. The story
begins and ends on a happy note, but in between there is a lot of
unflattering name-calling. Inventing rhymes for names is a typical
childhood practice, but less demeaning examples could have served the
same purpose.

Childlike colorful drawings convey the action and emotions of the
story. Recommended with reservations.