My Name is Maria Isabel

Author: Alma Flor Ada

Illustrator: K. Dyble Thompson

Awards: None

Grade Level: 2nd-5th and every teacher!

Summary:

Maria Isabel Salazar Lopez moves to a new school in America from Puerto Rico. She is already nervous about going to her first english school and being the new kid. She takes pride in her name because she was named after two of her grandmothers and she has two last names which represent both of her parents and grandfathers. When she meets her new teacher, she is informed that there are already two Maria's in the class so she will start going by Mary Lopez. This is a huge change to Maria Isabel and it begins to get her in trouble because the teacher thinks she is ignoring her all the time when she calls on 'Mary'. In the end, her teacher had the entire class write a letter about their one wish and Maria Isabel writes that she would like for her teacher to start calling her by her real name. The teacher changes her role in the holiday pageant and begins to address her by her given name Maria Isabel Salazar Lopez.

Evaluation:

This is a book that I think all teachers should read, if not to their class, for themselves and in professional learning communities because it reminds us the importance of calling children by the names they are given by their parents or go by. It is easy for teachers to change a students name without meaning any harm, in this case giving Maria a more english name, but that rips the student's identity away from them and increases their affective filter. This book was a good reminder of how important it is to know your students' names and to make that a priority.