Juana Martinez-Neal
Alma and How She Got Her Name
Ages 3–8
Alma Sofia Esperanza José Pura Candela thinks her name is too long — until Daddy shares the family stories behind each piece. A Caldecott Honor gem.
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Why this book
Family and language as they actually sound at the table.
Who it's for
Ages 3-8. Whoever is at your table.
Conversation starter
How does this family show love, in the big ways and the small ones?
Try this
Close it and wait. The useful comment comes after the fidgeting.
How we write these notes
Pair with
Two titles that deepen the same conversation.

Ages 3–8
Blue WillowDoris Gates
A little girl, who wants most of all to have a real home and to go to a regular school, hopes that the valley her family has come to, which so resembles the pattern on her treasured blue willow plate, will be their permanent home.

Ages 3–8
Carmela Full of WishesMatt de la Peña
. . With lyrical, stirring text and stunning, evocative artwork, Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson have crafted a moving ode to family, to dreamers, and to finding hope in the most unexpected places.