Picture Book Spotlight: My Name Is Elizabeth

February 22, 2012 @ 5:18 pm | Filed under: ,


My Name Is Elizabeth by Annika Dunklee, illustrated by Matthew Forsythe.

A frequent request from Miss Rilla these days. The young heroine’s righteous indignation—her friends and neighbors will keep calling her nicknames—speaks to my five-year-old’s little-sister heart. There’s a hint of imperious Eloise in Elizabeth’s not-entirely-polite exasperation with the folks who insist on greeting her as Liz, Lizzy, Betsy, or Beth—and we all know how much small girls adore Eloise. šŸ™‚

At last Elizabeth can bear it no longer: her full name bursts out, a bellowed plea to the neighborhood. The message gets through. No more Lizzy, no more Beth. Elizabeth she is, and Elizabeth she shall be. Well—except to a certain baby brother who can’t quite wrap his mouth around that grand name. But that’s all right. Like my Rilla, who belly-chuckles at this part of the book every time, Elizabeth makes allowances for little brothers. That’s my favorite part of the book, too, an affectionate twist that leaves you with a grin.

I haven’t road-tested this one on my boys yet. Wonderboy’s an Elephant-and-Piggie man all the way, and Huck, well, he’s still busy counting the trucks and trains in The Little House.


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Comments

3 Reponses | Comments Feed
  1. monica says:

    my Rilla-age boy is loving a Mem Fox book- Where is the Green Sheep? Adorable pics, repeated, predictible text and a twist ending. A perfect beginner book.

  2. Kathy says:

    I think my secondborn will love this one. Will look out for it!

  3. Elizabeth says:

    This is a little unnerving. I am an Elizabeth who hated the nicknames, and finally got away from them when I started college. Now I wonder if someone is going to give me this book as a joke.