Book Review: The Girl Who Did Not Like Her Name by Chloe Jon Paul

What is a kid to do? How do you deal with a name you don’t like?

In her new children’s book The Girl Who Did Not Like Her Name, author Chloe Jon Paul teaches children how they can find happiness with the name they were given.

Her book is a delightfully told story with beautiful illustrations about a girl who overcomes the problem with her long (Italian of origin) name -- Alessandra Theresa Petrucci. The problems she faced were many.

When she was little, grown-ups would say, “My! My! Such a BIG name for such a little girl.”

In first grade she had trouble she learned to but couldn’t fit her full name across the paper. Her letters were too big and clumsy yet.

“You have a lovely name,” her teacher said. “When your printing gets better, you’ll be able to write smaller. Maybe you could leave out your middle name for now.”

“My name is almost as long as the whole alphabet!” Alessandra Theresa wailed. What was she to do?

With a batch of delicious cookies, and a comforting ear, her grandmother shares with her a captivating story that opens up new vistas of understanding. She learns the remarkable story of how she got her name. 

Where to Buy

You can get a copy of The Girl Who Did Not Like Her Name on Amazon and in stores nationwide.

Our Thoughts 

I requested this book because my daughter has a unique name. Right now, she loves it, but just in case she ever changes her mind, I thought this would be a good book to have. I liked the premise of teaching a child to appreciate their own uniqueness. However, this book fell short for my family. I am not sure what age level the author intended it for, but it seems stuck somewhere in between a picture book and a chapter book. Its way too long winded for younger children between 3 and 5. I tried to read it to my three year old and she lost interest by page two. There are 42 pages.  My older children, who are reading chapter books, found the storyline too immature for their taste and had no interest in reading it at all. The illustrations leave a lot to be desired as well. They are okay, but they are not the professional artwork I'm used to seeing in picture books. There are a few good points in the book. I like how at the end they list a bunch of silly names that will make anyone appreciate the name they have.  They also provide a great Potato Gnocchi recipe. However, this is not a book that we will be reading twice and to he honest, we could only skim through it the first time because it was just a little too boring.

***Please note that I received no form of monetary compensation for this post. I did receive a sample of the product to try in order to write a fair and honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own and were not influenced in any way. ***