My Name Is Maria Isabel

by Alma Flor Ada, K. Dyble Thompson (Illustrator)

Overview

For María Isabel Salazar López, the hardest thing about being the new girl in school is that the teacher doesn't call her by her real name. "We already have two Marías in this class," says her teacher. "Why don't we call you Mary instead?"
But María Isabel has been named for her Papá's mother and for Chabela, her beloved Puerto Rican grandmother. Can she find a way to make her teacher see that if she loses her name, she's lost the most important part of herself?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780689315176
Publisher:	Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	04/30/1993
Edition description:	Repackage
Pages:	64
Sales rank:	1,029,358
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	860L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Alma Flor Ada, an authority on multicultural and bilingual education, is the recipient of the 2012 Virginia Hamilton Literary Award, and in 2014 she was honored by the Mexican government with the prestigious OHTLI Award. She is the author of numerous award-winning books for young readers, including Dancing Home with Gabriel Zubizarreta, My Name Is María Isabel, Under the Royal Palms (Pura Belpré Medal), Where the Flame Trees Bloom, and The Gold Coin (Christopher Award Medal). She lives in California, and you can visit her at AlmaFlorAda.com.

Editorial Reviews

Armed with her new blue bookbag, Maria Isabel bravely faces her first day at a new school. But when she meets her new teacher, she is told there are already two other Marias in the class. ``Why don't we call you Mary instead?'' her teacher suggests, unaware that Maria was named for both her grandmothers, a grandfather and her father. Maria's inability to respond to ``Mary'' leads to more problems. Simply told, this story combines the struggle of a Puerto Rican family's efforts to improve their life with a shared sense of pride in their heritage. The author's carefully drawn characterizations avoid stereotypes, thus increasing their appeal and believability. An essay involving a wish list gives Maria a chance to reclaim her name, and allows her teacher to make amends. Abetted by Thompson's straightforward black-and-white drawings, this contemporary tale serves as a good reminder that no two names are really alike. Ages 7-10. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gr 3-4-- This gentle story tells of Maria Isabel Salazar Lopez, who finds herself dubbed ``Mary Lopez'' when her family moves and she is placed in a class with two other Marias. Maria Isabel finds it hard to respond to a name that does not seem like hers. Her teacher doesn't understand why it is so difficult for her to answer to ``Mary'' until the child is inspired to address her paper on ``My Greatest Wish'' to the topic of her name. The result is not only a happy ending, but also an affirming study of heritage and how it is integrally bound up in an individual's sense of self. The brief text, adequately extended by line drawings, reads aloud well and could certainly be used in conjunction with Gary Soto's The Skirt (Delacorte, 1992) to illustrate the Hispanic culture that is part of the lives of many contemporary children. --Ann Welton, Terminal Park Elementary School, Auburn, WA

School Library Journal

Maria Isabel doesn't like her new school. She is used to being called Maria Isabel Salazar Lopez, but because there are two other Marias in her room, the teacher calls her Mary, a name Maria Isabel forgets to answer to, annoying the teacher no end. It is only when Maria Isabel is assigned the composition topic "My Greatest Wish" that the teacher finally finds out how much the girl misses her name. Not much really happens in this translation from the Spanish, but the short story is pleasant enough, and since it's still uncommon to have a Latina heroine, a place can be made for this on library shelves. Illustrated with pen-and-ink drawings.

Ilene Cooper