Reviews

My Name Is Sangoel by Karen Williams, Khadra Mohammed

epatrickmaddox's review

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.0

jaij7's review

4.0

A great book for explaining refugees and why they need our help.

librariandest's review

4.0

Many people change their names when they move to the United States so Americans will have an easier time with pronunciation. This is a story about not changing your name. It's about holding on to your identity and reaching out to your new community at the same time. What a wonderful lesson for all kids in the age of globalization.

Note: If you're going to share this, make sure to read through it once first so you're pronouncing Sangoel correctly throughout.

heisereads's review

4.0

A powerful book to share about refugees, identity, and the power of one's name.
Pair with [b:The Name Jar|814357|The Name Jar|Yangsook Choi|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1435975003s/814357.jpg|800281], or [b:Calling the Water Drum|27791902|Calling the Water Drum|Latisha Redding|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1476278772s/27791902.jpg|47767956], [b:The Treasure Box|17204314|The Treasure Box|Margaret Wild|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1359542755s/17204314.jpg|23681770], [b:The Journey|28818766|The Journey|Francesca Sanna|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1461083247s/28818766.jpg|49036152], [b:My Beautiful Birds|30221337|My Beautiful Birds|Suzanne Del Rizzo|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1502206815s/30221337.jpg|50674942], [b:Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family's Journey|30205595|Stepping Stones A Refugee Family's Journey|Margriet Ruurs|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1463563733s/30205595.jpg|50655850], [b:Where Will I Live?|31259052|Where Will I Live?|Rosemary McCarney|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1482163100s/31259052.jpg|51915196], [b:Her Right Foot|34523572|Her Right Foot|Dave Eggers|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1495780720s/34523572.jpg|55657999] for a refugee/immigration text set.

lvv205's review

5.0

This a wonderful book about a refugee family. The main storyline is how Sangoel struggles to keep his name once his family is in America, as well as the correct pronunciation.

tooamy's review

5.0

Sangoel is a refugee from the Sudan who emigrates to the US with his mother and sister. He learns to be proud of his name and his culture that it represents.

jennybeastie's review

5.0

Immigrant and refugee experience for younger kids, in a well done picture book format. Also, soccer.

academianut's review

4.0

Beautiful depiction of a refugee family's difficult but resilient experience, and Sangoel's pride in his ancestral name and disappointment when he feels he has lost it when others can't pronounce it - but his creativity in the end, finding a way to share it with his classmates, is brilliant and fun, and connects him to others while retaining his individual identity.

hitya's review

5.0

What a beautiful story about the importance of our names.

libscote's review

4.0

I like this one, and I think it'd be a fun project to do at the beginning of the year with all students to practice learning names. No idea yet how I would tackle Samantha, but I think it'd be important for kids to do.