Thao by Thao Lam

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. It will be released April 15, 2021 by Owlkids Books.

Renowned Canadian author, Thao Lam, tells the story of growing against the backdrop of a culture that doesn't deal well with difference. 

It begins with an adorable photograph of the author as a young girl.  The next page shows her surrounded by a diverse group of students - all of them staring at her. The text reads, It's not easy being Thao. 

What follows is a description of her name and the issues she had to deal with because of it. It's regularly misspelled. Sometimes it is accidentally mispronounced. More often, other children make fun of her because of it. 

Life with an English name would have been easier. At one point Thao contemplated becoming Jennifer. There is a page of text with a Jennifer doing all the things Thao would do during a day. Then she imagines her mother's gỏi cuốn (spring rolls), and leaves off wanting to be someone else. At the end of the book she finally teaches us to say and spell her name properly. 

The artwork, a combination of childhood photographs and cut paper collage, is full of angst, tenderness, and humour. This important book teaches readers awareness and empathy. It encourages other new immigrants to take pride in their own names and identity. 

Highly recommended.