Hello, everyone!
Somehow we have arrived at Perfect Picture Book Friday, though I have to say I do not know where the week has gone!
Do you ever have those weeks that go by in such a whirlwind that you’re left breathless and stunned at the end?! 😊
Not to mention it’s practically October! How did that happen?
I guess I’d better start gathering prizes for the upcoming contest season more seriously! Halloweensie is only 5 weeks away! EEK! How’s that for a scare???!!! 👻 BOO!
Today’s Perfect Picture Book is not scary, however. Not even a little bit. It’s lovely, and will get you thinking about where your name came from.
My name, Susanna, is of Hebrew origin and means “lily”. The biblical Susanna in the Book of Daniel was a symbol of faith and integrity, and is associated with purity, innocence, and beauty. My parents chose it because they liked both the meaning and the sound, and because of my fair skin and hair. (You can check out my Bio page for a baby picture to see just how lily white I was 😊) To my knowledge, there are no other Susannas in our family tree. I was not given a middle name because my dad figured my maiden name would become my middle name when I got married. A whole lot of assumptions there! 😊
Where did your name come from? Please share in the comments if you’d like to!
Title: My Name Is Ai Lin
Written By: Maria Wen Adcock
Illustrated By: Yu Ting Cheng
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press, July 1 2025, fiction
Suitable For Ages: 5-8
Themes/Topics: names, culture, heritage, identity, standing up for yourself
text copyright Maria Wen Adcock 2025, illustration copyright Yu Ting Cheng 2025, Sleeping Bear Press
Opening:
“When I started school,
they could not say my name.”
text copyright Maria Wen Adcock 2025, illustration copyright Yu Ting Cheng 2025, Sleeping Bear Press
Brief Synopsis: [from the publisher] “When Ai Lin starts school, none of her classmates can say her name. They ask if they can just call her by another name, but Ai Lin knows the significance of her Chinese name. No, it can’t be changed. Her name is part of her identity and heritage. Her name was chosen not only for what it means, but also for how it sounds. It ties her to her family—present and past—and to its traditions.
When Ai Lin shares her family history with her classmates, they come to understand that a name can be a person’s story, special and unique. Ai Lin’s name, and all that it means and stands for, is as personal as a fingerprint, as distinct as a snowflake.”
text copyright Maria Wen Adcock 2025, illustration copyright Yu Ting Cheng 2025, Sleeping Bear Press
Links To Resources: back matter includes an author’s note and some Chinese definitions; discuss what your name is, where it came from, how it was chosen, and what it means; would you feel different if you had a different name? And here is a coloring page provided by the author who says, “The Chinese character “Ai” is the “Ai” in “Ai Lin” in the title. It means love, and it’s a theme that’s in the book. ” 😊
text copyright Maria Wen Adcock 2025, illustration copyright Yu Ting Cheng 2025, Sleeping Bear Press
Why I Like This Book: This lovely book with its charming art is about the importance of a name – something we all feel as part of our identity. A name isn’t just a name. It is a gift. It is chosen for you by people who love you. Sometimes it is the echo of loved ones past. Sometimes it has to do with hopes for the future. But whatever it is, it has been carefully chosen especially for you and it matters. It is part of who you are. Ai Lin explains all this to her classmates when, as the only Asian-featured child in her class, she finds that no one can pronounce her name. Her classmates want to make do with something familiar that they can pronounce. But Ai Lin stands up for herself and says that will not do. Her name is special. Young readers will appreciate why names are important, and why we must make the effort to say them correctly. And perhaps they will be inspired to ask where their own names came from (if they don’t already know) 😊
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 😊
For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.
PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific blog links (and any other info you feel like filling out 😊) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! 😊
Author Maria Wen Adcock is a first-generation Chinese American writer and is also the author of It’s Chinese New Year, Curious George. She is the founder of the award-winning Bicultural Mama blog, and has appeared in Bloomberg News, HuffPost, and Newsday, and on The Dr. Oz Show. Maria is a board member of Multicultural Kid Blogs, an organization supporting diverse parenting bloggers, and the cohost of the annual event Read Your World Day. She lives on Long Island in New York. Maria’s Website
Susanna Leonard Hill 
Such an important message in your book, Maria. Thank you!
It’s a lovely book, Rose – so beautifully done!
Thank you for your note, Rose! I appreciate it!
— Maria Wen Adcock
What a beautiful story! I’m sure it will become a favorite first day picture book for many teachers.🥰
It really is perfect for first days, Kim!
Thank you for your kind note! I sure hope it will become a back-to-school favorite!
— Maria Wen Adcock
Susanna, I loved this post…thank you for a wonderful write-up of my book!
— Maria Wen Adcock
My pleasure, Maria! It’s such a lovely book!
It is such an important book. Its message is of great value.
And it’s so nicely done, Jan! Not heavy-handed at all!
important story, lovingly told. Robin is like the bird but more important I chose it myself and only use my birth name for Master Card!
That is so cool, Robin! I love that you chose it! We almost chose it for one of our daughters – it’s a wonderful name! That’s so funny you only use your birth name for your credit card! 🤣
A wonderful story, and one that a great many children can relate to. I really like this book, having read it several times. Especially in these days and times, children shouldn’t fear names they can’t pronounce but see them as a way to expand their worlds. Having diversity in our classrooms is a valuable way to develop understanding between people and cultures and to spark interest and creativity by opening children’s minds.
It also helps kids to be proud of their names and respect the uniqueness of all.
Hear! Hear! Margie! I totally agree!
Names are special, aren’t they? And so important because they’re so much a part of our identity. This sounds like a lovely story. And now I had to check. Since my name is a mixture of Jill and Anne, but with only one “L,” I find that Jill means “youthful” or “downy-haired” [well, I’m not so youthful, anymore, but still downy-haired. I once had a stylist tell me my hair was so fine it was like a cat’s. And Anne means “grace” or “mercy.” I hope I am filled with both. Thanks for this wonderful rec, Susanna!
I’m glad you like the recommendation, Jilanne, and thanks for playing along with the name game! No one else has!!! 🤣
I love the idea of being proud of your name! Can’t wait to read this PB!
My parents thought for sure they were expecting a baby boy (no such thing as “gender reveals” then!) When I was born, they had to quickly select a girl’s name! They both agreed upon “Susan” derived from “lily or lily of the valley”!
Pretty much the same as mine, Susan! 🙂
This is lovely and I am laughing at your dad’s reason for not giving you a middle name. In our family, my sister and I share the same middle name as my dad which was also my mom’s first name but all spelled differently.
Yeah, his thought process was a wee bit outdated haha 🙂 That’s kind of cool that your dad’s middle name was the same as your mom’s first name!
I loved hearing about how your name was chosen for you, Susanna.
I agree names are special, and this book clearly is a must read in classrooms, especially at the beginning of the school year, which is now. ♥️
It’s a great book for the beginning of the school year, Robin, but also, I think, really for any time!
This looks like a wonderful book for the start of the school year as kids learn about their new classmates. Thanks for sharing it! My adoptive parents chose my name, presumably because my birthday falls near St Patrick’s Day. My middle name, Ann, was a variant of my mother’s middle name. In 6th grade, I chose Marie as my confirmation name. Only then did I learn that I had a birth name: Ann Marie. At various points in my life I’ve thought about reverting to that, but the timing was never right.