My Name is a Gift

When Sitara is born, she fits in Daddy’s hands. And, when she is still so tiny, Daddy and Mummy give her her first ever gift: her name, which means ‘shine like a star’. 

Daddy and Mummy also have pet names for Sitara: Daddy calls her Bheeti when she’s tired and needs a cuddle; Mummy calls her Bahadir when they go out adventuring together.  

However, when she gets older, Sitara realises that not everyone can say her name right, and when they get it muddled, it makes her sad. Names are such an important thing, and hers has been given to her with so much love and thought.

Luckily, Sitara finds that when she takes the time to explain how to say her name properly, all her friends are happy to learn it. And, in return, Sitara knows to ask to make sure she is saying everyone else’s name right, too. 

This touching and warm picture book is a lovely celebration of family as well as Muslim family traditions of fathers gifting their children a name.

It also makes a gentle point of the importance of – and politeness attached to – getting someone’s name right, with a sweet little activity page at the end where the owner of the book can record their own name, what it means, and who gave it to them.