My Name Is Leona- Book Review

My Name Is Leona is a charming new hardcover children's book. It's about a little girl who doesn't like her name. She doesn't know why. The books talks about how important a name is, so important that Leona has a nameless goldfish, and nameless dolls and stuffed animals. It's because finding a name that is just right isn't easy! Leona decides to go to the source and ask her parents why they chose such a name for her. Once she hears the story of why her name was chosen she realizes how special her name is, and that's it's perfect for her. She realizes that every name is thought out, deliberate, and lovingly given. It doesn't matter if you love your name, if your kids love or dislike their name. This book drives home the message that names are lovingly chosen and given, every has a special one. I will be donating a copy of this book to my daughter's kindergarten class, I know they will love it.

“Leona” was the name of the author’s beloved grandmother, and even the alternate names Leona tries out are the names of the author’s daughters, mother, mother-in-law, sisters, and her other grandmother. Charming and sweet, this story reveals just exactly how Leona learns to love her name and the many mishaps she experiences as she comes to realize that choosing one, for herself or someone else, is anything but easy. 

The illustrations in this book are cute and engaging. Each colorful scene is beautifully drawn. The book itself is in rhyme form, which is a fun read for beginners and those reading to little ones. 

Awards-

- Leona's story  won the hearts of this year's Mom's Choice Awards' judges, giving the sweetly illustrated book its coveted 2013 Gold rating.

- My Name Is Leona was awarded the Bronze Medal for Best First Book by the Moonbeam Children’s Awards. For more information about what Moonbeam does, please see this post on Independent Publisher.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carol Gahara Harris disliked her name as a child. While the idea of this book grew out of her childhood dislike of her name, when she was 12, she decided 'Carol' was a great name and has loved it ever since. My Name Is Leona is the culmination of a lifelong dream to publish a children's book and is hopefully the first of several books to come. Carol is a native of Michigan and has two grown daughters who adore their names!

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR

Much of the appeal of this award-winning book is the engaging illustrations by artist Kim Fujiwara. Lucky for the first-time author, Harris already knew of Fujiwara's work, a longtime friend of her husband from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. Fujiwara captures Leona's emotions as she works her way through the thought process of dislike to like to love. The illustrator has professionally spent more than 30 years specializing in portraits, design and fine art.

To find the locations of the select specialty stores in Michigan and Texas at which the book is sold, or to order directly from the author of My Name Is Leona, visit www.CarolGaharaHarris.com, or purchases can be made at www.amazon.com.

Disclaimer: I was provided a free sample/s of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product. All pictures are from the companies site, unless noted.

Giveaways on GPAC found HERE.