BUT NAMES WILL NEVER HURT ME

by Bernard Waber ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 12, 1976

Names will never hurt me. . . even when my name is Alison Wonderland? Unlike the first person title, most of the story is in the second, in the manner of someone (a parent?) explaining to Alison--""It began with your Voonterlant grandparents. . .""--how she came to be stuck with the name that set her up for endless teasing at school. ""'Just remember, Alison,'"" ""your"" mother finally advises, ""'this was a name given to you with oh, so much love.'"" With its small size, limited color range, plotless text and quiet wit, this could be seen as either a model for or a gentle spoof on all those tender, dull stories dispensed to help ""you"" deal with a new sibling, parental divorce, etc. And if the concluding shift to the first person is curiouser yet and momentarily disconcerting--""I should know. Because you grew up to be me"" (someone who talks to herself?)--we're pleased, and amused, to see Dr. Alison Wonderland, now a veterinarian, dealing so knowingly with rabbits. As prescription, this makes more therapeutic sense than Martha Alexander's Sabrina (1971)--but it's Waber's drollery that finally persuades us to label this READ ME.

Pub Date: March 12, 1976

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1976

Categories: CHILDREN'S