Name Calling

by Itah Sadu, Rasheeda Haneef (Illustrator)

Itah Sadu uses a familiar storyteller's format to treat the problems of an interracial primary school with both humour and seriousness. Written with attention to rhythm, like traditional African and Caribbean spoken word, this is an effective and compassionate look at how powerful words can be used to hurt or to heal.

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Tiyahna Ridley-Padmore · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Name Calling , Itah Sadu tells the story of Cindy, a young girl who was called a name by Jennifer at school. Upset, Cindy decides to find Jennifer and ask her to apologize. As she goes around the school looking for Jennifer, more and more friends join her search and take on the role they will play in the conflict resolution. For example, Lulecka goes with Cindy to call Jennifer a name back, Safia goes with Cindy to grab Jennifer if she runs and Mike goes with Cindy to stomp all over her tongue. In the end, Cindy and Jennifer meet in the principal's office and resolve their issues.

Name Calling had a lot of potential. It is very well written and rhythmic to read. I also enjoyed the set up and the predictable repetitive pattern that emerged as every new friend Cindy came across joined the search and offered their contribution for payback. Loved the diversity of Cindy and all of her friends, though the illustrations were all in Black and White.

That said, there were a lot of loose strings that weren't resolved at the end unfortunately. Sadu never addressed the wrong doing of Cindy and her followers who became bullies in their search to confront Jennifer. Moreover, nobody knows what happened when Cindy did address Jennifer because it took place in the principal's office and was kept a secret from everybody -- all of her friends and readers too apparently. Was the purpose of this story meant to convey that teachers and principals should be involved in conflict resolution and children shouldn't take it upon themselves? Who knows.

There was also a secondary story line that emerged about Maxine, a young girl who was sitting alone sad by herself because nobody ever talked to her unless they needed something that was never resolved or addressed.

[Three O'Clock Press]

Written with attention to rhythm, like traditional African and Caribbean spoken word, this is an effective and compassionate look at the power of language and how words can be used to hurt or heal.