- Luvvie Ajayi Jones’ new book Little Troublemaker Defends Her Name is out now
- It teaches kids to be proud of their names and their identities
- The book also gives parents the tools to affirm their kids
Luvvie Ajayi Jones is teaching kids to defend themselves and stay true to their identities.
PEOPLE spoke exclusively with the author via email about her latest Little Troublemaker children’s book: Little Troublemaker Defends Her Name. The new book — which is perfect for children aged 4-8 years old — is available for purchase on Tuesday, May 6.
The book follows Little Luvvie nervously preparing for her first day at a new school! But unfortunately for everyone’s favorite troublemaker, things don’t go as well as she’d like. “First, she forgets her lunch. Then, a kid in class makes fun of her name, hurting her feelings,” reads the synopsis.
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“When Luvvie’s instant retort gets her scolded, the worst thing happens — her teacher sees a private note Luvvie had written to herself in which she talks about how much she doesn’t like her new school,” the synopsis continues. “But this little troublemaker figures out how to turn things around while learning some important lessons about being true to herself, being kind to others and making new friends.”
In Jones’ conversation with PEOPLE, she explained that this story came from her own experience as a young girl who “used to dread the first day of school.” The author’s Nigerian name “would get butchered, over and over again.”
“I’d show up early, go from teacher to teacher explaining how to pronounce it, and it would still be mangled. Even at my high school graduation, after I practiced with the principal, he still messed it up royally,” she revealed. “I’ve had my name dismissed as I won an award because the person announcing it didn’t feel like taking on the assignment of pronouncing it.”
“Those moments leave marks,” she said, adding, “But they also built me into the person I am today, someone who stands tall in her truth and demands to be seen.”
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“This book is my way of passing that strength on to the next generation,” she continued. “Kids need to know that their voice matters and their names are worth defending.”
The author explained that the book “is about helping children take up space with pride” and will also offer parents “a way to affirm their kids, to show them that being different isn’t something to fix; it’s something to celebrate.”
She explained that the book is dedicated to “those whose names are never on the keychains” and those children whose names have been “mispronounced, dismissed or mocked.”
“Our names are our first identity,” she said. “For Black and brown kids especially, defending their name is about defending their whole self in a world that often asks them to shrink.”
“Names carry our lineage, our culture, our pride,” the author continued. “They’re just too often disrespected. Teaching kids to speak up for their names is teaching them their worth isn’t up for debate. That kind of self-respect becomes a superpower for life.”
She told PEOPLE that this book isn’t only an important resource for children. It’s also for the parents who are “trying to raise confident, kind humans,” and teachers “who want to build inclusive classrooms” as well as adults who are “still healing from moments they were made to feel ‘too much’ or ‘not enough.'”
The moment when her main character receives an apology affirms that all people “deserve to feel heard” and “thoughtfully defend” themselves. “It heals the part of many of us, who have never heard ‘sorry’ when we’ve been harmed,” she concluded.
Little Troublemaker Defends Her Name is available now, wherever books are sold.
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