My Name is Not Ed Tug

by Amy Nielander

A sweet, whimsical story about the meaningfulness behind a person's name and the power of accepting people just as they are.

Featured in Children's Book Council's Summer 2022 Showcase: Love Makes the World Go Round

"Names are so important. They are our parents' first gifts to us. They have history and meaning. For some it is the name we choose that embraces the best version of ourselves. Everyone deserves to be called by their correct name. This was simply beautiful."
—Lupe, Bookmarks (Winston-Salem, NC)

"Edimorwhitimormiligimmus Tug is determined to teach his classmates and teacher about the important family stories behind his superlong name."
—Publishers Weekly, Fall Children's Announcements

Edimorwhitimormiligimmus Tug has a very special name that is all his own. But his teacher thinks it's too long and hard to say. One day she shortens it to. . . Ed.

But he loves his name just the way it is. So he comes up with a plan—if he can teach everyone his name, maybe they'll love it too!

Sweet and whimsical, My Name Is Not Ed Tug empowers readers to own their identities and proudly celebrate who they are.

• ISBN13: 9781513134871
• Publish Date: 24 November 2022 (first published 11 October 2022)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: West Margin Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 32
• Language: English

Reviews

[Book Zone Reviews]

My Name is Not Ed Tug tells the story of a little boy who knows the meaning of his full name and is not satisfied with derivatives that will make others comfortable while making him uncomfortable. Our name is our very identity and having it changed without permission is not ok.

I chose to be a part of this tour because I identified with Edimorwhitimormiligimmus’ plight. In fact, I admire Edimorwhitimormiligimmus’ courage and wish I would have had at least a smidge of it myself growing up. 

You see my name is not Dee it’s Diane (pronounced Dee-Ahn). After years of correcting the pronunciation, I shortened it to Dee and then wondered why people had problems seeing me for who I am.

According to google Dee means plum (Chinese) sacred or goddess (English, Scottish). Diane on the other hand means “of the Divine” or a Beautiful and pleasant gift from God. 

Knowing the meaning of my name helped me reaffirm who I am as a Christian and explained to me why my life was so structured. God had specific plans for me as a part of His kingdom and was preparing me for it.

With every explanation of how his name came about, the author does an outstanding job of showing how we can gently re-educate people who choose to call us or call out of us, who and what we are not.

In the bible, a name has a meaning and this calls forth the character of the person or child. This is why we don’t call a child bad or other derogatory words, instead, we say that their behavior is unacceptable.

I wish this book was available when I was a child. My hope is that it prevents other children from going through figuring out how to correct someone in authority who is bent on changing who they are. 

It may seem inconsequential, yet when we think about it, it can be the beginning of allowances that lead to us losing our identity of who God created us to be.  I’m going to stop there because I feel a tangent coming on. Lol.

I enjoyed the artwork however I found the print a bit small. Although, I’m not sure if the print was so tiny because I was reading on my phone.


The key takeaway for me was:

- Know who you are


I rated this book 5 out of 5 stars!


NOTE: I received a complimentary copy of the book, however, this review was written voluntarily.