The Name Game

The Name Game is a picture book for children aged 4 to 9 about a child who is bored at home until they start giving new names to the creatures outside the window.

There is no one to play with and nothing to do. Then a magpie taps at the window and asks for a name. The child looks at his sparkling black and white feathers and calls him the Diamond Dodger. The tall, grumpy tree outside becomes the Emerald Queen, a red butterfly on the windowsill becomes the Ruby King, and a proud cat with blue eyes, whose humans call her Fluffykins, becomes the Sapphire Princess. Each of them shows in their own way that they like their new name.

By the end, the child is still indoors but not bored at all. The garden is full of new friends, and there are still a bee, a spider, a rosebush, a puppy, a squirrel and a little brown bird waiting for names.

The book shows children how looking closely at the world around them can turn a dull day into a game. Each name comes from a colour and a jewel, so it is also a gentle way to talk about colours, and about noticing the birds, trees and animals near home. Parents can use it to talk about the beauty of Allah's creation, even in a small garden.

It is written by Elizabeth Laird and illustrated by Olivia Holden, and it is music-free.

It was so boring at home. There was no one to play with and nothing to do. Then there came a tap at the window. It was a bird.

"Who are you?" the child called out. "Please tell me your name."

"I'm a magpie, darling," said the bird. He was a cheeky chap and, if he was honest, a jewel thief, but he promised he had a heart of gold. "Why don't you give me a name? Surprise me."

So the child did. The magpie was bright black and white, and his feathers sparkled in the sun. "I know what. You're the Diamond Dodger!" The magpie must have liked his name, because he flapped his wings and cackled before he flew off to perch in a tree.

That tree was tall and stately, just like a queen. When the child asked her name, she answered in a growly voice that trees do not have names, but that the child could dream one up if they liked. Her leaves were as green as could be, so she became the Emerald Queen. She was grand and grumpy, but she rattled her leaves in a friendly sort of way.

Next, a butterfly landed on the windowsill. The child tried not to breathe too hard in case they blew him away. The butterfly had such a quiet voice that the child had to bend right down to listen, and even then they could not be sure what he said. So they gave him a name anyway. His wings were as soft as petals and as red as the heart of a fire: he was the Ruby King. He closed his wings very slowly, twice, and opened them again before he fluttered away.

Then along came a cat with a long, swishy tail and her nose in the air, pretending not to notice. Her humans called her Fluffykins, she said, but that was quite wrong for someone as special as her. She was elegant and proud, and her eyes were as blue as the sky, so the child named her the Sapphire Princess. She was too posh to admit it, but she liked it: she lifted a noble paw and gave it a graceful lick.

The child was still stuck indoors, but not bored at all. The Diamond Dodger sat in the Emerald Queen, winking as the Ruby King flitted past, and the child called out to the Ruby King to keep away from the Sapphire Princess's paws. He fluttered away just in time, past a bee and a spider, a rosebush, a puppy and a squirrel, and a little brown bird hopping along the fence.

They all needed new names too. What a lovely new game it was: everyone and everything needs a wonderful name of its own.