Banana I am and always will be: as decided by you and decided by me.

By Kaye Bennett Dotson and Elenei Pulido

When meeting their new grandchildren, new grandparents may wonder, “What is the name for me?” Do you struggle with naming yourself for your new role as grandmother? This is one grandmother’s funny, sing-song approach to the “name a grandmother” challenge.
When she was a new grandmother, she did not know what her grandchildren would call her. She considered, discussed, and then she decided. “Call me anything but Nana—even Banana will do!” And so, she became Banana to her grandchildren. She always planned to be Grandmother—an elegant title. But then she realized she needed a name that was more fitting for who she was. And so Banana she is and always will be.
This children’s poem offers a glimpse at an unusual and humorous response to the problem grandparents face of choosing the name their grandchildren will use for them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Apr 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9781665740760

Kaye Bennett Dotson

Kaye Bennett Dotson is an associate professor emerita in library science at East Carolina University. Her recognition of the significance of play in teaching, learning, parenting, and grandparenting inspired this work. She is the author of The Value of Games: Putting Play Back into Practice for Children and Developing Library Leaders: The Impact of the Library Science Internship. With her new book, she advocates for keeping play in the lives of grandparents as well. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, Mitchell.

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