Names

Names are super important in this book. Don't believe us? Just ask Emma. When she introduces herself and says her nickname is Emster, Billy thinks she says Hamster, which does not make this girl a happy camper.

Or take a look at Mr. Miller. He goes from being Papa to Dad, all because Billy wants to sound more grown up.

For each of our characters, names have a ton to do with identity. (More on identity over in the "Themes" section is you want to dig deep with this idea.) Sometimes a name might change the way a character thinks about themselves—and we're guessing Emma might not like the idea of thinking of herself as Hamster.

According to Papa, since names are all about someone's identity, that means they can change over time as people change. He explains:

"Maybe one day you'll want to be called something else."

Billy tilted his head. "Huh?"

"Maybe one day you'll want us to call you Bill. Or William."

"No," said Billy. "I'm Billy. Promise to always call me Billy." (2.4.36-39)

Did you notice how unsure Billy is about going by a new name? He thinks it's never going to happen. As in never ever. But Papa figures that Billy might choose to go by a different name one day. And even though that sounds like crazy talk to our head honcho, Papa just might be onto something. He realizes that Billy may look at himself differently in the future, and that might mean going by a different name, just like Billy wants to start calling his papa Dad now that he's in second grade.

So in short, names tell us a lot about a character's identity, and also whether they're willing to let that identity change or not.