A Name for Sister

In Cheng and Diao’s fantastical romp rooted, per an author’s note, in “the elemental meanings behind Chinese words,” an older sibling is the wide-eyed witness to an extraordinary naming ritual. As an infant, Sister has “toes like grains of rice... hair as dark as sesame sweets,” but no name. Early one morning following the baby’s birth, the Chinese family is visited by a teller, a gray-haired elder who explains that the arrival of five spirits, “each with gifts to offer,” will inform the infant’s name. One by one, beings representing fire, earth, gold, water, and wood appear with arrayed offerings. Earth Spirit, for example, furnishes “warm dirt; a tuft of wild-dog hair; and sweet, crunchy potato puffs” along with a blessing: “May she have the honesty and stability of Earth.” Digitally rendered domestic scenes provide a neutral backdrop for luminous spirits described in incantatory prose, rendering a traditional process tinged with hopes and dreams. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)