Sona Sharma, Very Best Big Sister?

This book felt like being fed comforting thair chadam (Curd rice) fed by the loving hands of your paati. Sona is a little girl who lives with her parents and her grandparents and her favorite toy called Elephant. Her mother’s mother is called President and she lives down the street in an orange house called Orange! I loved the literal nature of these names and how Sona is able to share her innermost thoughts with Elephant. Sona’s mom is expecting a baby and as is the norm in India, no one knows if it is a boy or a girl till the baby is born.Everyone around Sona is preoccupied with getting things ready for the new baby. This gets Sona worried about how things will change when the new baby comes, after all things are already changing. Sona is assured by each family member in their own way in turn that she is loved and cherished and will continue to be when the baby arrives. She is also given the task of helping her dad choose the baby’s name if it is a boy. Everyone has to choose a name, since the baby will have three names - one to honor each of the families from the mother’s and father’s side and one that will be the name the baby’s parents will choose and which will be her “School” name and what the baby will be called by. When the baby arrives, is Sona ready to be the very best big sister? When the priest at the naming ceremony requests a fourth name, what does Sona do? Will the name crisis at the naming ceremony help Sona assume the role of big sister finally? A book with subtle humor, a relaxed pace and that felt comforting even to me as an adult. There is nothing like the warm embrace of your extended Indian family!