*Award winning book
Title: Pinkoo Shergill Pastry Chef
Author: Vibha Bhatra
Illustrator: Shamika Chaves
Publisher: Scholastic India
Type: Paperback
Age Group: 8 – 12 years
Pages: 200
This book is about a young boy called Pinkoo, who aspires to be a pastry chef but this remains a secret dream as his father wants him to become a shooting champ. Pinkoo wants to win a local Bake-A-Thon event but he wants to do it without papaji (Father) knowing about it. With the help of his best friend Manu, his sidekick and little cousin Tutu, and classmate Nimrat, Pinkoo secretly trains for the competition. He does not do it alone but has Gurdasji and Datthi bhaiya are always there to keep an eye.
Pinkoo Shergill Pastry Chef by Vibha Bhatra smashes gender stereotypes on so many levels. A boy wanting to be a baker, and a young girl expressing her opinions without any hesitation is an absolute delight to read about. This book is straightforward, extremely funny, and subtly inspiring. Sometimes, funny books have a disappointing plot but this book is sensible and fast-paced.
Even before reading this book, I knew it would be a delightful read just by looking at the cover and page illustrations by Shamika Chaves. I absolutely loved the illustrations. They were cute, quirky, and adorable.
The only thing I found hard was the few terms that were in Hindi. But they weren’t complicated as they had a glossary.
A book with an interesting plot, casual writing style, funky illustrations, inspiring story, and sensible message is very rare. I am very glad I was part of the pinkooshergill contest conducted by Kids Book Café and won this awesome book.
This book is a definite YAYYYYYYY!
Other books by the author can be found here on Amazon.
ADDED BY ASHA in April 2023: Vibha Batra’s & Shamika Chaves’ next release Gobi goes Viral has just been released! This book can be ordered from Scholastic India (click the red button below) as well as Amazon (kbc affiliate links).
If you enjoyed this review and wish to buy the book from Scholastic India (kbc affiliate link), type Pinkoo Shergill Pastry Chef in search after clicking this red button.
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