Two days ago, at my reading programme, we discussed portmanteau words – words created by combining existing words. The children came up with words like roli (a rose and a lily) and brellow (brown and yellow). I must introduce them to Pinkoo Shergill next, with his delightful portmanteau words! Fabtastic! Wowmazing! Spectaculous!
Just like those three words there, the book Pinkoo Shergill – Pastry Chef sparkles with energy and life. I love it when there is a sense of urgency in a book. When characters run around, hide, keep secrets and rush, readers experience the same thrill – of something that must happen, and FAST! And when something must happen fast, we turn page after page, eager to know what will happen next.
Pinkoo Shergill wants to be a pastry chef, but his Papaji wants him to become a shooting champ. Pinkoo knows that that that was his grandfather’s unfulfilled dream, so he feels too guilty to tell his father that he does not want to shoot; he wants to cook. Besides, his Papaji has clear ideas of what boys should do. Shooting? Of course! Baking? No way.
But with his cousins Tikki and Tutu on his side, and friends like Manu and Nimrat, maybe, just maybe, Pinkoo can sneak into the Great Junior Bake-a-Thon without Papaji finding out.
The book is peopled with heart-warming characters – Papaji, the driver, the house help, cousins, friends … Tutu deserves a special mention – he is one firecracker, whom I loved! Equally, I liked Nimrat and Beeji, who brought a smile to my face. But most of all, what made me happy was the number 1 on the spine of the book – the promise of more stories about Pinkoo Shergill, Pastry Chef.
| Title | Pinkoo Shergill Pastry Chef |
| Author Illustrator | Vibha Batra Shamika Chaves |
| Tags | Chapter book, Baking, Book Series |
| Rating (out of 5) | 4.5 |
| Age-group | 8+ |
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