Here’s another review! Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-Ji .
Yay! It was available in the Atlanta Fulton library system. A link to the Amazon page is here.
Author and Illustrator Blogs: The author is Farhana Zia and Illustrator is Ken Min.
My Summary: A heartwarming story of a boy Aneel bonding with his grandfather Dada-Ji over making hot hot roti.
As a Pakistani person, it’s really nice to see books with brown characters in it, characters that look like me. Ken Min’s illustrations are beautiful from their expressions and I especially love Dadi-Ma’s wrinkles!When reading baby A and Z this book, baby A pointed to the grandmother and said “Amma!” meaning her grandmother. She points out other people as Amma too, but maybe the fact that the grandmother was brown helped!
Also, I liked how F.Zia wrote a story about roti but made it a family bonding experience. Z has made parathas with her grandmother and it really is a bonding (and sticky!) experience!
About the Publisher : Lee and Low specializes in publishing multicultural books and when the #WeNeedDiverseBooks initiative went viral, Lee and Low has been on board with the campaign and is even helping authors of color break in through via their new Lee & Low/Tu Books’ New Voices Awards – an article about this exciting initiative is here. I’ve got my eyes set on another Lee&Low book, King for a Day , about a Pakistani boy who flies kites and got in touch with Lee&Low to request a copy for reviewing as it was not available in my library. They will be sending me a copy for reviewing soon so am looking forward to sharing it with you!
Amazon Details: link to Look Inside is here.
- Age Range: 5 – 10 years
- Grade Level: Kindergarten and up
- Lexile Measure: 680L (What’s this?)
- Hardcover: 32 pages
- Publisher: Lee & Low Books (April 1, 2011)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1600604439
- ISBN-13: 978-1600604430
- Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
- Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #597,954 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Amazon Summary: Overflowing with family, food, and a tall stack of fun, Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-ji is sure to warm the heart and tickle the tummy. A fun way for children to learn about the cultural traditions and foods of India to be enjoyed by the whole family.
2 of my Favorite Quotes:
Before Aneel made roti:
So Aneel tugged at the edge of Dadi-Ma’s sari. “No roti today,” she said with her eyes and shooed him away.
After Aneel made roti:
Hand in hand, Aneel and Dada-ji went outside to find new adventures. First, they made the earth rumble under their feet. Then they shook a mighty apple tree for Dadi-ma’s pie. Last, they made bare feet touch the blue, blue sky.
Author Interview: F. Zia shares how she wrote this story for her grandchildren and is interviewed here and here.
Enjoy! My favorite pages below!
Doodling Through Life 
