Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-ji by F. Zia, Ken Min

Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-ji by F. Zia illus. by Ken Min
Aneel's grandparents have come to stay from India. Aneel loves spending time with his Dadi- ma and Dada-ji and hearing their stories. Aneel's Dada-ji, tells him about his adventures as boy going up in India.

Aneel's Dada-ji was strong brave and fearless; wrestling water buffalo, tying cobras in a knot. His strength came from his Badi-ma's hot, hot roti, it gave him the power of the tiger. Aneel asks everyone in the family to make roti for Dada-ji to give him back the power. Everyone is too busy, its up to Aneel to make the roti. Soon grandson and grandfather enjoy the roti together and have a few adventures of their own.

This a great look at a family and a different culture. Zia's text has a great flow and I loved of fun and playful it was. The author smoothly inculdes Hindi words.

"What made the lad so strong? It was the hot, hot roti that sizzled and wizzled on Badi-ma's wood hearth. You see, baba Badi-ma made the best roti around! Hungry villagers trampled tall fields and swam angry rivers to sniff the fluffy puffy roti that bubbled and wobbled in ghee on the hot, hot tavva pan."

Min's illustrations are beautiful, I loved his use of color. The art makes the story pop that much more. Zia and Min have great chemistry.

I loved this story, its lyrically and visually beautiful. Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-ji is a debut for author and illustrator. They both succeeded in creating a wonderful first.