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Faruq and the Wiri Wiri

Book Synopsis

A Caribbean celebration of family and food – with a spicy twist!

There is not a better smell in the world than Ajee’s Cook-up rice. The kitchen fills with the smell of coconut, garlic and spices. Faruq loves his grandmother Ajee, and he loves her cooking. In fact, Faruq would like to cook too – he wants to be a chef, but Ajee says he has to be a doctor like his father.

But one day when Ajee is too ill to make the family feast, with the help of his neighbour Mrs Joseph, Faruq picks some hot wiri wiri chilli peppers and cooks up a banquet. Preparing food for his family fills Faruq’s heart with love – and sets a different course for his future.

This sumptuous story celebrates Caribbean culture and food through Sophia Payne’s distinct voice that is reflective of her Indo-Guyanese heritage and is brought to life by Sandhya Prabhat’s beautiful artwork. It also includes a recipe for Guyanese Lime cookies for you to try at home!

Our Review Panel says...

There’s so much to like about this colourful picturebook: the lively illustrations, including endpapers; the different fonts which are almost as expressive as the text and conjure up beautifully the scents and sounds of Caribbean culture, the warmth conveyed by artful storytelling, warmth which derives from Faruq’s relationship with the characters who shape his culinary (and boyhood) journey; not to mention the addition of a recipe for lime cookies.

This is a story to make your mouth and your eyes water – as if witness to the work of cooking up a sumptuous family feast and then finding yourself invited too. It’s a book that lends itself to being read aloud in class or at home (and even more so if the dialect sounds authentic). It would also work well in a nurture group setting, allowing the children a hand at making some of the food and as a celebration of different cultures.

This book is available on these booklists:

Faruq and the Wiri Wiri

faruq and the wiri wiri

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