The Sweet Shop Wars

MY THOUGHTS

There is something about reading a book filled with descriptions and pictures of sweets, isn’t there? Charlie and the Chocolate Factory had its Fudgemallows and Gobstoppers, and made us salivate for sweets unknown. Sweet Shop Wars has its Panjiri and Khubani ka Meetha, and left me with a craving for both! At the face of it, Sweet Shop Wars is a sweet (pun intended!) book about the rivalry between two sweet shops — one that has been around for years and the other a modern, snazzy version of it. But peel back the mithai paper, and there is a lot more.

Firoza loves going to her Dadu’s sweet shop and is their official sweet sampler. She runs to India House Sweets after school every day, greets Dadu by burying her nose in his white, elaichi-smelling kurta, and then samples the day’s specials. Life was good until one day, Best Sweets opened next door. It is bigger, cleaner, and brighter, with a steady stream of customers. The owner, Latif Bhai, has an air about him and looks down upon India House Sweets. Daggers are drawn, and Firoza begins disliking Latif Bhai’s little girl Aasma, too. But where there are sweets, there will be flies, and flies may just be the reason for a thaw in the relationship.

The book beautifully highlights feelings and emotions young kids may not be able to express. Feeling jealous of someone else and hating them for having something better than you is not uncommon, but how we deal with these emotions is a lesson we all collectively need to learn. 

Hookbooks are always such a delight to read, especially when they lead to meaningful conversations. Giggles (10) was quick to put a tween spin on it and spoke about healthy competition, while Gurgles (6) picked up on how the young girls were able to look past their differences. 

I loved reading Gone, Grandmother by Chatura Rao, and I think it is a must-have for every child, for the way it manages to endear itself to a child. Sweet Shop Wars does the same, and you can see it on every page and in every conversation Aasma and Firoza have. Add Rajiv Eipe’s adorable illustrations to the mix, and why haven’t you bought the book yet?