Jumble Sale (Silly Billy Series) by Shabnam Minwala(Author) and Isha Mangalmurti (Illustrator)
My take on the book:
In Apartment 32, G Block, Khorshed Baug, on a busy Tuesday morning, Mrs. Sethna realized three minutes before the school bus arrived, that the pink bottle brush is missing. The water bottles of Dorab and Dina are stinking, but their mother could not find the bottle brush in its designated location.
Hilla Bombat’s Digene strip went missing the previous day which is suspected as the handy work of a crow that has turned bad. Dorab thought a thin and spooky woman with a nose like a rusted hook was seen in Khorshed Baug grabbing items from windowsills. But Dina thought a Navsari ghost stole Farzeen’s grandfather’s false teeth.
More items go missing in that week in Khorshed Baug — on Wednesday a signboard and on Thursday mice-strapping sticky pad. The crow that went bad, the spooky woman or the Navsari ghost — who is behind all these missing items forms the rest of the story.
This is a short, sweet story of two naughty but creative kids Dorab and Dina, who despite strict parents and teachers got into trouble daily. The interesting aspect is they did not repeat their silly acts a second time, they came up with fresh ideas every day. The story begins with multiple items across Khorshed Baug that go missing every day, and after the author establishes this suspense, slowly the probable reason and culprits are revealed.
The reader would be intrigued till the end to know if the thieves will be caught or not. The author designed all the characters with special traits making them unique and interesting. Dorab and Dina are so lovable in spite of their mischief. The illustrations are catchy and add layers to the characters and the author’s imagination. The kids’ imagination on what all can be recycled and reused is impressive.
While there is an underlying message to kids that they need to own up to the mess they create, overall, it is a very fun read, showing the naughty and creative side of young kids.
My rating:
4/5.