Aria and the Magic Apron by Pooja Dhingra (author), Stuti Agrawal(author) and Nirupama Vishwanath (illustrator)
My take on the book:
Aria Mehra loves baking; her father experimented baking various recipes along with Aria and her mother is her biggest cheerleader, so is her best friend Sarah. Aria adored and worshiped Pari Doshi(PD), the celebrity chef and tried her hand at all PD’s recipes at home. However, Aria had few recurrent troubles with baking — she could not break an egg without some shell seeping into the batter, she always forgot some ingredient or added them extra or forgot some step like greasing the baking tin.
When a baking competition is announced in her school, Aria is reluctant to enroll but Sarah forces her to register as PD will be the grand finale judge. The first round of baking tarts ends up as a disaster and Aria concludes that baking is not meant for her. To cheer up Aria, her parents gifted her a beautiful apron, which had magical powers. Will Aria be able to perfect her baking skills, courtesy the magic apron, and will she be able to impress PD in the grand finale, forms the rest of the story.
This is the story of a young girl Aria who fumbled with baking but had a gift of tastes and hence naturally tried out unique combinations of flavors. While her parents and best friend encouraged her, she is upset about the mistakes she made while baking. The baking competition is her avenue to prove her baking skills, especially to her idol PD and how Aria navigates this journey makes for a heart-warming story.
The concept of a young girl honing her baking skills while trusting the magic of an apron is an interesting concept. The story highlights how the natural skill of a kid can be refined to professional level capability with the right kind of encouragement and mentorship. The sort of food and flavor combinations that Aria tries in various rounds of the competition are mind-blowing. The illustrations are another highlight of the book.
The story gives the message that confidence and resilience are more important than being perfect and self-belief is the ultimate magic in life. The story also highlights how the journey is more important than one competition or award. I have been following author Pooja’s journey for a long time and when Aria meets PD I felt for a minute that PD is Pooja herself. Each chapter also has one page dedicated to illustrations that explain one method of baking, hence is a value add for the young reader.
An inspiring story with a good message I highly recommend this book.
My rating:
4/5.