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Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-ji
Aneel's grandparents have come to stay, all the way from India. Aneel loves the sweet smell of his grandmother s incense, and his grandfather, Dada-ji, tells the world s best stories. When he was a boy, adventurous, energetic Dada-ji had the power of a tiger. Hunh-ji! Yes, sir! He could shake mangoes off trees and wrangle wild cobras. And what gave him his power? Fluffy-puffy hot, hot roti, with a bit of tongue-burning mango pickle. Does Dada-ji still have the power? Aneel wants to find out but first he has to figure out how to whip up a batch of hot, hot roti Overflowing with family, food, and a tall stack of fun, Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-ji is sure to warm the heart and tickle the tummy. Hunh-ji! Yes, sir!
32 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2011
About the author
Farhana Zia
6 books6 followersFarhana Zia grew up in Hyderabad, India. She is a retired elementary school teacher and the author of picture books and novels. Her stories blend humor and tradition, memories and contemporary moments. She lives in Massachusetts.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
February 9, 2011
It’s not that contemporary picture books featuring Indian-American characters don’t exist. Even off the top of my head I’m able to instantly conjure up titles like Mama’s Saris or My Dadima Wears a Sari. It’s just that there’s not a whole lot of variety in the titles I’ve seen. The two I’ve just mentioned, by Pooja Makhijani and Kashmira Sheth respectively, are great little books, but I think there’s a fair amount of tales you can tell aside from getting all sari-based. Food has always offered the best possible way of introducing children to other cultures. Whether you’re delving into Linda Sue Park’s Bee-bim Bop or trying the sushi favored by Rosemary Wells’ Yoko, food is something all ages understand. With that in mind, F. Zia, an elementary school teacher who grew up in Hyderabad, India, brings us a story that combines contemporary Indian-American life, good old-fashioned storytelling, and delicious food all in one place. Add in the rather striking illustrations by newcomer Ken Min and you’ve a tasty concoction worthy of your notice.
Some folks might not be keen on their grandparents coming to live with them, but not Aneel. He thinks it’s great! Not only are Dadi-ma and Dada-ji always about, but no one tells a story quite like Aneel’s grandfather. Dada-ji weaves tales of his own youth when he’d wrestle water buffalos or tie cobras into knots. And the source of this miraculous power? Nothing more than his mother’s delicious, fantastic, fluffy-puffy roti. Caught up in the tale, Aneel is determined that his grandfather should have some roti right there and then like he did when he was a boy. And when the family can’t be swayed in that direction, he takes it upon himself to whip up a batch. With flour, water, and salt he pushes and pulls the dough and Dadi-ma helps him fry it up. Then Dada-ji has his fill and the two go out to have adventures of their own, even if these are nothing more than splashing in puddles or swinging to the sky.
Mixing contemporary life and fable in a tale can’t be easy. You don’t want to tip the book too much in the direction of contemporary life, or the fable aspects will get lost in the shuffle. At the same time, you also have to avoid telling too much of the fun exaggerated stories, or else your book will be promising future magic on which it can never deliver. Ms. Zia balances both by placing the story in context right from the start. The very first thing you see is Aneel thinking about his grandparents’ stories while the smoke of the incense beside him turns into rolling green fields and sunny skies. When Dada-ji does start telling his tale, it’s punctuated with some contemporary asides, rooting you in the present. So you have the story of grandparents from India now living with their American children and grandchildren on the one hand, and the conjured dreams of their stories on the other. It makes for a nice balance, a book that’s more interesting than if Zia had gone entirely one way or another.
Sometimes I’ll be entranced by the look of a book and its story, but the writing will turn me off completely. Ms. Zia, however, seems like an old hand at this game. Her words repeat beautifully at the beginning and the ending of the tale. She works in common Hindi words and phrases into the story so naturally that you can’t imagine the text existing without them. Best of all, she’s evocative. Even Dada-ji’s story begins with the right flavor. “In a village far, far away where the warm breeze made the green wheat fields dance and the brown coconuts rustle lived a lad who astonished the villagers morning, noon, and night.” I also appreciated that Zia avoided potential sap. It would have been all too easy to turn this tale into one where Dada-ji tells overblown tales of strength from his youth in the first half, only to grow ill in the second and have to be revived by his grandson’s roti recipe. It sounds odd to say, but part of why this book works is because there isn’t this peril at stake. Aneel’s motivations aren’t any greater than simply wanting to make some tasty food for his grandfather. Nothing wrong with that.
What are we to make of the animator turned children’s picture book illustrator? It’s a phenomenon that has grown increasingly over the last few years. On the one hand, not every animator has what it takes to tell a visual story, even if their images pop off the page and leave you wanting more. Ken Min, to my mind, has an advantage over his brethren then. As an animation storyboard artist, Min’s entire career has been based on visual storytelling. As such, storyboard artists sometimes make for the best transitional picture book artists. I say “sometimes” because there are some storyboarders who have a difficult time making their books look like anything more than a rote series of images stuck to a page. Min’s book works because he has no problem working Zia’s text in with his own images. The story bounces back and forth, and I particularly appreciated Min’s willingness to break apart his pictures into cutaway rectangles or extreme close-ups when the mood strikes. The illustrations are done in acrylic and colored pencil, though there's a strange mixed-media feel to them. Sometimes you wonder if he didn't cute a figure out and then just re-glue it to the page. Whatever it is he's done, it keeps the images from turning flat at any point. Excellent!
But really, the whole reason I picked up the book in the first place probably had a lot to do with how Min does people. I like it when a book makes an effort to be more than a series of talking heads. Consider a sequence where Aneel runs to his different family members in the hope of getting one of them to make a batch of roti. First off, I was very grateful that he asks both men (his dad) and women to do this. Well played there. In each case Aneel is rebuffed, no better than by his older sis. The text reads, “Finally Aneel tried his big sister, Kiran, but she didn’t want sticky globs of dough getting under her starry nails.” The picture backs this up, but what I loved was how Kiran is pictured admiring the nail job on her left hand, while her right effectively covers up Aneel’s mouth, big sister-like. No misinterpretation there. On a rereading I also noticed that when Dada-ji tells his exaggerated tales of his youth, the kid in those pictures definitely has his nose. It’s a little detail, but one that shows that the artist was truly paying attention to what he was doing.
I did have a problem with a book, and it’s due to its success. Here you have a tale that talks up the deliciousness of a good plate of roti. When Dada-ji licks the salty specks from his fingertips the reader pretty much wants to get a taste of what’s going on as well. So I eagerly flipped to the end of the book for the obligatory food-based-picture-book-recipe only to find, to my horror, no recipe! No warm steamy roti! No hot chewy roti! No roti at all! There’s a very useful Glossary of terms available for English speakers who want to correctly pronounce some of the more difficult Hindi words and phrases, but it could easily have shared some space with a little delicious roti action. After all, the fact that Aneel makes perfect roti my merely throwing a couple ingredients into a bowl may give kids the wrong impression on how easy it is to replicate a beloved dish. Maybe a recipe would have alleviated that problem a bit.
One request I often get in my library branch is for examples of tall tales. I’ll hand over the usual Paul Bunyan / John Henry / Pecos Bill materials when asked, but maybe I’ve been boxing myself in too much. Maybe next time someone asks I’ll pluck Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-ji off the shelf as well. After all, I think it’s beneficial to see how telling exaggerated tales isn’t solely a historical activity performed by our forefathers. People today exaggerate all the time, often about their own lives. Whether you believe Dada-ji’s tales is inconsequential. The lesson here isn’t that telling tales is bad, or anything quite so trite. Rather, it’s that sometimes a person can recapture a time long lost with the help of the people who care for them. And that’s a lesson that breaks all kinds of barriers. You bet.
For ages 4-8.
Some folks might not be keen on their grandparents coming to live with them, but not Aneel. He thinks it’s great! Not only are Dadi-ma and Dada-ji always about, but no one tells a story quite like Aneel’s grandfather. Dada-ji weaves tales of his own youth when he’d wrestle water buffalos or tie cobras into knots. And the source of this miraculous power? Nothing more than his mother’s delicious, fantastic, fluffy-puffy roti. Caught up in the tale, Aneel is determined that his grandfather should have some roti right there and then like he did when he was a boy. And when the family can’t be swayed in that direction, he takes it upon himself to whip up a batch. With flour, water, and salt he pushes and pulls the dough and Dadi-ma helps him fry it up. Then Dada-ji has his fill and the two go out to have adventures of their own, even if these are nothing more than splashing in puddles or swinging to the sky.
Mixing contemporary life and fable in a tale can’t be easy. You don’t want to tip the book too much in the direction of contemporary life, or the fable aspects will get lost in the shuffle. At the same time, you also have to avoid telling too much of the fun exaggerated stories, or else your book will be promising future magic on which it can never deliver. Ms. Zia balances both by placing the story in context right from the start. The very first thing you see is Aneel thinking about his grandparents’ stories while the smoke of the incense beside him turns into rolling green fields and sunny skies. When Dada-ji does start telling his tale, it’s punctuated with some contemporary asides, rooting you in the present. So you have the story of grandparents from India now living with their American children and grandchildren on the one hand, and the conjured dreams of their stories on the other. It makes for a nice balance, a book that’s more interesting than if Zia had gone entirely one way or another.
Sometimes I’ll be entranced by the look of a book and its story, but the writing will turn me off completely. Ms. Zia, however, seems like an old hand at this game. Her words repeat beautifully at the beginning and the ending of the tale. She works in common Hindi words and phrases into the story so naturally that you can’t imagine the text existing without them. Best of all, she’s evocative. Even Dada-ji’s story begins with the right flavor. “In a village far, far away where the warm breeze made the green wheat fields dance and the brown coconuts rustle lived a lad who astonished the villagers morning, noon, and night.” I also appreciated that Zia avoided potential sap. It would have been all too easy to turn this tale into one where Dada-ji tells overblown tales of strength from his youth in the first half, only to grow ill in the second and have to be revived by his grandson’s roti recipe. It sounds odd to say, but part of why this book works is because there isn’t this peril at stake. Aneel’s motivations aren’t any greater than simply wanting to make some tasty food for his grandfather. Nothing wrong with that.
What are we to make of the animator turned children’s picture book illustrator? It’s a phenomenon that has grown increasingly over the last few years. On the one hand, not every animator has what it takes to tell a visual story, even if their images pop off the page and leave you wanting more. Ken Min, to my mind, has an advantage over his brethren then. As an animation storyboard artist, Min’s entire career has been based on visual storytelling. As such, storyboard artists sometimes make for the best transitional picture book artists. I say “sometimes” because there are some storyboarders who have a difficult time making their books look like anything more than a rote series of images stuck to a page. Min’s book works because he has no problem working Zia’s text in with his own images. The story bounces back and forth, and I particularly appreciated Min’s willingness to break apart his pictures into cutaway rectangles or extreme close-ups when the mood strikes. The illustrations are done in acrylic and colored pencil, though there's a strange mixed-media feel to them. Sometimes you wonder if he didn't cute a figure out and then just re-glue it to the page. Whatever it is he's done, it keeps the images from turning flat at any point. Excellent!
But really, the whole reason I picked up the book in the first place probably had a lot to do with how Min does people. I like it when a book makes an effort to be more than a series of talking heads. Consider a sequence where Aneel runs to his different family members in the hope of getting one of them to make a batch of roti. First off, I was very grateful that he asks both men (his dad) and women to do this. Well played there. In each case Aneel is rebuffed, no better than by his older sis. The text reads, “Finally Aneel tried his big sister, Kiran, but she didn’t want sticky globs of dough getting under her starry nails.” The picture backs this up, but what I loved was how Kiran is pictured admiring the nail job on her left hand, while her right effectively covers up Aneel’s mouth, big sister-like. No misinterpretation there. On a rereading I also noticed that when Dada-ji tells his exaggerated tales of his youth, the kid in those pictures definitely has his nose. It’s a little detail, but one that shows that the artist was truly paying attention to what he was doing.
I did have a problem with a book, and it’s due to its success. Here you have a tale that talks up the deliciousness of a good plate of roti. When Dada-ji licks the salty specks from his fingertips the reader pretty much wants to get a taste of what’s going on as well. So I eagerly flipped to the end of the book for the obligatory food-based-picture-book-recipe only to find, to my horror, no recipe! No warm steamy roti! No hot chewy roti! No roti at all! There’s a very useful Glossary of terms available for English speakers who want to correctly pronounce some of the more difficult Hindi words and phrases, but it could easily have shared some space with a little delicious roti action. After all, the fact that Aneel makes perfect roti my merely throwing a couple ingredients into a bowl may give kids the wrong impression on how easy it is to replicate a beloved dish. Maybe a recipe would have alleviated that problem a bit.
One request I often get in my library branch is for examples of tall tales. I’ll hand over the usual Paul Bunyan / John Henry / Pecos Bill materials when asked, but maybe I’ve been boxing myself in too much. Maybe next time someone asks I’ll pluck Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-ji off the shelf as well. After all, I think it’s beneficial to see how telling exaggerated tales isn’t solely a historical activity performed by our forefathers. People today exaggerate all the time, often about their own lives. Whether you believe Dada-ji’s tales is inconsequential. The lesson here isn’t that telling tales is bad, or anything quite so trite. Rather, it’s that sometimes a person can recapture a time long lost with the help of the people who care for them. And that’s a lesson that breaks all kinds of barriers. You bet.
For ages 4-8.
November 27, 2025
This was a cute book 🥰 love that some words are in Hindi and that there’s a translation on the last page.
October 27, 2018
This is such an excellent read out loud book. We're definitely looking forward to adding it to our family library.
April 6, 2015
This story features Aneel whose grandparents have come to visit from India. After hearing some of his Dada-ji's stories, Aneel decides to bake him some hot, hot roti and restore his power. This is a fun story, and my biggest complaint is the lack of a roti recipe in the end notes, because you will definitely be hungry!
February 21, 2011
If you're not drooling for some hot hot roti yourself by the end of this tale then you, sir, have no soul. Aneel loves his grandparents and there's nothing he likes more than hearing his grandfather tell crazy tall tales about his days growing up in India. In these stories Dada-ji could derive superhuman abilities from his mothers hot roti. When Aneel asks if Dada-ji would like some roti right now, the two set about whipping up a batch. The result is that they are able to indulge in their own small adventures in the comfort of their own back yard. Great writing and great art make this one of the standouts of the spring season, and one of the few multicultural books to cover contemporary Indian-American kids. - B
October 17, 2017
The story of a young boy and his grandfather. Dada-ji tells a story from his childhood and his grandson tries to bring back the memories by making roti for him. Indian-American family where the grandparents have come to visit from India.
July 10, 2020
Not the easiest to read. My children weren’t as engaged with this book as they have been with others. It did lend to dialogue on culture & experiences. That night we had roti with take-out and it helped enhance the learning experience for the children.
April 25, 2019
Summary:
Aneel's grandparents are visiting. He loves when they visit because they always tell him stories. Aneel's grandfather tells him a story of a young man who gets super strength when he eats hot, hot, Roti. After Aneel's Dada-Ji tells him this story Aneel wants to make Roti. He asks his mom, dad, grandma, and sister but no one wanted to help him. So, Aneel starts making the Roti all by himself. Once Aneel was done making a big stack of Roti his Dada-Ji and him ate them. Aneel's Dada-Ji was the young boy who gets srength from Roti. Once he got his strength back Dada-Ji and Aneel went out and played together all day.
Age Appropriate:
1st-3rd
Review:
This book does a good job at showing culture and family structures. Children can relate to it if they have siblings and parents and grandparents. However, this family is obviously from India. This book also introduces Hindi words with their definition that many children have not seen before.
Aneel's grandparents are visiting. He loves when they visit because they always tell him stories. Aneel's grandfather tells him a story of a young man who gets super strength when he eats hot, hot, Roti. After Aneel's Dada-Ji tells him this story Aneel wants to make Roti. He asks his mom, dad, grandma, and sister but no one wanted to help him. So, Aneel starts making the Roti all by himself. Once Aneel was done making a big stack of Roti his Dada-Ji and him ate them. Aneel's Dada-Ji was the young boy who gets srength from Roti. Once he got his strength back Dada-Ji and Aneel went out and played together all day.
Age Appropriate:
1st-3rd
Review:
This book does a good job at showing culture and family structures. Children can relate to it if they have siblings and parents and grandparents. However, this family is obviously from India. This book also introduces Hindi words with their definition that many children have not seen before.
August 3, 2021
Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-ji by F. Zia is a picture book about a boy, Aneel, who likes to hear stories about his Indian Grandfather, Dada-ji, as a kid. Aneel likes to hear about the stories of how strong and brave his Dada-ji was as a child. Aneel wonders how his Dada-ji got his strength. It was through Dada-ji's mother's rotti, bread from wheate flour, that gave Dada-ji his strenghth. Aneel wonders if his now old grandfather can become strong once again if he eats rotti, but no one wants to make it in his house. Aneel takes charge and makes rotti for his Dada-ji. Will he be able to make it on his own? I would have liked the book to include a recipe for rotti, but sadly it does not. There is a glossary of Hindi words that are used in the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 13, 2018
Aneel loves his grandparents and loves hearing his grandfather tell him stories about himself growing up in India. In these stories Dada-ji could gain superhuman abilities from his mothers hot roti. When Aneel asks if Dada-ji would like some roti right now, the two immediately start making it. The illustrations in the book include adventures that Aneel and Dada-ji go on such as swinging from and apple tree and looking at the stars in the sky. The cool thing about this book is there is a glossary at the very end which I definitely wish I had known before finishing the book and having to search certain words.
February 23, 2023
I really enjoyed reading this picture book. It was very family-focused, and the characters were silly and likeable. A lot of dynamic language was used, making the story feel very lively and happy. The illustrations were bright and warm, which also contributed to the general liveliness of the book. The story itself was very sweet and emphasized the importance of family. I don't think I have ever read a children's book with an Indian American main character, so it was awesome to find one! My only issue with this book is that it is a bit too wordy for a read aloud to a child; I think that some children might get bored with this book.
April 11, 2019
This book brings out tender memories of my childhood. The story is about an immigrant child whose grandparents are visiting and he talks about his amazing powers of ROTI, a type of flatbread that is staple food in India. ROTI symbolizes the connections between imaginative world of superpowers and shatters gender stereotypes in which boy makes a ROTI in kitchen. Usually n India kitchen belongs to women and boys are not encouraged to learn how to cook. This books is a great read for school age children as they learn about family and culture in India through funny and illustrious pictures.
December 14, 2017
Aneel's grandfather tells him made up stories of his power back when he was a boy - how he was as strong as a tiger and amazed his whole village. The source of his power is roti, an Indian food. Aneel decides to make his grandfather some roti and watches his grandfather's "power" return to him as they together relive his stories. I would use this book in the classroom to teach about the power of imagination.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Copyright: 2011
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Copyright: 2011
March 20, 2018
Loved this story! It is true (in my personal experiences) to the significance of cooking in India. It was nice to read a children's book that told a story about a different part of Indian culture other than the traditional Sari stories that are often written about...those books are great, too, there's just more of them so it's great to see something different. It's also just a nice story about a young boy and his beloved Dada-ji. Their relationship is sweet and fun.
September 13, 2025
Date published: 2011
Award: Asian/Pacific American Award for literature honor
Genre: picture book/ juvenile fiction
Summary/like or dislike it: hot hot roti for dada-ji has a really fun and engaging story that centers around Aneel and his grandparents who come to visit. While visiting, he ends up making his grandparents some hot hot roti. The book while fairly linear and predictable was a very enjoyable read and would be a great choice for younger readers.
Award: Asian/Pacific American Award for literature honor
Genre: picture book/ juvenile fiction
Summary/like or dislike it: hot hot roti for dada-ji has a really fun and engaging story that centers around Aneel and his grandparents who come to visit. While visiting, he ends up making his grandparents some hot hot roti. The book while fairly linear and predictable was a very enjoyable read and would be a great choice for younger readers.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 14, 2020
So many layers in this book! I love how proactive and self-sufficient Aneel is, but he's still so willing and eager to learn the ways of his grandparents. The book has some truly heartwarming themes and messages wrapped in a playful and colorful plot. The illustrations add to the story beautifully.
Thank you, Lee & Low Books, for breathing life into so many amazing diverse books!
Thank you, Lee & Low Books, for breathing life into so many amazing diverse books!
May 3, 2020
Aneel learns that when his grandfather was a child in India, he had the strength of a tiger. Aneel wants to see if his grandfather, Dada-ji still has the power.
The only way to find out is to whip up some roti. Since everyone in Aneel’s house is too busy to cook roti for him, Aneel decides to do it himself.
The only way to find out is to whip up some roti. Since everyone in Aneel’s house is too busy to cook roti for him, Aneel decides to do it himself.
November 16, 2021
This book is about a kid and the bond he has with his grandfather. His grandfather recalls that when he was younger, there was nothing he couldn't do after having some Roti in his hometown. Since everyone else is busy, the main character makes Hot, Hot, Roti for his grandfather so he can find the strength he once had back home.
August 22, 2019
We loved this book! I enjoy making Indian food and this story is a perfect way to get little hands involved in cooking it with me. Glossary in the back is helpful with some new words in the book. A wonderful addition to our books on cultures. Also super fun to read aloud.
June 26, 2020
This is an endearing and empowering book about a boy who listens to his grandfather's stories, which inspire him to cook hot roti for his grandfather. I liked how this book incorporated the grandfather's story of his past and the boy's experience in the present moment.
May 20, 2022
This book brought back happy memories of family making and sharing rotis. In this book a kid eagerly listens to stories of his dada-ji (grandfather)'s younger days, fueled by eating rotis. To help him regain some of that energy, the child decided to make his some more of the hot, hot rotis.
December 16, 2018
A young boy and his grandfather have a great relationship.
June 18, 2019
loved the interactions between dada and grandson. typical exaggerated stories.
my mouth was watering for some hot rotis!!!
my mouth was watering for some hot rotis!!!
February 16, 2020
This was such a fun story!! Bright colours, energy, intergenerational relationship. I wanted roti after reading it 😂
March 23, 2021
Aneel is determined to make roti for his Grandfather.
Read
May 5, 2021i didnt even read it
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 15, 2021
Sweet celebration of food, culture and the relationship between a grandfather and grandson.
November 8, 2021
This is a cure story about a boy that wants to bring back the power of his Dada-ji. The boy makes some roti for his family for the first time ever. Such a great read aloud book.
November 22, 2021
The words and the pictures felt so complementary to me. I felt like the energy within the story was transferred to me as I read it.
December 22, 2021
Well-written, cute, slightly wordy for my crew.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews