Faruq and the Wiri Wiri Paperback – 16 Mar. 2023

I love this story. It's such a heart-warming tale.Set in a bright and colourful Guyanese setting, Faruq learns all about ingredients and how to make a beautiful banquet. The bond between Faruq and his grandma is really lovely and Faruq gets to save the day while showing everyone his amazing skills.A great message about being who you want to be and not who others expect you to be. All set in a loving family environment. The illustrations are amazing and you will want to read this book over and over again.Oh, and there is a bonus 'Guyanese lime cookie' recipe at the back! A definite buy!

I bought this for my 5 year old niece and she absolutely loves it... It's a really heart-warming story with gorgeous colourful illustrations that she just loves looking at. We are hoping we might see more of Faruq and his recipes in the future!

Who doesn’t love a bright colourful book set in a beautiful Caribbean location and filled with glorious food? Faruq and the Wiri Wiri features all this and much, much more.Faruq is a young boy living in Guyana. He loves food and wants to help cook but he is told that he needs to forget this as studying is more important and that he is to become a doctor.One day his neighbour offers to teach him to cook and Faruq loves it and is a natural in the kitchen. His family soon realise that sometimes it better to let children follow their dreams.Faruq and the Wiri Wiri is a real mix of vibrant illustrations, meaningful words, and mouth-watering foods – Oh how I wish this book was filled with the scents of the food too. It features adorable Faruq who doesn’t understand why boys can’t be chefs and his loveable neighbour who takes him under her wings and decides to teach him how to cook if his family won’t.From the first page to the last children will be invested in this book. It is such a beautiful read and even features a recipe at the back of the book for Lime Cookies too which sound delicious and will be being made very soon.I hope that this is the start of a wonderful series of books from author Sophia Payne about Faruq and his cooking, as I’m sure the books would be a big hit and open doors to a culture that many young children most likely don’t know about, including foods they probably will never have heard of either. Like I’d never heard of Wiri Wiri (peppers) until I read this book 🙃.*I received a free copy of this book, which I voluntarily reviewed

The book’s bright colours and remarkably-detailed illustrations are immediately eye-catching and I find it hard to believe that young children (or adults!) will be other than enchanted as they follow Faruq’s culinary adventures and experiments in this delightful story, as they share in his joy in preparing a feast which is shared, enjoyed and marvelled at by everyone in his extended family. The fact that he and his family are Indo-Guyanese allows for an exploration of how different cultures have their own traditional recipes and how important it is that these should be retained and handed down from generation to generation. I liked the fact that the author shared the recipe for the delicious sounding ‘Easy-peasy Guyanese Lime Cookies’ with her young readers … although I must admit that, as I found my mouth watering when reading about all the other dishes being prepared, I found myself wishing that she had included more than one recipe!It’s a story which is remarkably wide-ranging in the themes it embraces, as well as the learning opportunities it offers in encouraging young readers to ask questions, to think about cultural differences, about how we can learn from other people, develop new skills and how important food is as a means by which to show love and caring, and to strengthen family and friendship bonds. I was also very impressed by how, in an entirely age-appropriate way, the story challenges gender stereotyping and encourages youngsters to believe that it’s good to follow their dreams rather than feel forced to conform to other people’s expectations.I enjoyed the rhythm of the language and the fact that culturally-specific patterns of speech were included and feel sure this will be equally appealing to young children. However, bearing in mind the very young age of the children this book was written for, and the potential for confusion over certain spellings if they are just beginning to learn how to read and write, I think this is a story which should probably be read aloud by an adult. On the other hand, for any child who enjoys trying to follow the text, this use of a particular patois offers a teaching opportunity for the adult to explain why there are sometimes differences between how we speak and how we write.I feel sure that this delightful story, with its endearing main character, is destined to become a firm favourite with its young audience.

A really lovely book. Faruq loves helping his grandmother in the kitchen and wants to be a chef in the future, but all his family tell him he should become a doctor like his father.Still Faruq secretly goes to his neighbour’s house every day and learns to cook with her, fascinated by the ingredients like the hot wiri wiri pepper that grows in the garden.One Sunday when his grandma isn’t feeling well, but was supposed to make a big lunch for the family get-together, Faruq steps in to save the day!He uses everything he’s learnt from Mrs Joseph and even adds some twists of his own.As well as being a lovely read in its own right, this book will surely encourage families to get the kids involved in cooking, in turn sparking a curiosity about food, fostering collaboration and bringing people together. The Guyanese flavours will also encourage adventurous palates and I can imagine this inspiring families to try new recipes together.The book even features a recipe for lime cookies which are Faruq’s first bake with Mrs Joseph, which I am yet to try but I will definitely be making them!