Raja & the giant donut by Prashant Pinge: a review

A soothing yellow color in the cover, three dogs and loads of donuts!! I am sure the book looks ‘oh! So tasty’ and yes, Prashant Pinge’s book Raja and the Giant Donut is a very tasty book. And if any doubts cloud your mind, the blurb confirms the taste of ‘A scrumptious cream-filled canine adventure…..’

On the back cover- Raja, a golden brown stray mongrel, leads a carefree existence in Shivaji Park, spending his days lying under shady trees and chasing tennis balls. His friend Pakya, a white and black mongrel, happens to be the most feared dog on this side of the park. But, poor Pakya secretly pines for Bianca, a beautiful Golden Retriever, who only has eyes for Hero, a smooth-talking mongrel with a red scarf round his neck. Tiger Godhlekar aka Gattu, an abandoned Labrador who is perpetually hungry, completes the trio. Prashant Pinge’s engaging and heartwarming story, depicts the journey of three ordinary stray dogs from Shivaji Park in Mumbai to Sambhaji Park in Pune. Their reasons for undertaking the journey are different, but they are united by their friendship and a common dream, as they confront seemingly insurmountable odds. While the story charts their quest for the giant donut, it also highlights how the dogs overcome their own shortcomings, support each other and register personal victories along the way.

The moment I started reading the book, I had felt a pang of excitement in my heart because I was more than excited to read what the book is going to offer me. And I can very well say that the book didn’t disappoint me at all. The easy to hold format of the book with wonderful animations to support the story throughout gave this book a wonder touch.

I would like to congratulate the illustrator of the book because without the illustrations, the story wouldn’t have been what it is. To all children, such stories are a friend while eating, at bedtime etc and their mothers surely need more stories to tell. This story, I am sure will be of huge help for both mothers and children.

It is also written in a very easy to relate language that even kids can read it, understand it and have fun with it. Coming to the characters, I believe that the characters used in the story of Raja, Pakya and Gattu along with the ever so coming and going side character enhances the flavor of the story giving it a wonder touch.

It has been well thought of and even better executed. Everyone will have a series of expressions written all over their faces while reading the book turning from ‘aww’ to ‘oh no!’ till ‘yess!!’ and that, I believe makes a writer, a successful one. The ending to the story surely makes its way to the hearts of the readers. The glossary at the end of the book helps a lot and an interesting thing I saw in the book is that the recipe of the main ingredient of the book- ‘donut’ is also written after the story finishes.

The story has wonderful adventure and the fact that dogs have been shown as humans having feelings make this book a huge hit among the children. As for the mistakes are concerned, I felt that the adventure and the twists could’ve been a bit more with even better descriptions and that would’ve made this book a wonder to read. All in all, I really liked the book and I would like to give it 4.25 out of 5.