Nimmi’s Bizuper Birthday by Shabnam Minwalla (Speaking Tiger Books, 2020) is a fun read for middle-school children. Nimmi Daruwala is a young girl who lives at Cuffe Parade and attends Vidya World School at Tardeo, Mumbai. She studies in Grade 6 and has her close set of friends in the school bus and at class. Nimmi is very excited and happy that today is her 12th Birthday and looks forward to her gifts from her family. Some are expected- like her very own mobile phone which she has wanted forever and some are unexpected surprises, like the Japanese ‘Make-a-One Wish’ wooden Daruma doll her grandmother gifted her.
For Nimmi, a birthday is not a birthday till you do not distribute chocolates at school for friends, teachers and foes too. But when Nimmi’s health-conscious mum orders some healthy Jowar banana bites, Nimmi is aghast that it is not a Kitkat or Perk and is apprehensive at what her friends are going to say and how they will behave after eating them.
But what if someone is allergic to bananas? What’s going to happen then? Like maybe her teacher Ms Aatmaja who may not favour you! Nimmi is also excited for her birthday party with few of her special friends. But she soon discovers the class boaster and mean girl Alisha Dubash is having a party at her house in Alibag on the same day as her.
What will Nimmi do now that a few of her friends are invited for both the parties, Alisha’s and hers? Which one will they choose to go to?
Nimmi has a way with words, playing a mean game of Scrabble is her forte and Ali her bus friend choses her and Tara a 9th grader to represent their school for the Inter-School Scrabble competition. But Nimmi is scared and lacks the confidence. How do her friends convince her she is apt for the game and what happens on the day of the competition? In the middle of all the furore Nimmi’s newly attained precious mobile phone should not be forgotten. It had a mind of its own when auto-correct was switched on and the blunders that Nimmi makes while sending messages on the class chat.
Nimmi who has just turned 12 years has mishap after mishap taking place in just one week of her life be it at home or school. If you want to know more about exuberant Nimmi and the happenings in her birthday week with her equally over active excited imagination running amok then do get your copy and get start reading.
Shabnam Minwalla’s Nimmi’s Bizuper Birthday is the third book in the series with the earlier two books Nimmi’s Spectabulous Schooldays and Nimmi’s Dreadtastic Detective Days shortlisted for the Peek A Book Children’s Choice Awards, 2018 and 2019.
Children 9 + will thoroughly enjoy Nimmi’s mad cap capers. Lovable to the core, many a reader will identify with her goofy behaviour and ahem, ‘I am a blurter and dasher, not a think-before-you-speaker. And certainly not a check-before-you-sender’ have a mobile phone who has auto- correct switched on.
I for one am going to keep Nimmi close to my bedside for two reasons. First being I have learnt many a new word which I never knew existed and could get many a point in the world of Scrabble (by the way I love to play the word game). Secondly, when I am down and out and sad and want a laugh then Nimmi can come to my rescue all because of her auto-correct in her phone.
Books by Shabnam Minwalla
