Skip to main menu Skip to content

Priti Birla Maheshwari

Priti Birla Maheshwari is a school teacher living in Cambridge, Ontario. She was born in New Delhi, India, and immigrated to Canada at the age of six. She also lived in the United States.

Fiction (Juvenile, Picture book)

Chaiwala!

Illustrated by Ashley Barron.
Toronto: Owlkids Books, 2021.

Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)

When their train makes a 10-minute stop at the station in Jaipur, a young girl and her mother hurry to get in line for a cup of chai. While the girl waits for her mug of milky spiced tea, readers are treated to the sights, sounds, and smells of the Chaiwala’s cart. The aroma of ginger, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon sticks swirls in the air. Tea leaves rustle, milk bubbles, and the hot drink is poured back and forth until–clink!–the cups are filled and placed on the stand. With a biscuit and a rusk added to their order, it’s time to find a spot to sit and enjoy!


Inspired by the author’s childhood visits to India, Chaiwala! celebrates the pleasures of taking time for food, family, and tradition–even for a brief moment. Illustrated in lively cut-paper collages and filled with scrumptious sensory details, this book is just like a cup of chai–warm, comforting, and good to the last drop.

Awards and Honours

2023 TD Grade One Book Giveaway (Winner)

Links

Publisher Owlkids Books