#419 - The Mystery of the Secret Hair Oil Formula

by Asha Nehemiah and illustrated by Amit Vachharajani

“The Mystery of the Secret Hair Oil Formula” by Asha Nehemiah and illustrated by Amit Vachharajani. Published by Scholastic. A hilarious story of extraordinary Paati whose secret formula for the famous Wondergro Supersonic Hair Tonic is under threat of being stolen.

Malu Paati was having an extraordinary problem. Someone was desperately trying to steal the formula of her immensely popular hair oil which could make hair grow wonderfully even on a bald person’s head! But Malu Paati wasn’t an ordinary grandmother by any means and wasn’t going to make it easy for the thieves. She was proving to be quite the problem for them. They just couldn’t get what they wanted despite several attempts. All this was going on for a few days before paati was supposed to present the formula at the World Herbologists Conference in Mounashrampur. She had found the formula sometime back when her father’s papers were posted to her after his death. He had been a scientist at Mouna Labs and never mentioned about the hair oil to her.

Maalu paati was headed to Mounashrampur with her grandchildren Laila (who was bossy just like paati), Vikram aka Viks (who was quite lazy) and her multitasking assistant Damu. Somebody just didn’t want them to present the formula at the conference. This seemingly innocent formula was not to be shown to everyone. Why was this so?! A maniacal scientist was hell bent on either laying her hands on the formula or getting rid of Malu Paati and her team. The journey to Mounashrampur which was already quite an adventure by itself was now doubly more dangerous with dangers lurking at every step. Read this hilarious adventure story to see if Malu Paati and company can get past the goons and why is the formula so important for them.

My almost nine year old and I had a jolly good time reading this rollicking book. We loved the characters and how they faced every challenge that was hurled across their path with a flair. It had been a while since we had read any of the author’s books which have always been a source of delight for us. While the ones we had read earlier were picture books, this one is our first book by her for slightly older readers. The book was highly entertaining and there was never a dull moment. The narrative with its comical characters were well complemented by the wacky illustrations making the story come alive in front of our eyes.

Asha Nehemiah has a way with words and we love her choice of names of characters and fictional places that she makes up in her stories. They are so much fun! The adventures are wild and there is madness but that of the delightful kind which will make one laugh :) I had seen this book being recommended quite a bit in the reading raccoons group on Facebook. I couldn’t resist picking up several books of the author when I found them at Blossoms Bookstore in Bengaluru :) We all need a generous dose of adventure laced with humour every now and then after all.

Recommended Age

The book is apt for children aged 7 and above.

Reasons to Read

For a hilarious and extremely entertaining mystery story.