Bagels for Benny

Book Review

Publishers Weekly :

Terms of Use:

Davis (previously paired with Petricic for The Enormous Potato) successfully updates a centuries-old Jewish folktale (a traditional version can be found in Barbara Diamond Goldin's memorable Hanukkah anthology, While the Candles Burn). Benny's grandfather bakes wonderful bagels, but teaches Benny that it is God, not him, who should be thanked for them ("Aren't bagels made with flour?"... "Doesn't flour come from wheat?"... "And where does wheat come from?"... "And who made the earth?"... "Then thank God for the bagels"). Benny wants to make sure God knows he's grateful, so he decides to thank Him by stashing a big bag of bagels in the Ark at his synagogue; the bagels disappear, leading Benny to think that God has eaten them, so he repeats his gift every Friday. When Benny learns that a poor man has been eating the bagels, he feels disappointed until his grandfather points out that by helping the poor man, Benny has thanked God ("You made the world a little better"). In creating a child protagonist and introducing an intergenerational element, Davis increases the folktale's accessibility to young readers, and his fluid prose, too, is welcoming. Unfortunately, Petricic's illustrations don't match the warmth of the story. Caricatures distance the audience from the emotions and the action, and a predominantly brown palette, although strategically accented with bright colors, dampens the visual interest. Ages 4-8.

distributed by Syndetics Solutions, LLC.:

Book Review
: BookList :

Terms of Use:

PreS-Gr. 2. Benny says thank you to God, but how does he know that God hears? Why doesn't God answer? Benny works out a plan: in return for working in his grandpa's bakery, Benny asks for a bag of bagels every Friday and he leaves them for God in the Holy Ark in the synagogue. Every week the bagels disappear, and Benny is happy that God has taken them. Then Benny and Grandpa see a ragged man take the bagels from the ark and thank God for feeding him; the man says that he has found work at last, and he promises to help others. Based on an ancient Jewish folktale from Spain, the story of how a small gesture can make a difference is a moving drama of generosity and faith. The casual, cartoon-style watercolors with pencil cross-hatching show the mystery in ordinary things. The pictures, in a circular in shape in the center of each page, are as round as a bagel, as round as the Earth made by God.
HazelRochman.

distributed by Syndetics Solutions, LLC.: