Bagels from Benny

by Aubrey Davis, Dusan Petricic

Overview

A lovingly told, compelling story of a young boy learning the values of caring, community and thankfulness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781554539963
Publisher:	Kids Can Press
Publication date:	09/01/2005
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	30 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Before writing and telling stories, Aubrey Davis raised goats, sawed logs and sold antiques. As a young man he traveled across Europe and North Africa, where he discovered traditional Teaching-Stories collected by Afghan writer Idries Shah, of which he said: “These bottomless tales provoked, puzzled and delighted me. They helped me look at things in fresh, new ways.” Aubrey began to tell these stories in nursing homes, schools, festivals, libraries and jails, and on radio and television. For 40 years, he told traditional stories to people of all ages across North America. He also taught oral language for 17 years to primary and special needs students. Aubrey passed away in 2022.

Dušan Petričić is the award-winning illustrator of more than twenty books for children. His books include In the Tree House, The Enormous Potato, Bagels from Benny and Lickety-Split. He currently lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Editorial Reviews

A heartfelt gesture of gratitude takes a surprising but altogether proper twist in this retold folktale. When young Benny's beloved Grandpa, a baker renowned for his bagels, suggests that God deserves the main credit for them, Benny mulls it over, then begins leaving a bag of them in the synagogue every week. They disappear, which he takes as a good sign-until one time he sees a poor man come in and take them, with a prayer of thanks. Benny is devastated until Grandpa, who's seen the whole thing, tells him that he's made the world a little better-"And what better thanks could God have?" Petricic supplies sketchy watercolor scenes of bagelish color and shape, featuring an engagingly small, jug-eared lad in jacket and shorts wrestling great bags of steaming bagels into the Holy Ark. Davis doesn't supply a recipe (practically a requirement these days for any story involving food), but he does close with a note on his sources. Even younger readers will have no trouble appreciating either the wisdom that Grandpa offers, or the close relationship between him and his devout grandson. (Picture book/folktale. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews

Even young readers will have no trouble appreciating either wisdom that Grandpa offers, or the close relationship between him and his devout grandson.

In creating a child protagonist and introducing an intergenerational element, Davis increases he folktale's accessibility to young readers, and his fluid prose, too, is welcoming.

A valuable addition to Judaic and public children's collections.

From the Publisher

A valuable addition to Judaic and public children’s collections.

Jewish Book World