The Bagel Who Wanted Everything

by Alan Silberberg, Alan Silberberg (Illustrator)

Overview

The Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast series meets The Food Group books in this tale of a plain bagel who dreams of being more!

Hey. I’m a bagel who is just one thing: PLAIN. The other bagels? They’re all just one thing, too. Garlic. Salt. Onion—you get the idea.

BORING!

Being plain makes me feel like I have this big hole, right here in my gut. Because in a world full of so many things, I want to be . . .

EVERYTHING!

Now I just have to figure out what that is . . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593693131
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	07/29/2025
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Alan Silberberg is an award-winning author, cartoonist, and children’s TV creator who has worked with Nickelodeon and Disney. Alan created the Jewish food alphabet book P Is for Pastrami, as well as the trilogy of holiday books Meet the Latkes, Meet the Matzah, and Meet the Hamantaschen. Alan lives in Montreal, where the bagels are the best!

Editorial Reviews

2025-04-19
A plain bagel strives to become something more.

Every bagel has one thing—and only one—that makes it special. But one plain bagel wonders why, in a world with so many toppings, everyone is limited to one. Despite its family’s misgivings, the bagel sets out to achieve a loftier goal: “I want to be EVERYTHING!” Our hero tries life as a hat, a lamp, and a washing machine. It rolls around in flowers and snow, spends time in the sea, and “[plucks] pillowy puff from the clouds.” Finally, encrusted with weird and wacky detritus, the bagel proudly returns. But it looks so ridiculous that everybody rolls around in laughter, including the bagel itself. At last, the protagonist accepts that it’s enough just the way it is. But the others point out that the plain bagel is now coated in a mix of all their toppings, shaken loose by the laughter. The plain bagel has, of course, become an everything bagel. All the bagels realize that they, too, can be anything they want. The story ends with some words of wisdom for readers: “A bagel can be EVERYTHING! And so can you!” Silberberg’s zany, instantly recognizable cartooning style, set against brightly colored backgrounds and peppered with quirky dialogue, keeps the message light and fun.

With charm and a lesson of self-empowerment, this bagel book has lox to recommend it.(Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews