Synopsis
Mr. Belinsky makes excellent bagels, but when a fancy bakery opens across the street from his shop, his business suffers. Hoping to compete, Mr. Belinsky stops making bagels and starts whipping up pastries, cookies, and brownies. Although his business improves, Mr. Belinsky discovers that he values something more than money--making bagels. Gouache illustrations accompany the text.
When Mr. Belinsky the bagel maker tries his hand at making fancy cookies and cakes, his loyal customers are disappointed, until he returns to creating his speciality.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 1998-07-01 | | Illustrator: | Stefan Czernecki |
| Size | | Length: | 32 pages | | Height: | 10.5 in | | Width: | 8.5 in | | Thickness: | 0.5 in | | Weight: | 14.4 oz |
Publisher's Note
Mr. Belinsky makes delicious bagels, the best in town. But when a fancy new bakery opens up across the street, Mr. Belinsky decides he must make other things to keep up. Soon he's baking pies and cakes, doughnuts and muffins and gingerbread . . . and with much success! But something is missing, and only Mr. Belinsky's flour-covered hands hold the secret. Full-color illustrations.
Mr. Belinsky's regulars come in daily for the bagels they want: onion, pumpernickel and poppy seed. But when a fancy bakery opens across the street, Mr. Belinsky fears for his livelihood and turns to cookies and tarts, pies and strudel. The money rolls in, but his regulars are crushed, and Mr. Belinsky isn't so sure of the path he's chosen.
Industry Reviews
Mr. Belinsky's bagels are the toast of the town. His poppy seed bagels help soothe Mrs. Alperstein's many ailments, while Frankie the would-be tough guy is hooked on the onion bagels. So when Mr. Belinsky's son, Victor, encourages him to expand and bake other goods, he replies: "Should a doctor fix leaky pipes? No!.... Should Belinsky make fancy cakes? NO! I make bagels. Bagels is what I make. And that's that." But after a fancy bakery opens across the street, he starts to turn out dainty pastries. The new line is a hit, but every night, "his hands felt... as though they were missing something. But he couldn't remember what." Predictably, Belinsky is soon back to bagels and, of course, back to his spiel ("I make bagels. Bagels is what I make"). Czernecki's (The Cricket's Cage) flat compositions and matte gouaches reinforce the old-fashioned tone. However, the illustrations are also fairly static, and the characters' faces look strangely vacant, even when they gaze upon the longed-for bagels. All ages. (July)
Lopate
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