Welcome back to Smarty Books, a monthly newsletter featuring smart and sweet picture books to inspire young readers. (4 minute read)
Our book today is B is for Bagel by Rachel Teichman. This book caught my eye because of the beautiful cover and because of the topic— bagels! In my experience, people are either bagel people or not; I eat a bagel every day, but my husband is not interested. Even if you’re not a bagel-lover, there is a bagel for you in this book!
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Summary
B is for Bagel begins with a quick explanation of how bagels are made. Then, we meet twenty-six gorgeous bagels in ABC order. Some flavors are familiar while others are out-of-this-world. The book concludes with two recipes for making your own bagels at home. The text is written in rhyme, and I think rhyming bagel couplets are just adorable.
Why I love this book
I love food. Reading about so many creative and different bagel flavors made me want to go find more bagels in my city.
A good alphabet book is hard to find. This is a fresh take on a theme all parents and kids know well.
The art. The photos of the bagels against bright backgrounds are very well done. Credit to Rebecca Wright for these.
Readers can make choices and discuss. It’s fun to talk about which bagel you would like to try and which one you might not like. The rainbow and unicorn bagels were crowd favorites at my house.
Kids’ food vocabulary will expand with great descriptive words like pungent, swirly, spiced, herbs, tangy, rye, sharp, etc.
Author Interview
Rachel Teichman is the author of B is for Bagel. She used her real life experience as a launching point for writing this book.
Sarah W: What was the genesis of B is for Bagel?
Rachel Teichman: We were eating a lot of bagels at my house! For special occasions or Sunday brunch, or as an after-school snack. We loved all the fun ones The Bagel Shop Bakery in Houston was making like red, white and blue for July 4th and Astros colored ones. I was sharing photos on Instagram just for fun to be supportive. Then their marketing company asked me if they gave me a bunch of bagels could I create some content with them. Who doesn't want to be paid in bagels? So of course I said yes! I came up with fun photos and ideas and shared them.
I am a blogger and freelance writer and have always wanted to write a children's book. I am always saying "that would make a good children's book" when my kids say something fun. My kids and I play the ABC game in the car looking for things for every letter. I have always liked to come up with ABC lists of artists or foods or cars with my kids. One day I realized I could do the same with bagels.
A few years ago, my friend Angela Engel from Oakland decided to start her own partner publishing company called The Collective Book Studio. I sent her a few ideas, and the bagel one is the one she loved and wanted to work on first!
Sarah W: What did you enjoy most about working on this book?
Rachel Teichman: I loved the writing, deciding what bagel to go with each letter, and getting all of the bagels! I drove all over Houston twice to get them! And even had one flown in from DC! Working with my photographer Rebecca Wright was so fun too!
Sarah W: What's next for you? I would love to hear more about the upcoming donuts book, but you can share about anything.
Rachel Teichman: D is for Donut will be out in June for Donut Day!
Sarah W: And today is the last day of the D is for Donut campaign on IFundWomen. You can get a signed copy of the book one month ahead of the official release for $25. Everything raised goes to offset the marketing costs for the book.
One more question, Rachel— What's your favorite bagel?
Rachel Teichman: I love whole wheat with strawberry cream cheese, also toasted cinnamon raisin with butter.
More about Rachel Teichman
Rachel Teichman grew up in Northern California, and moved to Southern California to study Visual Arts and Business. She worked as an art studio manager and in product development before honing her skills as a writer while doing PR for small businesses. She has enjoyed living in Houston for nine years. She lives with her husband and their three kids, all born in different cities, and her three Texan cats. Rachel loves to be the first to try out new restaurants and stores, and loves to paint, bake and create with her kids. Find Rachel on Instagram at @craftsandcrumbs and @bisforbagelbook.
B is for Bagel was published in 2021 by The Collective Book Studio.
March News
No big writing news this month, but we’re adding baby #3 to our family in July : )
Happy reading until we meet again!
— Sarah
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