Jalapeño Bagels

by Natasha Wing, Robert Casilla (Illustrator)

Jalapeño bagels are the delicious coming together of two cultures as the son of a Jewish baker and his Mexican wife decides what to bring to school for International Day. This warm story, illustrated by rich watercolors, comes complete with recipes for all the items that Pablo helps his parents make.

Genres: Picture Books, Jewish, Childrens, Cultural, Family, Food, Realistic Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Why am I a writer? When I was a young girl, I wanted to be a teacher. I’d line up my stuffed animals in front of a board and teach them the alphabet and how to count. In high school I wanted to be a tennis player. I was on the tennis team, and played at our neighborhood tennis club. Then in college I thought digging dinosaur bones would be a cool job. It wasn’t until I was working at my own public relations agency that I decided I really wanted to write children’s books. I was so inspired by the magic of reading a book that I wanted to see if my active imagination could create magical moments for kids all over the world. I started to write, then sent my stories to publishers, and sold my first manuscript in 1992. I’ve been writing ever since.

Why I write now.

I love the freedom of being my own boss, of coming up with ideas on my own and writing that first draft to see if my idea has any spark. I’m not so crazy about the revising process although there are thrilling moments when I figure out a better way to say something, or when I nail dialog, or work through a complicated plot line. The most exciting moment is when an editor says they want to publish my manuscript. Then I know all my hard work has paid off, and that soon, children will enter my imaginative world through a book.

Reviews

[J L's Bibliomania · Rating 3 out of 5]

The weakest of the picture books I read during the October 2016 Dewey's 24-hour Readathon was Jalapeño Bagels.

International day is coming. Pablo can't decide what to bring from his parent's bakery to represent his heritage. The question is made more complicated because Mom is Mexican and Dad is Jewish. I bet you can figure out from the title, what he chooses. I liked Robert Casilla's illustrations, but despite being based on a real bakery and a real family, the text was just predictable and too pedestrian to hold an adult reader.

[Rhea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet multicultural story.

[Natasha Kraft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book frequently to my son when he was young. He asked for it so often I had to hide it for a while!

[Medeia Sharif · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pablo is half Jewish and half Mexican and doesn’t know what to bring for International Day at school. Working alongside his parents in their bakery, making Jewish baked goods with his father and Mexican ones with his mother, he arrives at a decision. I enjoyed the story, and I found some of the food descriptions mouth-watering.

[Rachel Battocletti · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this story to my preschool students as part of the Guided Creative Curriculum.

[Glenda Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a story about a bi-cultural boy who needs to bring a food item to school for International Day that represent his cultural background. Pablo's parents own a bakery and he goes with his parents to bake a dish to take to school. Pablo bakes both Mexican and Jewish dishes with his parents, as his mother is Mexican and his father, Jewish. He struggles to decide which food would be best to take because none of the items represent both his Mexican and Jewish culture. He decides to make jalapeno bagels because they represent his bi-cultural background.
I would use this book for summarizing and making inferences. I would have my students use information from the book to write about the main idea with key details from the story. I would have students write a paragraph citing evidence from the story using this prompt for inferring: Is Pablo's family bakery successful? What details from the story support your answer.

[Natalia Leston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Text Set Book #7

In this story a boy with a Mexican mother and Jewish father cannot decide what kind of bread to bring for show and tell. This is a great story about identity and bi cultural families. The book discusses not only different types of bread from his two cultures, but also his feelings and uncertainty about how to represent himself. Finally at the end, the boy realizes that he doesn’t have to choose between the two, and that he can take both cultures and fuses them into one bread recipe.

This book can be a great conversation starter about cultures coming together in homes, and in the classroom. It can also lead to the culminating project, as the boy creates a recipe by fusing together different cultures, this is something that students in the classroom can do as well.

[Vanessa Dyne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book! Made me super hungry!

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is good for discussing heritage and multicultural identity.

[Christina Gleason · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book describes a young boy named Pablo who needs to bring in a food for culture day. Pablo does not know what to bring for culture day, and the story follows Pablo as he helps his parents prepare all the different kinds of bread and pastries for their bakery. He helps his mom makes many Mexican foods and his father make various Jewish foods. In the end, Pablo decides to bring in jalapeno bagels, for they represent both his mother and his father's culture, just like him.

This book has been awarded the CBS/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book Award and the Children's and Young Adult Literature Award. I recommend this book for it illustrates to children some of the cultural foods of the Mexican and Jewish community. It also is unique because it demonstrates a child who has a dual nationality. Students who can relate to having mixed cultural identities or being Mexican or Jewish can relate to the book. The topic of food will also interest most children. A teacher can use this book to begin a lesson on cultural identity, and how different cultures eat different foods. It also sheds light on how some children are not just one culture, but two or more. The teacher could further the discussion by having their own class cultural day, where children bring in a food that represents them and their culture/cultures.

[Yasmeen Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jalapeno Bagels is an informational text. A boy wants to bring something to school for international day. His parents suggest that he choose something from their bakery. His mother, who is Latina, calls the bakery panderia and makes Spanish pastries. His father, who is Jewish, shows his son how to make Jewish pastries. After everything is finished baking the boy has a hard time choosing what to bring. But finally decided on jalapeno bagels because they represent both cultures just like him. Children are introduced to Hispanic and Jewish words and foods. The illustrations are beautiful and realistic. The story is easy for children to understand. After the story or before, a good supplement would be for children to try the baked goods in the story. The last page has a recipe on how to make jalepeno bagels.

[Mother Goose Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jalapeño Bagels written by Natasha Wing and illustrated by Robert Casilla is a lovely picture book about the blending of a family’s traditions. Wing’s writing is sweet and tender. Casilla’s illustrations are soft and atmospheric. In this picture book, a young boy has to decide what kind of treat to bring from his parents’s bakery, for International Day at his school. At the bakery, he helps both his mother and father make different treats. Jalapeño bagels are what he decides to bring. When asked why he chose them, I love the answer that he gives his parents. I adore the real authentic recipes included in the back matter of the book. They are from a Jewish – Mexican – American bakery. Back matter also includes a Spanish and Yiddish glossary. If you’re looking for a book to read during Hispanic Heritage Month, I highly recommend jalapeño Bagels.

[Julie Ditton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Natasha Wing who is famous for her rhyming "The Night Before " series, has written a fantastic prose story that will delight bicultural kids. It is a perfect example of some of the fantastic books that have been published during the recent trend to show diversity. In this story a young boy is supposed to bring in a food that represents his culture. At the family bakery he helps his parents make foods from both of their cultures. He wonders what to bring that will represent both. Jewish kids and Mexican children will enjoy the mentions of many of their favorite foods. Bicultural kids will appreciate a story that shows a child dealing with how to represent his mixed heritage to the world at large. All the readers of any background will probably be hungry when they finish reading.

[Steffani · Rating 4 out of 5]

While trying to decide what food to bring to school for "International Day," a boy asks each of his parents for help. His mother comes from a Mexican background, and his father, a Jewish background. They talk about different foods that come from each of their cultures. I liked that in the book, Spanish words and Yiddish words were included. It was also great that recipes were provided at the end! My favorite part about this book is that the recipes came from a real Mexican-Jewish-American bakery located in California.

[Logan Daggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jalapeño Bagels is a great example of diversity. In this book Pablo is having international food day at school. His parents own a bakery and they tell him that he can go to the bakery with them on Sunday and help make some different things and decide what to bring in to school. We learn that Pablo is growing up in a very diverse household, his mother speaks both english and spanish and his father speaks english, yiddish, and spanish. The story talks about the different foods that this family makes from different cultures and how they are made.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a little boy trying to figure out what dish to bring from his culture to school, when each parent is from a different culture. Each new food he sees he thinks that he could maybe bring that to his school. I like this book because it can be relatable to students who have parents of two separate cultures. He eventually chooses a food that combines both cultures. This would be good for 1st-3rd grade. An activity i would have my students do is to draw one of their favorite dishes from their culture, and they could even share with the class what the drew.

[Auna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sweet book about a boy who has to pick a homemade food to bring to a class project. He chooses to bring jalapeno bagels because his mother is Mexican and his father is Jewish so it is a perfect combination on their two cultures. I like this book because it shows the blending of two very different cultures. This book also has a few recipes in the back and could be a good way to teach students how to read, write, and follow a recipe.

[Jessica]

Jalapeno Bagel was a realistic fiction book about a boy who had to bring something to school for International day from his culture. His parents decided he will bring something baked from their bakery. His mom makes different Mexican breads and his dad makes jewish breads. the author doesn't use the ordinary model of telling the differences about his parents which makes this book really interesting. this is a great read a loud book because food is something that can connect many people/children. It also gives the idea to have an international food day of your own with your students. the book includes the recipe for the Jalapeño bagels with makes it very interesting and can be a great math lesson because measurements. the illustrations showed the different breads they made and helped bring the story to life. something that i thought would have been cool to add to the story to make it better is all the other foods that other students made and how they became special to them like jalapeño bagels was special to the main character.

[Julia Zackary]

Jalapeno Bagels features a young boy as he encounters conflict within representation. While attempting to choose a food to share at his school's international day, Pablo is unsure which culture to share. His mother is Mexican and his father is Jewish. As he explores his family's bakery, Pablo finds a food that represents both his parents as he learns to embrace all his heritage. This story is a lovely addition to lessons in heritage, representation, and self discovery.

[Mya R]

This illustrated kids book about a boy whose Mexican mother and Jewish father run a bakery focuses on the baked goods they make from each familial tradition, and the one recipe that crosses over. Includes two recipes and a glossary of a dozen Spanish and Yiddish words.

The author was inspired by her local bagel shop, Los Bagels.
https://www.losbagels.com/

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars for this perfect blending of heritages in a jalapeno bagel. The main character wants to bring in a food that represents his family. The family goes down to their bakery early the next morning and they make all sorts of delicious Mexican breads and sweets, then Jewish bakes. Finally the decision os to bring jalapeno bagels, which combine both sides of the family.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A multicultural picture book about a boy who combines both his Jewish and Maxican Heritage. A cute story, that also includes recipes as well as Spanish and Yiddish vocabulary at the back of the book. My child and I both enjoyed this story (which may be a bit text heavy for younger kids).

[Brandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this as a class read-aloud for early elementary. Love the combination of the mom’s Mexican culture and the dad’s Yiddish culture for their panadería or bakery. Great for multicultural night or other family events.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet book with lovely illustrations about a multicultural Jewish/Hispanic family. Highly enjoyed it.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit simple in story telling and unappealing in images, but a good book celebrating the mixing of two cultures and a decent narrative format.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable book to help students accept their culture and who they come from.

[Ellon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and how it showcases the main characters blended family and culture.

[Bella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice book for children. Includes recipes of some of the bakery items.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

My four year old loved this book, and I loved reading it. Great illustrations and very educational.