Children's Bedtime Story...and the Internet Era

Calanit has practically memorized the book Where on Earth is my Bagel? We read it every night.

However, there are 2 questions she raises-based on astute observations- for which we don’t have satisfactory answers. We came up with possible suggestions, but I wasn't satisfied, so I went to the source, finding the authors' home page.

I described the issues we were facing (see below) and Frances Park joyfully responded. Gotta love that customer support. So, here's my official recommendation for her book.

Original Email

1. on the page where Yum Yung is reading the note, it says “while baker oh fed the pigeon” but the picture shows the baker oh reading the note. (I think this is less complicated…the pigeon stays on Baker Oh’s shoulder while she studies the recipe)

2. More complicated, is the page when the bagel is being put into the oven….where is Beekeeper Lee?

• My wife says that Beekeeper Lee is out putting the blanket on the hill
• My daughter says that Beekeeper Lee isn’t strong enough and thus not involved

Response

Thanks for your note! We're delighted to hear that your daughter is enjoying our book... which all began with my own bagel-craving one morning.... hopefully she's a bagel-lover, too!

To answer her questions:

1) Yes, the picture with the pigeon and the note is illustrating when Baker Oh is actually studying the recipe.

2) your family's guesses sound good to me... or perhaps Beekeeper Lee is in the (unseen) background sneaking a taste of Baker Oh's famous rice cakes!

When we visit schools and read "Where On Earth is My Bagel?" to the youngest students, we make it an interactive experience - so that the children chorus the word "bagel" at the proper time. Each time, their reward is (appropriately!) a mini-bagel... which we either toss out or pile on designated plates (if there's more than one class). It's great fun for all. Again, thank you and happy reading!