About the B'NAI Bagels [Hardcover]

E.L. Konigsburg (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1985

Atheneum Hardcover, 11th printing 1985 with 172 pages. Written and Illustrated by Konigsburg. The real name of the Little League team was the B'nai B'rith, but everyone called them the B'nai Bagels. There manager was Bessie Setzer, but everyone called her Mother Bagel, and the team grew to love her and even Spencer, Brother Bagel, their coach. Which was fine for everyone but Mark Setzer. For him it made problems. Because with a mother as manager and a brother as coach, he felt he had lost his right to be awful on the field and had gained a lot of sticky situations. Then, in additon to worrying about his performance on the baseball team, he had to worry about his performance at his Bar Mitzvah and about his friend, Hersch, who had moved to another part of town and found another best friend.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Atheneum (1985)
• ASIN: B001RXSB8M
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

More About the Author

E. L. Konigsburg is the only author to have won the Newbery Medal and be runner-up in the same year. In 1968 From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler won the Newbery Medal and Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth was named Newbery Honor Book. Almost thirty years later she won the Newbery Medal once again for The View From Saturday. She has also written and illustrated three picture books: Samuel Todd's Book of Great Colors, Samuel Todd's Book of Great Inventions, and Amy Elizabeth Explores Bloomingdale's. In 2000 she wrote Silent to the Bone, which was named a New York Times Notable Book and an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, among many other honors.

After completing her degree at Carnegie Mellon University, Ms. Konigsburg did graduate work in organic chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh. For several years she taught science at a private girls' school. When the third of her three children started kindergarten, she began to write. She now lives on the beach in North Florida.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite books -- EVER, December 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: About the B'Nai Bagels (Paperback)

This is a touching and loving portrayal of a Jewish kid who has to put up with an over-achieving older brother, his best friend moving away, and -- horror of horrors -- his mother becoming his baseball team's manager. While he prepares for his Bar Mitzvah, he is faced with several challenges and choices, which -- though minor in the scheme of things -- help him learn about himself and what it means to become an adult. The story is told with gentle and self-deprecating humor. I first read this book when I was 10, I read it most recently when I was 39, and I have given it to my 10 year-old daughter.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great growing up book, December 4, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: About the B'nai Bagels (Hardcover)

If your child is a future fan of Neil Simon's plays, get them About the B'nai Bagels as soon as possible.

This is a story that grows on you a lot. I first read it when I was ten, and thought it quite dumb at the time. But there's a lot of life in there.

It was years later when I saw a presentation of Brighton Beach Memoirs. It dealt with the same issues as B'nai Bagels: a pubescent kid who goes through puberty.

While your average fourth or fifth grader may wish to pursue an adventure in Donkey Kong rather than reading, the book is short enough not to interrupt their busy schedule.

Trust me, when he/she gets to be an old college kid, you'll be glad B'nai bagels was one of the old book reports.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Jewish Boys Hardships, March 1, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: About the B'Nai Bagels (Paperback)

Mark Seltzer is a twelve year old boy who is going through preparing for his Bar Mitzvah and playing on his mom's baseball team. Mark loves playing baseball, but he has a hard time in Hebrew school and his social life because he has to worry about so many things. I liked this book because it show what hardships Mark has to overcome in preparing for his Bar Mitzvah and still have a fun time. I also liked this book because it had a lot of baseball in it and I love baseball.