• Age: 4 to 8
• Grade: p to 3
• Reading age: 4 to 8

Benny loves to help out at his grandpa's bakery in the morning, and the customers love the crusty bagels with their soft insides. When Grandpa explains to Benny that God, not him, should be thanked for the wonderful bagels, Benny sets out to do just that. He decides to leave God a bagful of bagels in the synagogue at the end of each week. And each week God eats the bagels --- or so Benny thinks ...

Lovingly told, Bagels from Benny explores the values of caring and sharing, building a strong sense of community and finding joy in giving thanks.

Before writing and telling stories, Aubrey Davis raised goats, sawed logs and sold antiques. As a young man he traveled across Europe and North Africa, where he discovered traditional Teaching-Stories collected by Afghan writer Idries Shah, of which he said: “These bottomless tales provoked, puzzled and delighted me. They helped me look at things in fresh, new ways.” Aubrey began to tell these stories in nursing homes, schools, festivals, libraries and jails, and on radio and television. For 40 years, he told traditional stories to people of all ages across North America. He also taught oral language for 17 years to primary and special needs students. Aubrey passed away in 2022.

Aubrey Davis' profile page

Duan Petricic was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, but loved to pretend that he grew up in Zemun, an old city located just across the river (and now a part of Belgrade). As a boy he did all the forbidden things that children do, but what Duan loved most was to draw. He started drawing at age four and, encouraged by his parents, he never stopped. He found inspiration in everything, and drawing became a way to communicate with the people around him. Two books that were very important to his childhood were an old encyclopedia with lots of pictures and The Boys from Pavel’s Street by Ferenc Molnár. Early on, he was moved by the drawings found within the encyclopedia. As he grew older, he adored many artists, including Leonardo da Vinci, Dürer, and Picasso. Duan has been illustrating children’s books for many years. He has received numerous honors and awards for his work, in North America and internationally, including an IBBY Certificate of Honour and an Alberta Book Award for On Tumbledown Hill (Red Deer Press). The Longitude Prize (FSG) was selected as a Robert F. Siebert Honor Book for a Distinguished Informative Book for Children in the US. His beautiful, evocative illustrations for Mattland (2009) by Hazel Hutchins and Gail Herbert garnered Duan the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator’s Award from the Canadian Library Association as well as the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award. His illustrations for Better Together (2011) by Sheryl and Simon Shapiro were described as “sublime” by Kirkus Reviews. When it came time to reissue Robert Munsch’s Mud Puddle (2012), Duan was Annick’s first choice to reillustrate the classic. The results are a fresh and energetic look that will delight a whole new generation of young Munsch fans. Duan’s latest book, The Man with the Violin (2013), was greeted with rave reviews, including starred reviews in Kirkus and uill & uire. Written by Kathy Stinson, this beautifully evocative picture book tells the true story of world-renowned violinist, Joshua Bell, who conducted an experiment by anonymously playing his priceless violin in the Washington D.C. subway station. Luckily for Duan, his profession is his favorite hobby and he is happy when at work. To young artists he would give this advice: “Think, think, think, think, draw!” Duan lives in Toronto where he is a regular contributor as an editorial cartoonist in the Toronto Star.

Dusan Petricic's profile page

• Short-listed, Blue Spruce Award, Ontario Library Association
• Short-listed, National Jewish Book Award
• Runner-up, Mr. Christie Book Award
• Short-listed, International Book Awards, The Society of School Librarians International
• Winner, Toronto IODE Book Award
• Winner, Canadian Jewish Book Award
• Winner, Sydney Taylor Book Award
• Winner, Best Bets, Ontario Library Association

A valuable addition to Judaic and public children's collections.—Jewish Book World

Even young readers will have no trouble appreciating either wisdom that Grandpa offers, or the close relationship between him and his devout grandson.—Kirkus Reviews

In creating a child protagonist and introducing an intergenerational element, Davis increases he folktale's accessibility to young readers, and his fluid prose, too, is welcoming.—Publishers Weekly