Twenty-five years ago, author Natasha Wing wrote a children’s book inspired by a local bakery and café.
Today, Los Bagels — with venues in Arcata and Eureka — is joining Wing in celebrating the 25th anniversary of the award-winning “Jalapeño Bagels.”
“I wrote this story to address multiculturalism,” Wing said. “I combined Mexican and Jewish heritages.
Wing — who grew up behind Marvin Lender of Lender’s Bagels when she lived in Connecticut —used Los Bagels for both her research and the setting for her story about a boy named Pablo who has to bring something to school for International Day to represent his heritage. He chooses a treat from his parents’ bakery.
“I thought of combining Jewish and Mexican families, and expressing multiculturalism through food,” Wing said. “Just so happens that Dennis Rael (one of Los Bagels’ original founders) is from both those heritages, so I imagined him as a young boy growing up in a diverse household.”
Wing interviewed Rael — who started Los Bagels in 1984 with several friends — about his life and his life work.
“She took photos of our interior for the illustrator (Robert Casilla), thus the reasons the illustrations look so similar to the actual shop. Natasha was a regular customer … at the time she wrote this story,” said Rael.
He added: “The one item about the book that Natasha took liberty with was she switched the cultures of my parents. My mother, Paula, was Jewish and my dad, Izzy, was Chicano.”
Wing lived in Humboldt County from 1988 to 2010 and now resides in Fort Collins, Colorado. She wrote her first book, “Hippity Hop, Frog on Top,” in 1992 and has been writing ever since. She’s also the author of the popular “The Night Before” series and other titles including “Go to Bed, Monster,” “When Jackie Saved Grand Central,” “Lettuce Laugh,” “An Eye for Color” and many more. “Jalapeño Bagels” was her second published book.
“I think it’s a sweet story that shows a loving family,” Wing said. “And the boy is thoughtful when he’s thinking about who he is. Robert Casilla’s art is so beautiful and warm, which enhances the story.”
Rael noted, “Beginning a real story from a real place makes this so unique.”
“Jalapeño Bagels” — available at Los Bagels and via http://natashawing.com — also includes two recipes from Rael and a glossary in the back of the book.
“I’m a big fan of back matter to extend the experience with the book,” Wing said. “… Since the book is about food, I wanted parents and teachers to make the food and maybe try something they’ve never eaten before.”
Over the years, teachers around the country have indeed used “Jalapeño Bagels” as a jump-off point for classroom activities and discussions.
“Just two weeks ago, I was contacted by a teacher in Kansas who found the book in her school library in their curriculum and I did a virtual tour for her classroom and we sent them a free care package, which included jalapeño bagels and chango bars. Both of these recipes are printed in the book,” Rael said. (Los Bagels sells “Jalapeño Bagels Student Samplers” at https://www.losbagels.com/samplers.)
Los Bagels is offering its “Jalapeño Bagels Full Experience Sampler” — including bagels, chango bars, challah and empanadas — as one of three prizes in a special “Jalapeño Bagels” 25th anniversary celebration giveaway. The two other prizes are an art print from the story signed by Casilla and a copy of the book signed by Wing. To enter the prize drawing, send an email to jalbagelscontest@gmail.com with the word “Contest” in the subject line. Entry is open through June 15. Three winners will be randomly chosen.
More than two decades after Wing penned “Jalapeño Bagels,” she is still busy writing books for kids.
“My ‘Night Before’ series continues to grow,” Wing said. “I’ve self-published a few books under Wing Books. And thanks to the pandemic, my old writers group made up of three other writers from Humboldt are back together online critiquing new manuscripts. There’s more books to come.”
For more about Natasha Wing, go to natashawing.com. For more about Los Bagels, visit losbagels.com.
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‘Jalapeño Bagels’: Los Bagels celebrates 25th anniversary of Natasha Wing’s children’s book - Eureka Times-Standard
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