Book Review of Bagel Finds His Center
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The Children’s Book Review
Bagel Finds His Center
Written by Allyson Fisher
Illustrated by Jan Schmidt
Ages: 4-8 | 32 Pages
Publisher: Bryant House Books (2026) | ISBN: 979-8-9933344-0-0
What to Expect: Self-acceptance; comparison and body positivity; friendship; rhyming picture book; food characters.
Bagel Finds His Center is a rhyming picture book about a plain bagel who learns to embrace what makes him different after feeling out of place among the frosted, filled, and sprinkled treats at his new bakery home.
When Bagel arrives at the Corner Café, he’s thrilled to meet his fellow pastries—until he catches his reflection and realizes he has no filling, no swirl, no frosting, just an empty hole where his “belly” should be. Convinced something is missing, he rallies his new friends for a wild search through the bakery, from flour bins to freezer shelves, determined to fill the gap he feels inside. It’s only when a wise new friend helps him slow down that Bagel starts to see his “emptiness” in a whole new light.
Allyson Fisher’s rhyming text has a lot of charm and bounce, with playful wordplay (the “outie- and innie- journey,” the pun-heavy bakery banter) that reads well aloud. The core message—that being different isn’t a deficiency—comes through clearly and warmly, and the “whole-grain, fiber-filled crust” detail is a clever, nutritionist’s touch.
Jan Schmidt’s illustrations are fabulous. Each pastry character has an expressive, distinct personality conveyed through simple eyes and limbs, and the bakery setting is rendered with warmth and specificity—right down to labeled sugar tins and a “Corner Café” mug. The full-spread scenes (the playground, the pantry, the sink) are busy in the best way, rewarding repeat lap reads as kids spot new details, and the party finale bursts with satisfying, confetti-strewn joy.
A sweet, giggle-inducing read, Bagel Finds His Center is ideal for preschool-to-early-elementary kids navigating comparison and self-acceptance, and it would pair especially well with a classroom or storytime unit on self-esteem or body-positive themes.
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About the Author
Allyson Fisher is a pediatric nutritionist with a master’s degree in food science and clinical nutrition from NYU. She started writing for fun—now words and rhymes love to dance around in her mind. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, and enjoys escaping to her happy place out east with her family and their quirky Westie puppy, Maisie. Whole grain bagels are her favorite.
For more information, visit www.allysonfisher.com.
About the Illustrator
Jan Schmidt lived, worked, and raised a family in Brooklyn for over three decades, contributing to many imaginative projects—including exhibits for the Chattanooga and Brooklyn Children’s Museums and a mural for NYU Hospital’s therapy garden. Now based in Connecticut, Jan works from a butter-yellow farmhouse with her husband and dog, Pippy. Pumpernickel bagels are her favorite.
For more information, visit www.janschmidtpaints.22web.org.
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