I’m Sor­ry for the Bagel Burps: A Yom Kip­pur Apol­o­gy takes place on Yom Kip­pur, ​“the holi­est day of the year” for Jews. For Ben­ji, it’s the per­fect day to tor­ment his big broth­er, Aaron. Aaron recent­ly became a bar mitz­vah, a grown-up in the eyes of the Jew­ish com­mu­ni­ty, and it’s his respon­si­bil­i­ty to fast dur­ing the holy day of Yom Kip­pur. So Ben­ji teas­es him with food every chance he gets. He burps in his face dur­ing ser­vices, reads food-themed books, and sends the smell of choco­late chip cook­ies Aaron’s way when they are rest­ing at home. Only at the end of the holy day does Ben­ji real­ize the impor­tance of his rela­tion­ship with his big broth­er and sin­cere­ly apol­o­gizes to him. 

With a light­heart­ed tone and fun illus­tra­tions, this sweet and sil­ly sto­ry reminds read­ers of the impor­tance of an apol­o­gy, the bonds among fam­i­ly mem­bers, and the mean­ing of Yom Kip­pur. Artist Jason Kirschner’s depic­tion of a quin­tes­sen­tial syn­a­gogue is spot on and the green gas of the bub­ble burps is sure to make young read­ers giggle. 

Par­ents and teach­ers should reach for the high­ly rec­om­mend­ed I’m Sor­ry for the Bagel Burps: A Yom Kip­pur Apol­o­gy each fall to explain Yom Kip­pur in a relat­able, humor­ous way.