MR. MINTZ'S BLINTZES

The neighborhood blintz maker is injured right before the blintz holiday, Shavuot.

Mr. Mintz (light-skinned, with a curly ginger mop) is a neighborly gent. He carries groceries, puts out milk for the cats, and, most importantly, is always there with a bite to eat. A “marvelous cook,” Mr. Mintz gives away most of what he prepares to his neighbors—soup for the sniffly, latkes on Hanukkah, challah for Shabbat, and gooey, tasty blintzes for the spring holiday of Shavuot. But the day before Shavuot, Mr. Mintz takes a tumble off his skateboard. He’s going to be OK, but who will make the “cheesy and apple-y…gooey and delicious” blintzes for the neighborhood? Why, the neighbors, of course! When Mr. Mintz returns from the hospital on crutches, his neighbors are all there to bring him hot tea, kittens—and blintzes. Mr. Mintz’s neighbors, nameless and lacking cultural markers, have a wide variety of skin tones and facial features in the cartoon art. It’s up to the reader to decide whether this gentle, community-minded tale depicts a racially diverse Jewish neighborhood, a neighborhood where people are happy to celebrate other cultures’ traditions, or both. An author’s note provides a two-sentence reference for the religious aspect of the holiday but returns to the focus on food with a blintz recipe. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A cozy tale of friendship, mutual aid, neighborliness, and tasty, tasty food.