BEMBELMAN'S BAKERY

The secret of Bembelman's wonderful bread, as told by one customer to another as they wait in the inevitable line in front of the bakery, goes back to the old country where Saul and his six younger brothers and sisters decide to bake one day when their mother is at the market. Measuring ingredients by handfuls, they end up with a product that overflows stove and hut--but they're forgiven the mess when parents and neighbors discover how delicious it is. Though Green's telling is not highly seasoned, she does manage a smooth, amusing blend of an old folk motif with a modern ethnic setting; and Seuling's simple, rounded gray and tan drawings of smocked and babushka-ed peasants provide appropriate, if similarly mild accompaniment.