Gingerbread Baby

Brett takes the simple refrain of the uncatchable gingerbread man and expands it into a wonderful story that utilizes her tried and true format of story expansion through slowly adding characters which wraps up with a clever twist at the finale. In this case, she has an increasing number of family members, animals, and villagers begin to chase the wily gingerbread baby as he runs away from his baker, Matti. Matti may have disobeyed the recipe and peeked at the gingerbread man before he was done baking (therefore resulting in the magical gingerbread baby), but he returns to the recipe book to learn the secret of how to catch the gingerbread baby. I won’t reveal the secret, but it’s definitely worth the wait to read the final pages!

Jan Brett's artistry lies in her ability to draw clear images that challenge the reader to continue to the next page, not for the story, but to follow her lovely drawings that are incredibly well drawn. Almost like looking at a photograph, she continues to be one of the most followed illustrators.

In the story a little boy bakes a gingerbread baby. Opening the oven before the cookie is fully baked, the little cookie jumps out and continues to romp through the snow as the animals become more and more part of the story.

He rides the back of a family cat, lives paw prints for the dog to follow while climbing up the garden wall. Ever able to perform daring feats, he dances on the back of goats, drinks water from the well, pulls braids while show more lacing them together, dances on the nose of the pig, then skittles down the cobbled path to jump onto a chunk of ice floating in the river.

The little boy who made him, now designs a perfect gingerbread home for him to enter, and live in the house.

This is a cute store with a lot of action and splendid illustrations.

Four Stars show less

Inspired by the classic Euro-American folktale about the Gingerbread Man, prolific picture-book author/artist Jan Brett spins an engaging fantasy about a Gingerbread Baby who, let out of the oven early by his young creator, takes off on a wild escapade. As almost all the farm residents, and then the villagers give chase, Matti, the young boy who baked the runaway cookie in the first place, sets out to create a Gingerbread house for his independent creation...

Similar in many respects to a number of European folktales about runaway delectables - the Russian Kolobok, the Norwegian tale of the runaway pancake - the American story of The Gingerbread Man first saw print in 1875, in children's periodical St. Nicholas Magazine. Apparently it show more was told to the author's children by a storyteller from Maine. Whatever its origins, this story has been given an entertaining twist by Brett, who saves her runaway baby from the usual fate (being eaten by the cunning fox), and gives young readers a happier ending. As always with this artist, the illustrations are gorgeous, with a rich, full color palette, lots of details in the decorative borders and side-panels, and a fun flap to be lifted on the final two-page spread, revealing the Gingerbread Baby in his new home. Recommended to Jan Brett fans, and to anyone looking for entertaining retellings of this classic tale. show less

This is a beautiful picture book that I read to my class every year at this time. As the title suggests, it is a variation on the classic Gingerbread Boy story. The mischievous Gingerbread Baby not only outruns all of the human and animal characters, he plays a few practical jokes before running off. As with all Jan Brett books it is the richness of the illustrations that make the story. The story is set in a fairytale of an old Swiss village complete with lederhosen and dog pulled milk carts. Detailed marginal pictures that foreshadow the end of the story absolutely captivated the attention of my first graders. This book is always a hit. This year’s class demanded a second reading. The illustrations are phenomenal and get 5 stars show more plus, but the text does leave just a little bit to be desired. There is no convenient rhyme for baby, so the classic “Run, run…” chant isn’t there. The Gingerbread baby doesn’t really have any good rhythm to his ranting until the very end of the story. That is a minor complaint. I personally prefer Brett’s The Mitten, but so far, the 6 year old vote goes to this one. show less

I enjoyed this years ago when I first read it, and again now. I like that the boy bakes. I like the reminder to learn patience. And of course I love Matti's clever solution.

But I just realized something. Not until now have I every questioned *why* everyone chases the gingerbread boy or the journey cake. A few children or stray dogs might like the smell or the fun, but the whole village? I guess it's just silly fun for youngsters.

I decided to read this book because I have recently become a fan of Jen Brett. First, I loved this book because of the beautiful artwork. Each page has detailed borders that foreshadow the telling of the story. I believe that the author did an excellent job of developing the character of the gingerbread baby as we really get a grasp of his wise and defiant personality. I loved that this book is a different version of the classic gingerbread man tale. The author used language that was both rhyming and patterned. The author used significant detail to create each pattern. The overall message of this story is to help students understand the importance of patience.

I enjoyed reading this book because the illustrations enhance the story. This book takes a twist on a traditional tale. Instead of a gingerbread "man", this story has a gingerbread "baby" instead. The gingerbread baby is a mischievous cookie and decides to run away and have everyone chase after him. The young boy who was making the gingerbread baby tricks him by building his own gingerbread house and putting it outside as a trap. The illustrations always give a small window of a preview of whats going to happen next. For example, when the gingerbread baby enters the gingerbread house trap, the young boy can be seen hiding behind a tree in the preview illustration. The reader can predict that the young boy will capture the gingerbread show more baby by shutting the door, which will trap him. Little does the gingerbread baby know that the house is actually a trap, and he happily proclaims, "I'm a little gingerbread baby lucky as can be, to living in a house that Maddie made for me!" The big idea behind this book is that a traditional tale can be told in a different way with different characters. show less