grade 1&2

Prolific children's author Eric A. Kimmel retells that classic of Euro-American folklore in this amusing picture-book about the (mis)adventures of a newly baked gingerbread man. Escaping from the woman and man who created him, the Gingerbread Man goes running merrily down the road, eluding a number of animals along the way, and singing his merry song: "I'll run and run as fast as I can. / You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!." Eventually he meets a crafty fox, and accepting a ride across the river, meets his end...

Although there are many older variants of this tale of a runaway pastry to be found in European folklore - the Norwegian Pannekaken, from Asbjørnsen and Moe's Norwegian Folktales, the story of Kolobok, found in many Slavic traditions - this New England version from the United States first appeared in print in 1875, in the children's periodical St. Nicholas Magazine, and was related to the author by a storyteller in Maine. Leaving aside the question of cultural origin, Kimmel's retelling of the tale is sprightly and amusing, and his text reads well. The accompanying artwork from illustrator Megan Lloyd is colorful and cute, and the inclusion of a recipe for gingerbread men at the back of the book adds a nice touch. This isn't my favorite retelling of this tale - that honor belongs to Jim Aylesworth and Barbara McClintock's The Gingerbread Man - but it is still quite appealing, and is one I would recommend to anyone seeking a good, solid picture-book presentation of what has become an American childhood classic. ( )

When an elderly couple decides to bake gingerbread one day, they have no idea what they're getting in to. As soon as the gingerbread man is all dressed up in his peppermint buttons, he leaps off the table and runs out the door! The gingerbread man runs and runs, as fast as he can . . . until he meets a wily fox, whose promise to help him escape isn't all it seems.

The Gingerbread Man by Eric A. Kimmel is a folktale about a gingerbread man that runs off. This story is told with repetition with the words "i'll run and run as fast as I can. You can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man." This is said throughout the story, and is eventually added onto each time a new event happens in the book. The gingerbread man is what makes this folklore because he is the smallest character causing problems. The illustrations really show the emotions of the story. In this story, ( )

The old man and the old woman experience a surprise leap off of the cooking tray, when they see a gingerbread man run out the door. The gingerbread man travels past many different homelands and animals, where he says his famous to line to all of them, "I'll run and run as fast as I can. You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!" As the gingerbread man continued to run, he had the old couple, the horse, the cow, and the sow running after him. When he reached the end of the river, he met Fox who offered to help him cross the river, or so he thought. The book ends with the main gingerbread being eaten by fox, but brings happiness to the end with a full cooking tray of gingerbread men, expressing the existence of gingerbread men lives on forever the more you bake them. This is an adorable story retold by Eric A. Kimmel. There are a few god stopping points for readers to make predictions, to ask questions, and to discuss with their peers. I would recommend this book as a fun and enjoyable read for a class. I also believe this is book teaches a valuable lesson to not trust strangers, as well as to be humble and to never be too overconfident. ( )