That popular little character is back looking for friends, in an adventure he’ll never forget. Confident and cocky, the Gingerbread Baby happens upon a bakery, where he dances and prances in front of a sugar cookie girl, trying to make friends. But she just stares and doesn’t say a word, like all the other sweet treats he tries to meet. Discouraged, the Gingerbread Baby runs home, chased by a long line of hungry creatures, where Mattie has a fantastic surprise for him—gingerbread friends that fill a giant fold-out page.
- ISBN: 9780399251610
- Author: Brett, Jan
- Published: 2008, Putnam Juvenile
- Themes: Bakery, Loneliness
- Descriptors: Europe, Fantasy, Nordic, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9), Switzerland
- No. of pages: 32
My students love this story! Jan Brett provides a lovely twist to a favorite gingerbread story. The language in the story really jumps out at students with words like sassy, scrumptious, gallant, clever, peppy, plucky with details helping readers really create that picture in their minds. The illustrations of the countryside are beautiful and really draw your attention to the story’s events. I always found the recipe notes listed on the side of each page as distracting to the story until I realized the connection to the ending. The recipe notes are Mattie’s ingredients he’s using in the kitchen while the Gingerbread Baby was out. While reading the story, there are so many details in the illustrations that can be discussed. As the Gingerbread Baby finds himself lonely while Mattie is in the kitchen, he travels to town and stumbles into a bakery (Oh the Irony!) to look for friends. He sings a catchy tune, another detail readers love, to try and make new friends. After a few unsuccessful attempts, he ends up face to face with a mouse and rushes home. As he rushes home, barely making it, he finds his creator, Mattie, has baked him up some new friends and his loneliness is quickly resolved. It is definitely a great seasonal story and reminds me of my own childhood experiences making gingerbread families with my siblings.