The Gingerbread Boy (Paul Galdone Classics)

Great for grades 3-5. Woman bakes a gingerbread man, he runs away from everyone. The wolf eventually gets eaten a wolf. The class could create a puupet show, retelling the story.

This is a great version of The Gingerbread Boy. This is great for shared reading. I read it to a student I was tutoring and he loved the story. It is a great book to read aloud to a class.

An amusing book about a boy who is made from a gingerbread cookie, leaps from the pan and runs through the town on an adventure. He encounters many different people and animals learning lessons of morality and respect. A wonderful book for teaching character education and using at the beginning of

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the school year.

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Galdone, P. (1975). The gingerbread boy. New York, NY: Clarion Books.

There was once an old couple that had no kids. The old woman decides to make a little Gingerbread Boy of her own. However, once the gingerbread boy is done baking, it run away! The old woman, the old man, a cow, a horse, and

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threshers all tried to catch him, but he is too fast. Arrogantly, the gingerbread boy repeatedly says, “Run! Run! Run! Catch me if you can! You can’t catch me! I’m the Gingerbread Boy!” Finally, the Gingerbread Boy meets the fox. Has he met his match?

The Gingerbread Boy has many characteristics of a folktale: a straightforward plot, a brief introduction, a quick establishment of time and place, and repetition. Like many other folktales, it highlights the downfall of the proud. It some ways, it also reminds me of Tunjur! and Millions of Cats. In both stories a woman or a couple wanted someone or something to fill the void of loneliness.

The illustrations also enhance the story. It looks like the Gingerbread Boy is running throughout the story, since he is drawn at the right hand corner. If you flip through the pages quickly, it almost becomes a flipbook.

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This is a funny book about an older women who decides to make a gingerbread boy. She gave him eyes, a mouth, a nose and even a cute little jacket. As soon as the little old woman opened the door the Gingerbread Boy jumped out the ofen and ran as fast as he could. He almost made it past every

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obstacle.

When I first read this book I was laughing at how eveyone was chasing this Gingerbread Boy all across the town. However the ending was sad, i didnt expect him to finally get caught.

In class during Christmas we would color our Gingerbread Boys and hang them up. I would bring the children Gingerbread cookies shaped like the Gingerbread Boy.

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Galdone's story is about a little old woman who bakes a gingerbread boy who, while cooking in the oven, comes to life. He runs away from his home and passes many animals and people along the way, including a cow, a horse, a group of threshers, a group of mowers and a fox. The fox helps the

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gingerbread man across a river, and then tricks him by eating him when they reach the other side of the river. This lighthearted story teaches children about trust, and how they should never run away from their loved ones!

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I really liked this version of the book, while still very much the same, I enjoyed this ones illustrations. The cd that goes along with this book is a great addition! The illustrations practically jump right off the page. A great fun book for early ages!

This traditional story of the Gingerbread Boy is great for young children. This story has the classic saying all children love to repeat: "I'll run and I'll run as fast as I can. You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!". This story is part of my personal library. I would recommend this story

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to all young children.

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Galdone doesn't make nice with the ultimate destiny of the cocksure Gingerbread Boy. And bravo to that. Kids are enthralled that in the end, the protagonist actually dies. And doesn't even leave a crumb. Pure magic to read aloud.

The Gingerbread Boy is all about knowing your abilities and that there is always someone who knows something you don't. I liked this book a lot, the flow and familiarity of the story were very nice. I liked the word choice of the story and the build up of the story with it. For example each page he

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outsmarts someone who adds them to his list on the next, eventually leading him to list off his 6 victims leading up to the fox. I also like the moral of the story and the way it is told. The gingerbread boy becomes so proud that it clouds his judgement and allows the tricky fox to take his pride and turn it into his downfall.

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Summary
An old woman and man, who didn't have any children, decided to make a gingerbread boy one day. When the gingerbread was done baking, the lady opened the oven and the gingerbread boy jumped out the oven and ran out the door with the old lady and man running after him saying that they couldn't

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catch him. He runs past farm animals and other people, who all wan to eat him, so they all chased him with him saying and teasing that the couldn't catch him. He then comes to river and a fox ask the gingerbread boy if he would like him to take him across the river. The gingerbread man agrees and in the end gets betrayed by the fox because the fox eats him.

Personal opinion
I love this book because there are so many activities I could do with this book whether it be in class or take home activity. I hate to say this but I think this book teaches the audience to be careful who you trust.

Extension
(I love doing food activities) We could make our own gingerbread boys and girls. We could make gingerbread from scratch and have the children measure out the ingredients. I can send home blank paper gingerbread boy/girls and have parents help their children decorate their gingerbread boy/girl. We could go outside and play catch me if you can (tag) to get the children up and moving.

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I think this book is a great holiday book. I does not mention any holidays but everyone know gingerbread man are around the holidays. It is a fun read for the children.