Gingerbread Baby

by Jan Brett

Paperback, 1999

Status

Available

Call number

688

Series

Gingerbread Baby (1)

Genres

Children's Books

Publication

Scholastic (1999), 40 pages

Description

A young boy and his mother bake a gingerbread baby that escapes from their oven and leads a crowd on a chase similar to the one in the familiar tale about a not-so-clever gingerbread man.

User reviews

LibraryThing member jjones58

This used to be one of my favorites when I was a little girl. The famous line "I am the Gingerbread Baby, fresh from the pan. If you want me, catch me if you can." is a classic quote that many people recognize. This book is similar to the popular book "The Gingerbread Man" but adds a new and

energized spin on a familiar, old tale. The reader immediately recognizes the author's specific style that she creates in all of her work. The boarders really stood out to me because they foreshadow what is coming next in the story. In your classroom, you can pair this book with creating gingerbread houses for the "gingerbread baby" with your students around the holiday season! The main message in this story is to teach children the importance of patience.

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LibraryThing member MadeleinePemberton

Gingerbread Baby is a humorous adaptation of the familiar story where a gingerbread cookie escapes from an oven and it chased by many people and animals through a town. In this version, the Gingerbread Baby is eventually captured by a young child who is wise enough to build a gingerbread house and

place it in the forest, where the Gingerbread Baby runs right into it. I like this book because of the borders that expand the story and because of the clever ending. I would like to use it in my teaching because it is a lovely version of a fun tale that the majority of children enjoy. I think the book would be suitable for Grades PreK-3 and for themes of folklore tales.

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LibraryThing member Brittany_Leimer

This book has a lot of details and descriptive and rhyming words. These words could help children during an adjective lesson, and when things rhyme it helps children remember things. There are hints in the form of pictures on the sides of the pages, so it is helping children develop their

investigation skills. It teaches children to follow directions, and that if they do not complete all the steps to a task it could come out wrong.

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LibraryThing member mderob1

I absolutely love this book it was my favorite growing up! The main idea of the book is being creative and clever to come up with a solution. This story is magical and fun twist on the classic Gingerbread Man where he says" I am the Gingerbread Baby, Fresh from the pan, If you want me,Catch me if

you can!" The story does a play on the original rhymes and makes it fun and interesting. This would be such a fun read for students to guess and pick out clues from the wonderful detailed illustrations that go along with the story.

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LibraryThing member amanda.h

Sumamry: This book is about a boy, Matti, that finds an old cookbook. He finds a recipe for gingerbread cookies and decides to make some. Hes warned to wait 8 minutes and not to open the oven and peak, but he cannot help it. He opens the oven to peak and out pops the gingerbread baby. The

gingerbread baby jumps out and runs away, the boys family tries to catch him, but hes too fast.They chase him out into the woods, while Matti stays home and works on his own plan to catch him. He builds a gingerbread house and uses the house to trap the baby.

Personal Reaction: I loved this book. There were several deeper meanings to the story that could be highlighted, for instance, patience. Overall this book was just very cute, especially when the weather gets colder, this would be a great book to snuggle up with and read to your children.

Clasrrom extension:
1) Gingread cookies and gingerbread houses would be a great activity to go along with this books!

2) This book would also be great for teaching about the importance of following directions and being patient, which would definately coincide with making the cookies and houses.

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LibraryThing member karawaller

Gingerbread Baby is about a boy names Matti who makes a gingerbread cookie with his moms help. When Mattie opened the stove, the gingerbread cookie came alive and ran away. Many animals tried to chase his, but no one could; Until Matti made a gingerbread house for the cookie to live in.

This is a

great book to read to kids around Christmas time. I have never read this book before, but I have been told a story that was similar to this story.

In the classroom I would talk to the students about how important it is to follow directions and I would bring gingerbread cookies for the children to decorate.

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LibraryThing member emilylock

This is a modern fantasy story about a Gingerbread baby. A boy in the the story made a house for the baby to live in but when the boy isn’t there to play with him the baby gets lonely. So the baby decides to go out have find new friends. He goes to many places like a bakery but the treats there

aren’t alive like him and he thinks they just don’t want to be his friend, and this makes him sad. He decides to take a nap and is awoken by a mouse nibbling on his foot. He gets up and starts running home all the while he has just about everybody in town chasing him home. The baby finally makes it home to find that the boy has created a room full of gingerbread friends.

I first heard this story 2yrs ago. I love this one and all the other gingerbread stories that Jan Brett does. They are cute and I love how there is another story going on in the boarder.
This book is good for reading around Chirstmas time. After you read it you can have the children create their own gingerbread friends either out of paper or art supplies or with candy and a gingerbread cookie.

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LibraryThing member Ms.Penniman

Retelling: In this curious twist of the old Gingerbread man tale, a boy named Matti bakes a gingerbread baby. The gingerbread baby runs past all kinds of characters than can't catch him until Matti devises a plan. Read to the end to find out what his plan was and whether it worked.

Thoughts and

Feelings: I enjoyed the twist the plot took at the end of this book, but I did miss the sing-songy rhyme of the original tale. The illustrations in this book are fantastic!

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LibraryThing member Sarahg3

I thought this story was very cute. I like the borders on each page. I also liked the surprise ending with the gingerbread baby being inside the gingerbread house. I could read this story during christmas time and we could make gingerbread houses.

LibraryThing member mbogits

THe gingerbread baby is a great Christmas time read. While baking gingerbread, the little boy takes one out of the oven too soon and it escapes and runs away. While everyone is out searching for the gingerbread baby, the borders show the little boy going about his own plan and constructing a

gingerbread house for the baby. Eventually, the little boy is able to capture the baby with his house. I like this book especially for the borders. I think this one more than some of Brett's other books has the most interesting illustrations and sequencing in the borders.

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LibraryThing member dtortorice

Matti and his family try to make a gingerbread man but can't wait to peek in the oven. When they do, a gingerbread baby pops out! He ends up getting loose and runs around town avoiding everyone until Matti comes up with a plan to get him back...

LibraryThing member debbyherring

a great retelling of the Gingerbread Man story

LibraryThing member lkartje

This is a great story by Jan Brett and would be a great book to read around Christmas time. Its sequencing and illustrations captivate young and old readers as Brett retells a classic Christmas time tale. This book is most effectively used with younger elementary students.

LibraryThing member magarcia

Lots of details and rhyming words for students to see and learn from.

LibraryThing member mbolle1

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.

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LibraryThing member awoodham93

Mattie decides to make gingerbread cookies, and finds a recipe for a gingerbread boy. However, Mattie doesnt let the gingerbread boy cook for the full eight minutes, and when he peaked into the over, out jumped a gingerbread baby! The gingerbread baby fast and smart; he got away from all of the

people and animals in the town. However, Mattie was able to finally capture the gingerbread baby by making a gingerbread house. Mattie kept the gingerbread baby in the house, and no one else knew that the gingerbread baby had been caught.

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LibraryThing member mcdarden

This book is perfect to read around Christmas time. The book does not actually talk about "Christmas". Matti, the little boy in the story, could not wait to open the oven for the gingerbread. The Gingerbread Baby ran so fast that Matti and his mom could not catch the gingerbread, and the two were

scared the gingerbread baby was going to be eaten up. This story is great for all ages. I could read this to K-2nd and do 'Say Something' with the class. The students would have all sorts of ideas about what each of the children would do if this happened with them.

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LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26

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 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.

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