| Title | : | Gingerbread Baby |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0399234446 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780399234446 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 32 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1999 |
But Matti's not with them. He's at home in the borders making what turns out to be a gingerbread house into which the Gingerbread Baby runs. Only Matti knows he is safely inside. And readers will too when they look under the lift-the-flap gingerbread house at the end of the story, and there he is!
Gingerbread Baby Reviews
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I am more and more a fan of Jan Brett. This book is fun and it's a work of art. So beautiful.
My nephew loves Gingerbread men and he loves this book. He wanted to read it twice to take in all the details. He loves the line, "You can't catch me." It makes him giggle.
I love the art, the story was fun. The last page, there is a pop-up, which is fancy and nice. The story is smart. Matti, the boy who cooked the gingerbread baby, is the only one smart enough to catch him. The instructions says to cook him for 8 minutes and do not peek. Well, Matti peeks and he gets away and starts the story. Love this! -
I read this book at least 5 times a day (Yes.Every.Single.Day) thanks to my 18 month old, who is blissfully unaware of all the things wrong with "The Gingerbread Baby". Unfortunately, his dad and I are not so lucky and noticed some flaws.
1. Unlike his parents, Matti is blond. There are only two possible explanations: he is either adopted or the milk and cheese man is his real dad.
2. The annoying narcissism of the Gingerbread Baby. We are reminded by that thing on every single page that he is "[...] the best Gingerbread Baby ever".
3. Note to the Gingerbread Baby: If you hide in the lid of the milk cans, it is very stupid to giggle and let the people who are looking for you know that they "will never find" you. It comes as no surprise that they do on the very next page.
4. The character's astonishing lack of curiosity for the supernatural forces that are obviously at work, when a Gingerbread Baby jumps out of the oven. All they can think of is catching it. Because it says so.
5. Matti clearly displays signs of being a sociopath (at least), since he does not join the rest of the villagers and all the animals in their chase but stays home instead and comes up with an evil plan to trick and capture the Gingerbread Baby.
6. His plan succeeds, although we are wondering how in the world he has the time to bake a gingerbread house, anticipate where the Gingerbread Baby is going, get there first, catch it, run home and play innocent when his parents arrive.
7. His parents also leave him home alone with a lit stove. Which they shouldn't.
8. Another flaw in the timeline: The Gingerbread Baby is running into the woods as everybody is getting closer. But even though his followers are catching up with him, nobody notices him running into Matti's gingerbread house. Or sees Matti running away. Or notices the footsteps.
9. For the villagers, the only possible reason for finding gingerbread crumbs in the woods is that "[...]this must be all that's left of the Gingerbread Baby." No, you simpletons, he might just have had a bowl movement.
10. Why does the Gingerbread Baby find the smell of gingerbread delicious? Is he a cannibal?
11. Why can only Matti hear the tiny voice coming out of the gingerbread house? Is it soundproof? And what is the Gingerbread Baby saying ("Help", maybe?)
12. What happens next, now that the Gingerbread Baby has fallen into the hands of Matti, the sociopath? Probably nothing little children would enjoy reading... -
I enjoyed this variation of the Gingerbread Man. In this version we have a gingerbread baby boy. Because Matt couldn't help but peek before the cooking time was up, the gingerbread baby jumps out of the oven and dashes out the front door. He gives everyone a merry chase through the village and into the forest. Only Matt thinks of a way to catch the gingerbread baby -- with a gingerbread house.
The illustrations are beautiful. The framing surrounding the pictures is active with showing small glimpses of what Matt is doing to catch the gingerbread baby. The last page has a flip-up, gingerbread house flap so the child can see the gingerbread baby singing in it. This book would appeal to kindergarten and up. For additional activities and coloring sheets related to the story go to
http://www.janbrett.com. -
4.36 STARS
What a cute and unexpected twist on the classic tale, The Gingerbread Man!! (Or maybe, I just missed this story when I was growing up). Who knew that a gingerbread baby could wreak such havoc? Jan Brett weaves an imaginative tale about what can happen when you do not follow a recipe to the letter. For the holidays, or anytime during the year, this book is definitely enjoyable. -
Our incoming Kindergartners do a gingerbread hunt and it's nice to be able to build on that initial experience by reading other versions. This one has been a great favorite with many of my students who agreed with Jan Brett in not liking the ending of most gingerbread man stories. Great read-aloud with possible tie-ins to a wide number of lessons--folk tales, compare/contrast, versions & variations, & prediction jut to name a few. As a bit of a cautionary tale to anyone reading this aloud, many of our younger students have never heard the word "bleating" and apparently are imagining a "bleeding goat" instead of a "bleating goat".
Be sure to visit Jan Brett's website at
http://www.janbrett.com/ and take a look at the videos she has included of herself reading from this story, baking gingerbread with her grandkids, and drawing a gingerbread baby. You can also find wonderful activities and printables to go with whichever story you happen to be reading. -
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. -
Gingerbread Baby is a huge hit at our house. It is new-to-me and it was great fun sharing it with my boys. They loved it and asked for multiple readings. It is a very fun book to read aloud, and I set the Gingerbread Baby's little taunts to a melody so now the boys are running around the house singing "I'm the Gingerbread Baby! Catch me if you can!" Haha. I think this is Brett at her finest. The illustrations really work to capture every facet of the story. Sometimes, in other books, I feel that Brett's illustrations get a little too sprawling and the borders etc. can be distracting. But, here, I felt it was just right and it was fun getting little glimpses of what Matti was up to while the Gingerbread Baby had his adventure. Love the illustrations of that Gingerbread Baby -- so darn cheeky and so darn cute! ;-) I also loved the ending. spoiler: We all loved this so much I am considering adding it to our personal library, and I found out there are actually two editions of this book. The board book is, apparently, an abridgement. I can't imagine an abridged version so I would think most folks would definitely want to seek out the hardcover, full edition unless anyone here is reading to a young baby/toddler who couldn't sit through a longer PB. -
This Christmas the boys - my two grandsons - are finally 'too old' to be read to, but I am not too old to read to me! (Told them so!) And because of that, I'm re-reading some of our favorites from over the years. These are books I keep at my house - not theirs - and they won't get them until they (maybe) have children to read them to. The first is...
This one! Which the younger boy loved! Had to read it over and over! (I prob. read it a dozen times, if not more.) The story of Matti, who asks his mother to make him a gingerbread man, but instead it comes out a 'gingerbread baby.' A mischievous baby. A baby who immediately runs away singing: 'I am the gingerbread baby, fresh from the pan. If you want me, catch me if you can.' The story then moves to a race through town, over a bridge, everywhere you can imagine as Matti - and eventually half the townspeople - rush after the poor little cookie-man so they can eat him. (I guess.) This does have some troublesome elements, now that I think of it...
Anyhow, the artwork in author Jan Brett's books is outstanding! With intense detail and borders around every page of cookies and cooking molds, animals and other things. The artwork is reminiscent of the Swiss or Austrian countryside with buildings, trees, animals, people in traditional clothing and so on. It's one of those books which is as fun to LOOK at, ignoring the words, as reading it.
Five wonderful stars which gave me - and the boys - dozens of wonderful memories.
(And btw, the gingerbread baby doesn't get eaten - there's a lovely surprise ending!) -
I love Jan Brett but there is some real funny business going on in this story.
Why do Matti's parents leave him home alone with the oven on? That's a terrible idea.
Then Matti is USING the oven! How old is this kid?!
He's reading a recipe for a gingerbread boy but somehow magically creates an entire gingerbread house, decorated and all, in the same amount of time.
The gingerbread baby is drawn to the scent of the gingerbread house. Uhhhh... cannibal baby? -
I voluntarily read this aloud today to my preschoolers. It has grown on me since the first time I had to read it. The Jan Brett illustrations are lovely, the text is okay, the ending is creative. It's funny to read along with four year olds who don't know what goats are.
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Cute story and when I read it to the kids in school we didn't expect the ending. Lots of great color illustrations!
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Matti makes a ginger bread house to try and catch a rogue ginger bread cookie. A very beautifully illustrated book by Jan Brett. A story of an escaped cookie.
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A sweet story with beautiful illustrations!
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Jan Brett's stories and illustrations never disappoint!
This little gingerbread man twist is such a fun read! -
Can you imagine a cookie coming to life and involving a small town to take place in a game of yummy fresh-baked gingerbread smelling chase? If so, the book Gingerbread Baby is a fun read to let your imagination run away with the main character of the story who is a cookie that was not all the way cooked and comes to life to take the town on a mini adventure only to get caught in the end....or does he really get caught? By definition, a book is considered a Children's/Adolescent piece of literature because it is written to entertain or inform that age group. It should also include children as characters and action. This book is a great example of Children's and Adolescent Literature because it is filled with fun characters that are relatable age, movement, and beautiful colored pictures to really immerse the reader into feeling the town that the story takes place. The plot of the story involves the town members as the characters in the story that are trying to catch the gingerbread baby and how he is planned to be trapped at the end of the story.
How to use this book in a classroom~intice the class to go on an adventure with you and ask the students what they think might happen next in the story to encourage thought and imagination. -
This is such a delightful book! I have read this today with my 8 year old student, and he truly enjoyed it. It is usually a bit hard for me to keep his attention focused when reading, but this book truly caught his attention . Truly recommend it for everyone!
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This is my favorite Jan Brett book. The story is a fun twist on the Gingerbread Man. The illustrations are vivid and wonderful. The story is fun and festive.
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Cute story and beautiful illustrations!
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This is such a wonderful story, I like how it closly relates to the original story. My son loved all the pictures, which were simply amazing. He was picking out different animals, shapes, and items, while I was reading to him. He now says "Gingerbread Baby run!" This will now be a favorite to read durning Christmas time in my house.
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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!
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I absolutely love this book! It has got to be my favourite Jan Brett book, primarily because of its illustrations.
A great addition to any collection.
Beginning readers but for book lovers of any age.
