From the Publisher

Jan Brett's highly original version of the Gingerbread Boy story has quickly become a family classic. Now, the charming tale of Matti's clever trap for the runaway Gingerbread Baby is available as a beautiful board book for younger readers. And it still features a surprise lift-the-flap gingerbread house at the end!

Publishers Weekly

Brett (The Mitten; Comet's Nine Lives) presents a rather wordy and wandering version of "The Gingerbread Boy." Impatient for the gingerbread man to bake the full eight minutes that is specified in the cookbook, Matti opens the oven door prematurely and a doughy baby jumps out instead: "I am the Gingerbread Baby,/ Fresh from the pan./ If you want me,/ Catch me if you can." The cherubic child remains at home while his parents and a smattering of animals lead a cumulative chase through the Swiss countryside, depicted in minutely detailed pictures. Within the artist's characteristically intricate borders, windowlike cutouts shaped like gingerbread cookie cutters reveal Matti's activities at home: he bakes, constructs and decorates an elaborate gingerbread house, which he then places in a clearing in the woods. Well ahead of his pursuers, the fugitive cookie discovers the elaborate structure and happily takes refuge inside. The grand finale allows youngsters to lift a flap shaped like the gingerbread house to uncover its new resident, smiling and winking. Brett's fetching art offsets her rather facile narrative in a book likely to please her faithful fans and holiday gift shoppers. Ages 4-8. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Children's Literature

The joyous journey of a jaunty gingerbread boy is served up deliciously in this book. Set in the Alps, this is Ms. Brett's own version. It could be an operetta starring the clever cookie boy who escapes all who try to catch him. He pulls the braids of Martha and Madeline, tweaks the nose of the milk and cheese man, escapes the fox and runs right into a luscious gingerbread house made especially for him by the boy Matti. The colors, the setting, and the fun and energy of this confection will stir you to make your own gingerbread men and house.

Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-One might ask if there is a need for yet another retelling of "The Gingerbread Boy." If it's this version, the answer is "yes!" Although the story remains true to the original tale, Brett has added her own touches and a surprise ending. The gingerbread baby slyly eludes both humans and animals, including the wily fox. It takes a very clever little boy to outwit and catch the spicy treat. The illustrations are pure Brett and feature warm colors against a snow-white landscape. The expressive human and animal forms carry this rollicking tale along to its conclusion. Many of the pages have intricate frames depicting scenes from the story and cookie-shaped cutouts that will delight youngsters. Because this story has more characters than other versions, the author cuts some of the repetition to preserve the fast pace. Of course, the familiar refrain "Catch me if you can!" will have little ones joining in and rooting for the gingerbread baby. A delightful confection.-Barbara Buckley, Jericho Public Library, NY Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Product Details

• Read a Sample Chapter

Read a Sample Chapter

Gingerbread Baby

G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS

Chapter One

They mixed the dough, and Matti rolled
it into the shape of a gingerbread boy.
They popped him in the oven.
Tick, tock. Matti peeked. Too soon!
Out jumped a gingerbread baby!

"I am the Gingerbread Baby!
Fresh from the pan.
If you want me,
Catch me if you can!"

The Gingerbread Baby ran
around the kitchen. The door
opened and in came Matti's father.
The Gingerbread Baby ran out,
shouting, "Catch me if you can!"

He ran by the cat. She sprang at him.
They rumbled and tumbled,
but the Gingerbread Baby came out on top.

The dog ran after him. The Gingerbread
Baby climbed over the wall, shouting,
"Catch me if you can!"

Matti stayed at home looking at
the cookbook. He heard his mother
and father yelling, the cat meowing
and the dog barking.

The Gingerbread Baby ran into the barn.
He raced across the goats' backs,
singing loudly, "Catch me if you can!"

The Gingerbread Baby stopped at the well
for a drink. Madeline watched him.
Martha tried to catch him.
But she was too slow.

He grabbed the girls' braids,
tied them together and ran off.

At home, Matti stirred, mixed and rolled
dough. He put it in the oven.
"I will catch him if I can." Matti said to himself.

The Gingerbread Baby jumped into a farm
wagon. A mama pig tried to catch him.
But then he jumped into the air,
twisted around and got away just in time.

"I am the Gingerbread Baby.
I am quick. I am fast.
I am clever. I am smart.
No one can catch me!"

Now the Gingerbread Baby came
to a bridge. All the villagers and
the animals raced after him. So he
jumped off, landed on a chunk of ice
and floated down the river.

"Look at me. And what do you see?
The best Gingerbread Baby ever!"
he sang, and jumped ashore.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Gingerbread Baby
by JAN BRETT
Copyright © 1999 by Jan Brett.
Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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