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Searching... Bayport Public Library | EASY BRE | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | EASY BRE | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Jan Brett's Gingerbread Baby is not about to get eaten in this delicious twist on a favorite Christmastime tale!
It all begins when Matti opens the oven too soon and out jumps a cheeky little Gingerbread Bay. He leads Matti's mother and father, the dog and the cat, and a whole colorful cast of characters on a rollicking chase through the village and into the forest, staying just out of reach, daring them to catch him along the way.
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!
Author Notes
Bestselling children's book author and illustrator Jan Brett was born on December 1, 1949. She decided to be an illustrator when she was a child and is known for her detailed and carefully-researched work.
Brett grew up in New England and attended the Boston Museum School. Her books have received much acclaim by publications including Newsweek, The New Yorker, Parents magazine, Redbook, and Publishers Weekly. In 2005 Brett earned the Boston Public Library's Lifetime Achievement Award. Her book Three Little Dassies was published in 2010 and made the New York Times bestseller list. Other of her works that have made the New York Times best seller list are: Home for Christmas 2011, Mossy 2012, Cinders: A Chicken Cinderella., 2014 The Animal's Santa.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
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.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
When a gingerbread baby escapes from the oven, he leads everyone except the boy Matti on a wild chase. In her trademark decorative borders, Brett shows how Matti stays home and bakes a gingerbread house, into which he secretly entices the gingerbread baby. Brett's detailed illustrations offer more interest than does the story--a moderately amusing new take on a familiar tale. From HORN BOOK Spring 2000, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Ages 4^-8. Once again Brett has given her own special spin to a classic. Obnoxious, cocky Gingerbread Baby is definitely a cookie for the millennium. Equally modern is his owner, Matti, a Swiss boy who bakes Gingerbread Baby all by himself. As the escaped cookie wreaks havoc on the snow-covered village, it is pursued by the expected cast of animals and town folk. Meanwhile, Matti is at home working diligently on a surefire plan to catch his errant creation, with his progress monitored in side-panel pictures. Brett's signature artwork is intriguingly detailed and delightfully old-fashioned: the Swiss locale gives the book a wonderful holiday feeling, as do the cookies and confections that decorate the picture borders. A special lift-the-flap illustration at the back reveals how clever Matti eventually triumphs. --Marta Segal
Kirkus Review
In a snowbound Swiss village, Matti figures it's a good day to make a gingerbread man. He and his mother mix a batch of gingerbread and tuck it in the oven, but Matti is too impatient to wait ten minutes without peeking. When he opens the door, out pops a gingerbread baby, taunting the familiar refrain, ``Catch me if you can.'' The brash imp races all over the village, teasing animals and tweaking the noses of the citizenry, until there is a fair crowd on his heels intent on giving him a drubbing. Always he remains just out of reach as he races over the winterscape, beautifully rendered with elegant countryside and architectural details by Brett. All the while, Matti is busy back home, building a gingerbread house to entice the nervy cookie to safe harbor. It works, too, and Matti is able to spirit the gingerbread baby away from the mob. The mischief-maker may be a brat, but the gingerbread cookie is also the agent of good cheer, and Brett allows that spirit to run free on these pages. (Picture book. 4-8)
Library Journal Review
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 (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
