Children - Fiction & Literature, Children - Fairy Tales, Myths & Fables

Gingerbread Boy

Name: Gingerbread Boy
Author: Richard Egielski
ISBN: 9780064437080

by Richard Egielski, Richard Egielski (Illustrator)

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Overview

"Run run run as fast as you can. You can't catch me! I'm the gingerbread man."

In this modern retelling of a nursery classic, Caldecott-winning illustrator Richard Egielski adds an urban twist to a well-loved tale. This time, the gingerbread boy is on the loose in New York City, and he taunts everyone from construction workers to subway musicians, until his fateful chase through Central Park!

A freshly baked gingerbread boy escapes when he is taken out of the oven and eludes his pursuers until he meets a clever fox.

Synopsis

"Run run run as fast as you can. You can't catch me! I'm the gingerbread man."

Publishers Weekly

PW said that the author nicely balances "an unembellished text" with "minutely detailed images" in this take on the tale of a prideful cookie. Ages 3-7. (Aug.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

About the Author, Richard Egielski

Richard Egielski is the Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator of Hey, Al and many other books for children, including the Tub People series by Pam Conrad. He is also the author and illustrator of Buz and Jazper, both New York Times Best Illustrated Books, Three Magic Balls, and The Gingerbread Boy. Mr. Egielski lives in Milford, New Jersey, with his wife and son.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Children's Literature - E L

This classic story of the gingerbread boy, who avoids being caught and eaten until he meets and trusts the sly fox, is told in an inner-city setting. The setting allows for increased cultural diversity without changing the feeling for the readers. The illustrations, by a Caldecott award-winning artist, are sensational.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 3An old nursery favorite with a big-city twist. The Gingerbread Boy gets loose in New York City and is chased by the usual couple and then a hungry alley rat, construction workers, street musicians, and a mounted policeman. The chase leads down a fire escape, through an alley, across a clothesline strung between two high-rise apartment buildings, down into the subway, and through Central Park to the zoo, where the same wily fox, as always, awaits him. Egielski's retelling is straightforward and retains the traditional refrain: "Run run run as fast as you can"it sounds just right, making a satisfying modern variation. The illustrations, alternating between single- and double-page spreads, adroitly evoke the city setting while giving a solid three-dimensionality and unique individuality to the Gingerbread Boy and his pursuers. This clever confection makes a fine addition to folklore collections, and it comes complete with a gingerbread cookie recipe.Judith Constantinides, East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 3--Oven-hot, a delectable doughboy dashes through the city streets, chased by a growing group of hungry New Yorkers until he's snapped up by a fox in Central Park. A tasty twist on a favorite recipe. Sept.

Kirkus Reviews

Egielski (Buz, 1995, etc.) applies his paintbrush to a familiar tale—and transplants it to an urban setting—about the gingerbread boy who is too enticingly delicious to avoid pursuit, and too naive and inexperienced to recognize a foxy deception. The gingerbread boy, baked to life by the childless wife of a childless man, believes that he is such hot stuff that he immediately calls himself Gingerbread Man and dashes first to escape family life and then to elude those who would devour him. A rat, some construction workers, street musicians, and a mounted police officer join the growing crowd of pursuers. Enter the fox, who promises to bear the boy to freedom across the lake. Readers know the rest, but this bright, winning update, with its vast city backgrounds and a gingerbread boy recipe (that, unlike the story, allows the cookie to come out of the oven before it is subjected to icing) enclosed, makes the chase seem new.