Synopsis
Run, run as fast as you can, You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man.
The Gingerbread Man is chased all the way to the river by the Little Old Woman, the Little Old Man, Humpty Dumpty, the Grand Old Duke of York, Little Miss Muffet, and many other familiar characters. And indeed, none can catch him. But the Gingerbread Man cannot swim . . . . Can he run away from the wily old fox who offers to help him across the river?
This is a delightful retelling of a beloved children’s classic fable. Carol Jones’ illustrations are beautifully detailed and will give hours of pleasure to children and adults.
Publishers Weekly
That baked-goods scamp stars in another retelling, and although his creators (the little old man and woman), his taunting refrain ("Run, run, as fast as you can,/ You can't catch me,/ I'm the gingerbread man") and his fate (being gobbled by a clever fox) remain the same, Jones (What's the Time, Mr. Wolf?) adds two nifty twists. One is narrative: the Gingerbread Man's pursuers are characters from Mother Goose, including Little Boy Blue, the Grand Old Duke of York and Little Miss Muffet. The other is novelty: a die-cut window on each spread gives a hint about who the next person on the cookie's trail will be (thus, on a spread where the Gingerbread Man teases Humpty-Dumpty, an opening on the opposite page reveals a tiny figure in a haystack who turns out to be Little Boy Blue). Jones's whisper-thin, meticulous ink detailings and soft, translucent colors bring to mind vintage tinted engravings, but some readers may be frustrated by the surplus of minutiae and the drawings' apparent lack of focus. Unfortunately, Jones never really captures the Gingerbread Man's brassy flatness or his effervescent insolence. For a more successful effort, see James Aylesworth and Barbara McClintock's 1998 version. Ages 4-8. (Mar.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.