Bibliography
Kimmel, Eric A. 1993. The Gingerbread Man. Ill. by Megan Lloyd. New York, NY: Holiday
House. ISBN 0823411370
Summary
An old woman and an old man make a man out of gingerbread,
complete with licorice, icing and peppermint trimmings. They plan to eat him
until he suddenly pops up and runs from them, teasing them with his chant “You
can’t catch me. I’m the gingerbread man!” The gingerbread man makes his way
through the country past a sow, dog, horse and cow. They all join in with the
man and woman to chase the gingerbread man. Until he meets a sly fox that
convinces the gingerbread man he will help him escape across the river. But the
sly fox is not quite as noble as he first appears.
Critical Analysis
Kimmel's retelling of this traditional story about a gingerbread man that comes to life and sends both man and animal chasing after it has such rhythm that children and adults can't help but fall in love with this story again. The gingerbread's refrain of "Ill run and run as fast as I can. You can't catch me. I'm the gingerbread man." is perfectly balanced so that every time it repeats, even with the additions of the various characters chasing the gingerbread man, the reader almost wants to sing it out. Even Kimmel's word choice of using "sow" instead of pig adds an element of poetry to the story.
Lloyd's illustrations add a humorous quality, especially in the way the characters faces are depicted on each page. The smug smile the gingerbread man has on each page as he escapes yet another pursuer turns into shock as realizes he may have met his match. The emotions bring the character to life. The combination of Kimmel's storytelling and Lloyds artistic talent make this retelling a must have in every library.
Lloyd's illustrations add a humorous quality, especially in the way the characters faces are depicted on each page. The smug smile the gingerbread man has on each page as he escapes yet another pursuer turns into shock as realizes he may have met his match. The emotions bring the character to life. The combination of Kimmel's storytelling and Lloyds artistic talent make this retelling a must have in every library.
Review Excerpts
From School Library
Journal – “Kimmel brings humor and warmth to the retelling of this spicy classic.” – Elizabeth Hanson
From Horn Book Guide
– “Delightful watercolors capture with humor the movement and pace of the
story, making this a pleasant addition to any collection.”
Connections
For younger audience,
this version makes for a wonderful sequencing activity.
Turn this into a reader’s theater.
I read this story to my class as we were working on the
rhythm of stories and they were able to chime in quickly with the refrain “I’ll
run and run as fast as I can. You can’t catch me. I’m the gingerbread man!”
They loved to share the story with me.
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