Gingerbread Man, the

Run, run, as fast as you can and catch this version of the gingerbread man! Eric A. Kimmel is an education professor who has become one of the most respected retellers of traditional folk tales in the United States. In addition to The Gingerbread Man, his successes include the series of Anansi folk tales and Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins, a Caldecott Honor Book. In this wonderful new take on the never-stale gingerbread man story, the cookie in question (with three peppermint buttons) gets eaten by the wily fox, which is sometimes upsetting to younger preschoolers. Happily, the last page shows a new cookie sheet lined with gingerbread men (and women), and the clever rhyme suggests that the gingerbread man bounces back from his unfortunate plight. "For gingerbread men return, it's said, / When someone bakes some gingerbread." Seasoned illustrator Megan Lloyd's flat and funny gingerbread man bounces along as cheerfully as the text. Cookie lovers everywhere will relish this old-fashioned tale with a happy ending--especially if you bake a batch of gingerbread people afterwards! (Ages 3 to 6)