The Gingerbread Boy

by Richard Egielski

“A spirited version of the story of the gingerbread boy.” — New York Times "A smooth and sophisticated version of the famous tale." — The Horn Book 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 School Library Journal Best Book and New York Public Library “One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing.”

Genres: Picture Books, Fairy Tales, Childrens, Storytime, Christmas, Folklore, New York

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Richard Egielski is an American illustrator and writer who has worked on more than fifty children's picture books, eight of which he authored. He received his education at Parson's School of Design.

Egielski's collaboration with Arthur Yorinks resulted in nine picture books, including Hey, Al, which was awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1987. He is also known for his illustrations in The Tub People series by Pam Conrad.

The New York Times named Buz, a book he wrote and illustrated in 1995, one of the top ten best children's books of the year for its illustrations. Jazper, which he illustrated, was also recognized as a New York Times Best Illustrated Book in 1998.

Reviews

[Michelle Doerr · Rating 3 out of 5]

My 2 year old really liked this story and I think it is a great remake of an old folklore. I gave this book 3 stars because I think the illustrations are wonderful and full of action, but I think the theme should be more blunt. This is a folklore book intended for nursery and primary readers. This is the classic story of the gingerbread cookie that escapes from his maker after being cooked. This newer version, made in 1997, is set in the city versus a cottage in the woods. Also, as he is running and challenging people to catch him, he encounters a rat, construction workers, and a police officer. This made the story fun for me to read because I was left to guess who he would run into next. I enjoy comprehending the story with just pictures on some of the pages with no words. The theme I get out of this book is do not run away from your parents, but I think it should have been told at the end of the story so that younger children get it better. Nonetheless, The Gingerbread Boy can be used to instruct young readers about the danger of not being with a adult.

[Starlequinn Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Gingerbread Boy is a folklore tale written for children ages 4-8 years old. This book has not won any awards but is written by an award-winning author, Richard Egielski. This book is about a woman and a man who decided to bake a gingerbread man. Once baked, the gingerbread man escapes the oven and the house and takes off running. During his ventures he comes across many people who tries to help the woman and man stop him. I gave this book a 4 star rating because it is a classic tale with a fun and silly story and the repetitiveness is silly and entertaining for children to know what to expect. The plot and the characters a very simple and straight to the point. I didn’t give this book a complete 5 star rating because I think the illustrations could be a bit better. The pictures are very fun and detailed, but I find them very dim and dull. I think the colors can be more brighter, vibrant and vivid. Also, even though this is a classic tale, I think the story should end in a more happy ending. It can make some children sad that they’ve laughed with this gingerbread man the entire book, only for him to be gone at the end. That makes me feel incomplete even as an adult. When working with children I would probably tailor the ending each time I read it to keep it exciting, and I would also use puppets as I read to keep them visually entertained instead of having them stare at the full pictures. Overall, still a good tale in my opinion.

[Emily Elkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Level: 2.5

Book Summary: This book is about a woman who makes a gingerbread boy cookie and as she took it out of the oven he came to life. Whenever someone tried to catch the Gingerbread boy he would run from them until the fox tricked him.

Bookshelf Genre: Traditional Literature

Characteristics that support Genre: The Gingerbread Boy is a book that has been passed down from generation to generation. It is a fairy tale because cookies don't really come to life. I remember reading this story when I was in elementary school.

Bookshelf Mentor Writing Traits:

Presentation: The author says who the Gingerbread Boy is running from and then he uses pictures to show the Gingerbread Boy actually running from each person or group of people.

Voice: When the Gingerbread Boy decides to run everytime he would laugh and then say "Run run run as fast you can. You can't catch me! I'm the Gingerbread Man." This gives the Gingerbread Boy seem very arrogant and gives him that voice.

Classroom Integration: I would maybe use this book when during a fairytale unit because it is a fun story that kids would like. I could have students create their own gingerbread boys. This would also be a book that could be read after lunch to refocus students attention back to the classroom and learning that needs to be done.

[Lu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have the highest respect for author illustrators. I hope to be one in the future.

---
The story is not overly complicated. Some phrases are pretty repetitive and probably good for a smaller child.

The ending was a little funny.

---
I love the NY details in the illustrations. (street names, fire escapes, NYC buses, a rat, old metal trashcans, clotheslines, construction workers, scaffolding, "post no bills", NYC taxis (yellow cabs), traffic, subway stations, a coffee shop (I can picture this exact coffee shop), subway grating, ads in the station, busking train station musicians, the newsstand in the station, the subway station (even the colors) and train, the overpass part, the door in the station, the look of "oh no will I catch the train?", the mounted police offers in Central Park, the view from inside central park, the tunnels and entryways into the park and the zoo, the lake, the stone steps (the details!), Bethesda fountain -- I know exactly where all of these illustrations are. So good.

The illustrations look kind of fuzzy almost like they're done in crayon. My favorite character was the rat. My favorite illustration is the rat with the fish.

--
A Laura Geringer book through HarperChildrens.com publishing

[Angelie S · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a retelling of the classic tale set in New York City. The Gingerbread Boy runs out of his baker's apartment and through the streets, taking readers all through out the city and yelling, the classic, "catch me if you can!" It’s an okay book; the main difference is the setting, but it would be a good entry for young readers to start exploring fractured fairy tales. While it doesn't really pique my imagination, the illustrations do bring a lively energy to the city scenes, capturing details that make New York feel vibrant and full of life. The familiar storyline makes it easy for kids to follow along while introducing a new environment, and it offers a chance to compare traditional and modern storytelling. Overall, it’s a playful twist that can spark discussions about how settings change a story’s feel and impact.

Teaching Idea:
Take students on a “mapping” activity. Draw a map of the local city, then have students imagine where the Gingerbread Boy would run if he visited. They can collaborate by drawing landmarks, buildings, and characters the Gingerbread Boy might run across. This lesson combines storytelling with geography and art skills in a fun, creative way.

[Sadie Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christmas is near; therefore, “The Gingerbread Boy” story is on bookshelves everywhere! This specific one was written and illustrated by Richard Egielski and is based on a classic fairy tale story. The gingerbread boy runs away, not wanting to be eaten. In the end, he trusts a fox to save him from the people, yet the fox gobbles him right up. This is a traditional holiday tale and shows that you cannot trust everyone you come across. It was originally published in August 2000 by HarperCollins. It is a fairy tale for grades K-3.

[Myah Rusco · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this book because it is a short cute remake of a classic tale. I think it would be interesting to take a couple of these stories and have students compare them. It also provides many opportunities for fun activities and writing prompts.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the setting, which is the highlight of this retelling. Otherwise, the story adaptation doesn’t seem to fit. I like when things about classic folklore change or stay the same if you edit certain elements, and I would have liked to see that explored more here.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a charming retelling of the story in an urban setting with illustrations that inspire prolonged appreciation! What kid doesn't love this story? This version can be read in under five minutes if you want or need to do so.

[Maya · Rating 5 out of 5]

125 stars from Maya

[Ariadne Acosta · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story about the Gingerbread man and how a fox tricks him into being eaten.

[Relyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the art in this wonderful version.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Colorful illustrations, jam packed with action, and a big city setting give this classic tale a great new vibe.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first graders couldn’t get over the fact he’s called the gingerbread boy and not the gingerbread man 🤣

The fox eating him was hilarious but the kids didn’t laugh 🥲

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gotta love the art and the urban city in this version. Otherwise it's pretty faithful; it even has a fox. (And yes, that's fine, foxes do live in cities.) (And it's a female fox, nice touch.)

[Ashley Moser · Rating 4 out of 5]

You’ve read one you’ve read them all. The pictures were very nicely done in this one, however.

[Alex Alonso]

read to my class today!!

[Michelle Warner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: italicize The Gingerbread Boy

Author: Richard Egielski
Illustrator: Richard Egielski
Genre: European Folktale
Theme(s): Holidays, Baking, Trickery
Opening line/sentence: There was once a woman and a man who had no children.
Brief Book Summary: This book tells the classic story of the Gingerbread Man (“boy”), as a man and woman who had no children baked him. After he came out of the oven, he jumped out of the window and ran down the street from the two. Throughout the book, he runs through new locations where more and more characters start to run after him, in hopes that they will get to eat the cookie. When the Gingerbread Boy comes to his last encounter, it is a fox, which sneakily tricks the gingerbread man into climbing onto his nose to get away from the others. Little did he know, the fox was hungry too.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:Publishers Weekly
In unembellished text and minutely detailed images, Egielski (Hey, Al) retells the story of a prideful cookie. This version finds a childless couple popping the Gingerbread Boy into the oven in their tiny Manhattan kitchen: ""He baked up nice and brown but so hot that he shot right out of the oven."" Impressed with his speed, and unmindful of urban dangers, the Gingerbread Boy yells his trademark ""Run run run as fast as you can. You can't catch me! I'm the Gingerbread Man."" A chase ensues--down a fire escape, across a laundry line and onto an uptown subway train. The cookie eludes a rat, construction workers and a policeman, but he's finally outfoxed in the Central Park Zoo. Egielski's Gingerbread Boy has a Gumby-like flexibility, while the human characters sport exaggerated grins, knobby knees and big hands and shoes. Some spreads have no words, just a wide-angle view of the frenzy. The author nicely balances words and pictures, and if the tale of unfortunate hubris ends badly for the Gingerbread Boy, there are more where he came from: tucked inside the front jacket flap is a recipe for gingerbread boy cookies. Ages 3-7. (Oct.)

Professional Recommendation/Review #2: Hazel Rochman (Booklist Review)
Ages 2^-6. With wit and bravado, Egielski transports the popular folktale from its traditional barnyard setting to the crowded streets of New York City today. A freshly baked gingerbread boy is so hot that he shoots right out of the oven of the couple who baked him and through the open window of their apartment. Then the chase is on. Down the fire escape, past the garbage cans, across the wash lines, into the subway, through the park; the pursuers are joined by a rat, construction workers, a band of street musicians, and a mounted policeman, all of whom want to eat the small trickster. Each time they try to catch him, he laughs and shouts: "Run run run as fast as you can. You can't catch me! I'm the Gingerbread Man." Until the smart cookie meets a wily fox. As in Egielski and Yorinks' Caldecott winner, Hey, Al! (1986), the combination of wild farce and luscious paintings makes for great storytelling and a celebration of the city. Children will shout the refrain and enjoy the cumulative chase as they applaud the cute kid who leaps above the skyscrapers. -See more at: http://www.buffalolib.org/vufind/Reco...

Response to Two Professional Reviews: Through both reviews, the sheer wit and pride of the Gingerbread Boy is noted. They applaud the transformation of this classic folktale into current times, in the location of a large city. They describe the Gingerbread Boy as an engaging and catchy story that keeps the audience following the chase of the cookie, until he meets his match in a tragic end.

Evaluation of Literary Elements: I think this book was purposely designed for young readers, as it uses a great deal of build-up and repetition to keep the youngsters engaged. I think that it is crucial that there is this repetition as it allows younger ages to really anticipate and follow the story more effectively. In addition, this book’s illustrations are very detailed and elaborate in ways that would attract young children to examine the pages of the book on their own time.

Consideration of Instructional Application: I think this book could be used in so many ways in the classroom. The Gingerbread Man is a classic for around the holiday season and therefore could be greatly utilized around that time. The book includes a recipe for making your own Gingerbread Boy, so baking one as a class could be a great application. Using measuring skills would integrate mathematics, while the whole process would bring in some home economics skills. In addition, because this book has such repetition, it could easily be utilized in drama. A class could act out any number of the scenes and it would deepen their knowledge of the book, while using their own creativity.

[Ally Copper · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Gingerbread Boy” by Richard Egielski is a retelling of the classic fairy tale about the Gingerbread Man, who runs away from the woman who baked him and a pig (and many other animals) who want to eat him, all the while shouting, “Run, run as fast as you can. You can’t catch me. I’m the Gingerbread Man.” In this retelling, the Gingerbread Boy runs through the streets of New York City. He is chased by the married couple who baked him, a rat, construction workers, some musicians, and a policeman on his horse. The Gingerbread Boy declares the same refrain: “Run run run as fast as you can. You can’t catch me! I’m the Gingerbread Man.” The illustrations in this book, also by Egielski, are so well done, action-packed, and hilarious. It’s one of those books that doesn’t even need text. Because the story is familiar and the pictures convey the action so well, pre-readers will love this text and learn important narrative skills that will aid them as they begin to read. This picture book would be ideal for pre-k through third-grade pre-readers and readers.

There is only one strange detail in this story that seems a little off-putting. The married couple who first bake the Gingerbread Boy seem to do so not because they want gingerbread to eat but because they want a child. When the Gingerbread Boy becomes alive and runs away, they seem to chase him not to eat him (like everyone else in the story) but to keep him as their son. At the end of the story, when the Gingerbread Boy is eaten by a fox, the other chasers look disappointed and horrified, but the couple (Gingerbread Boy’s “parents”) look downright heartbroken, as though their child has died. I wasn’t sure what to make of this detail. It adds a layer of melancholy to this story that otherwise is lighthearted and funny.

[Shanna Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a hilariously reinvented fairy tale, a modern New York couple decide that, since they have no children, the wife will make a gingerbread boy. Their Manhattan tenement fills with the sweet aroma until the gingerbread boy leaps from oven and out the window. Although they plead with him to come back, he throws back the traditional taunt: "Run run run as fast as you can. You can't catch me! I'm the Gingerbread Man." The two tumble down the fire escape in hot pursuit, and the chase begins. Along his journey, instead of meeting the usual assortment of barnyard animals and country workers, he encounters a city rat, construction workers, street musicians (he loses them in the subway), and a policeman on horseback who hollers "Stop in the name of the law!" Finally, at the foot of Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, he meets a fox who slyly offers to carry him across the fountain... to his traditional ending.

This ingenious interpretation of the story retains the original version's high spirit, but expresses it in the context of a big-city world which is portrayed with a cunning eye for detail. From the bored expressions of commuters to the pair of men's briefs hanging on an alleyway clothesline, the flight of this edible urbanite provides plenty of wit to satisfy its young audience, while also amusing their parents.

Not everyone will love this modern version, which alters the naive aesthetic of the traditional story, but readers who like this kind of innovation will especially enjoy Egielski's clever sophistication. My only quibble is that the young wife's above-the-knee skirt sometimes hikes a little high in the course of the pell-mell race. If this doesn't bother you, the story is definitely worth checking out.

[Spencer Gold · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Egielski's modern take on the Bingerbread story. He updated the story with an urban twist to it. He kept the same premise of a lonely lady making a boy out of gingerbread and to her surprise he turns into the sarcastic gingerbread man. In this version we follow him through New York City as he evades different characters that were stereotypical to the city. For me being a NEw Yorker it was perfect! I enjoyed seeing all the familiar sites. I thought his illustrations reminded me of a comic book. They were so wonderful to look at. I liked the double page full bleed pictures with no words. I felt it was like looking at a piece of art. Those pages to me kept the story moving along brilliantly. I could picture their being captions on these pages. This is a brilliant take on a classic nursery rhyme. I loved the ending with the fox in Central Park, one of my favorite spots in the city!

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books set in our own city (NYC) are a real treat for us!

It's great to see the Gingerbread Boy pass by people we might pass by, go places we might go (I recognize that train station, by the way!), do things that we might like to do (like climb on the scaffolding - my nieces would love to do that!).

The story is just the same as the original except for the setting, and the Gingerbread Boy getting eaten... well, it's very satisfyingly written. Mmm.

A note about the artwork, the illustrations are very colorful, and pretty accurate. This book is worth buying for that alone, I should think.

[RLL22016_MarinaVasquez]

A young couple ends up making a gingerbread cookie, which the wife decorates it to look like a boy. However, once it gets out of the oven he jumps and runs out the window saying run run as fast you can; you'll never catch me I am the gingerbread man. He ends up running throughout the city and passes many people along that want to eat him, which he ends up keeps on repeating " run run as fast as you can; you'll never catch me I am the gingerbread man. Until he reaches a fox that helps him across the pond and tells him to jump on his nose to only trick him into eating him and there he goes in the fox's tummy.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

"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! Chomp!

Great illustrations - full pages of fun detailed pictures.

Supports the Common Core State Standards

[Sunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVE this book. The reason? It's based in NY! I have to get this book for our family. The gingerbread boy is baked in an tiny oven in a tiny apartment, escapes through down the fire escape, runs into a RAT (another thing NY is famous for), past construction workers, musicians in the SUBWAY, into a zoo, and is gobbled up by a sly wolf.

You should really check this book out the next time you're at the library!

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book when I was teaching second grade in the inner-city. The kids back then LOVED IT because they could relate to the drawings of the Gingerbread Boy running throughout the city. Now it is in my Christmas Collection of books for my kids. For some reason, my 2 1/2 year old daughter is in love with this book. Maybe it's the baking of coolies, maybe she likes the illustrations, but we are reading it EVERY NIGHT of this holiday season! :)

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oops! I reviewed the wrong book at first!!

I forgot how gruesome this story was! As we read together, Jordan would have fun searching for the Gingerbread Boy on every page, and liked quoting with him, "You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!" BUT (Spoiler Alert!!), when he meets his ultimate doom she seemed completely blindsided. Poor kid.

[Melissa Valdez · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story that is enjoyable whether the first time reading it, like myself, or if you continue to read it time after time. This folk story/ fairy tale encompasses plenty of descriptive pictures that capture a child's imagination. This thought provoking story allows children to think of who is trustworthy.

[Kynshasa Mcdaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an updated version of the classic gingerbread man story. I like the repetitiveness of the story allowing children to join in at varies parts to tell the story. I would use this book to get the group involved by using sound effects and saying I'm the gingerbread man at the correct times in the book.

[Mary Bolt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing! It is a great version of the classic Gingerbread Man story that takes place in New York City. It has beautiful illustrations and is particularly great to read to inner city children because they can really relate to the setting (it has the subway, street musicians, etc).