FICTION

Gingerbread Christmas

by Jan BRETT
illus. by Jan Brett. 40p. Putnam. Oct. 2016. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9780399170713.
COPY ISBN
PreS-Gr 2—In this third book about Gingerbread Baby, the cookie takes part in the town's Christmas Festival. Matti bakes a batch of gingerbread instruments, and Gingerbread Baby takes the stage with his band. All is well until a little girl realizes that these instruments are edible. Matti disguises the instruments, and Gingerbread Baby hides in the foldout Christmas tree.
VERDICT Brett's signature border designs and detailed scenes of a folkloric Swiss village make this more suitable for sharing at home than at storytime venues with larger audiences.
Reviewed by Virginia Walter, UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies
Problem: the Gingerbread Baby doesn't have a group of musicians with whom to perform in the Christmas Festival. His (human) friend Matti's solution: bake a band! New problem: the band looks dangerously delicious. Will gingerbread be gingertoast? As usual in Brett's work (The Mitten, rev. 11/89; The Hat; and many others), there's lots going on visually, and to focus only on the central story is to miss much of the peripheral action. Expressive figures and faces made of candy in the side panels, for example, are a highlight of the watercolor and gouache illustrations. So is a foldout Christmas tree that doubles as a search-and-find puzzle. If you like your stories simple, this one may not be for you, but if you enjoy perusable pages, this is a gift that keeps on giving. shoshana flax
Problem: the Gingerbread Baby doesn't have a group of musicians with whom to perform in the Christmas Festival. His (human) friend Matti's solution: bake a band! New problem: the band looks dangerously delicious. There's lots going on visually, including much peripheral action. If you enjoy perusable pages, this is a gift that keeps on giving.
 , Oct 01, 2016

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