The Gingerbread Man Loose at the Zoo

He's already taken a field trip to the fire station (The Gingerbread Man Loose on the Fire Truck, rev. 7/13). Now, in the fourth Gingerbread Man book, it's time to visit the zoo. "It's zippity zoo day! / Get ready to go. / Let's load up the bus / And find out / What you know," says the teacher handing out clues to a zoo-animal scavenger hunt. The gingerbread man rises to the challenge: "I'll be a detective. / I know that I can! / I'll solve all these clues. I'm the / Gingerbread Man!" Things go awry when a giraffe mistakes him for food (in the giraffe's defense, he is food). By the time our hero has escaped, the class has moved on. Undaunted, the gingerbread man follows the scavenger hunt clues around the zoo and, with the help of a lost joey, finally finds his classmates. Murray and Lowery's consistently winning recipe includes bouncy, ear-pleasing rhymes and spry, varied illustrations. With school back in session, where will this sweet group of students -- and their loyal cookie pal -- go next? elissa gershowitz

In the fourth Gingerbread Man book, he rises to the challenge of a zoo-animal scavenger hunt. But things go awry when a giraffe mistakes him for food (well, he is food) and the class moves on. Undaunted, the gingerbread man follows the clues and finds his classmates. Murray and Lowery's consistently winning recipe includes bouncy, ear-pleasing rhymes and spry, varied illustrations.