The Gingerbread Girl

by Lisa Campbell Ernst, Lisa Campbell Ernst (Illustrator)

Overview

The lonely old woman and the lonely old man decide to bake a girl this time, but when they open the oven, she runs off like her brother did. Never fear, this smart cookie has a plan to outfox the fox. Will it work? Let's just say that the ending is sweet for everyone.

"Ernst's familiar art, here placed against gingham-check backgrounds, utilizes the oversize format to best advantage, with large characters leaping out of their frames. On the cover, the candy-studded Gingerbread Girl with licorice-whip hair stares boldly out at readers. Kids won't be able to resist following her inside." —Booklist

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780525476672
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	09/21/2006
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	81,381
Product dimensions:	9.38(w) x 12.31(h) x 0.33(d)
Lexile:	AD630L (what's this?)
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

About the Author

Lisa Campbell Ernst is the author-illustrator of The Turn-Around, Upside-Down Alphabet Book and many other popular picture books. She lives in Kansas City, Missouri.

Editorial Reviews

PreS-Gr 2-Not as substantial a story as that of the unfortunate gingerbread boy, Ernst's confectionary tale is, nevertheless, entertaining. Like her brother, this perky pastry, covered from head to toe in candies, bolts from the oven and outruns a farm family, a pig, an artist, a cow and her calf, a dog walker, and some children at recess-before jumping onto the same fox's back. However, by using a strand of her licorice-whip hair to lasso the hungry creature, the Gingerbread Girl proves that she is one sharp cookie who knows how to turn around a sticky situation. Large, pleasantly appealing cartoon illustrations are set upon pale backgrounds of blue, mauve, tan, and green gingham. Despite the forced rhyme of the protagonist's speech ("I can leap past piggy/Like all of the others./This story will not end/Like that of my brother's!") and a couple of unnecessary remarks made by the fox ( "Anyone could tell by looking at her that she was an airhead"), the story provides enough amusement to make it appealing-but not a first purchase.-Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

This cute and clever sequel is the story of the Gingerbread Boy's younger sister. Rationalizing that a sweet girl surely would not run away from them, the lonely old couple again attempts a gingerbread child. But she has other ideas: "I'll run and I'll run / With a leap and a twirl. / You can't catch me, / I'm the Gingerbread Girl!" As she runs through town, she captures the interest and appetite of many, but she just spouts witty poetry and sings her trademark refrain. At the river, she accepts a ride on the fox's tail, moves to his back as the water creeps higher and even climbs onto his head. But in one cunning move, she masters the fox and leads her entourage back to the old couple's house where they bake gingerbread for everyone and are never lonely again. Ernst's facial expressions are spot-on. Her illustrations reflect the country setting in both the muted colors and the gingham pattern of the borders and backgrounds. A wonderful addition to other happy-ending, empowered-girl, fairytale remakes. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews