I’ve been trying to help teachers out by using the same weekly theme they are teaching — ideally, reinforcing it with a related story. Today I was scrambling for a book about gingerbread men that was Christmas themed. Not as easy as you’d think, since my first choice of books was being read by the teachers to their classes today. I had set aside a book that worked out perfectly though.
Jan Brett’s books are a staple in elementary libraries. Brett is a wonderful storyteller and her illustrations add so much to the story, often foreshadowing the next part of the story.
I read the book Gingerbread Baby to two of the three classes, and they loved it, but the third class had just a guest reader who read Gingerbread Baby to them! I was scrambling because I had just checked out the second book about the Gingerbread Baby to another student. Thankfully, the teacher had a copy of Gingerbread Friends to loan me.
In Gingerbread Baby, Matti finally catches the Gingerbread Baby by building him a gingerbread house. In Gingerbread Friends, the gingerbread Baby is sad and lonely so he goes looking for friends. Matti surprises him by making an entire gingerbread community full of new friends.
There is a third book, but I don’t yet own Gingerbread Christmas.
I really enjoyed these books and I’m thinking I need to make it a point to read more of Brett’s titles. I also hope to fill in more of her titles.
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