School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-This comic-style story is told from the gingerbread man's point of view. Just as the timer dings and the cookie that the kids made is pulled out of the oven, the teacher calls "RECESS!" and they all run off. Readers follow the gingerbread man's journey to look for the children, told in rhyming couplets, as he encounters the gym teacher, the nurse (who mends his broken toe), the art teacher, and the principal. Eventually, he rejoins the students and is declared an official member of the class, complete with his own desk, chair, and cottage. With a little practice to get the beats just right, the text can be easily read aloud, and youngsters can be invited to chime in on the refrain: "I'm the Gingerbread Man/and I'm trying to find,/the children who made me,/but left me behind." A variety of fonts is used to indicate differences between speakers and the narration. The cartoon illustrations are primitive in style, but suit the story to a tee.-Maggie Chase, Boise State University, ID (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In Murray's first children's book, a spry, role-reversing story told through comic-book panels and buoyant verse, a gingerbread man is the pursuer, not the pursued: "I'm the gingerbread man,/ and I'm trying to find/ the children who made me,/ but left me behind." Cookie-related humor runs through both Murray's rhymes and Lowery's cartoons, as the gingerbread man-as dapper as he is determined-tracks a group of students through their school; after losing a toe, he visits the nurse: "I'll limp and I'll limp,/ as fast as I can." The gingerbread man's introduction to friendly, identifiable school landmarks echoes the experience of new students. Ages 5-8. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.