The Ginger Bread Man: Loose in the School

The Ginger Bread Man: Loose in the School

Written By: Laura Murray

Illustrated By: Mike Lowery

Scholastic Inc., 2011

28 Pages

 

     I chose this book, because I thought it would be a great book to use for the Christmas holidays.  The book is told in the ginger bread man’s point of view.  In the beginning of the book, he talks about how children made him and he was put together with ingredients, then rolled into dough, and placed in the oven.  When he is ready, the children take him out of the oven.  But then it is time for the children to go play outside; they leave him behind.  The ginger bread man decides to run after them, but he gets lost.  He winds up in the gym first.  The coach notices that a part of his toe has fallen off and tells him to go to the nurse, first.  The nurse says they had passed by a little while ago and sends him to the art teacher; they weren’t in the art room, either.  The art teacher tells the ginger bread man to go to the principal.  The principal tells him that the class has been looking for him and takes him back to his classroom!  The class is so glad to have their ginger bread man back!  The ginger bread man is proud of himself for finding the class. 

 

    The artist did the illustrations using water color paint.  The illustrations in this book are broken into steps and segments.  The process that the children go through to make the gingerbread man is shown step by step.  The ginger breads journey around the school is also shown this way.  The steps are shown in boxes with the text over them.  I thought this was a really great way to present the sequence of the book.  There are also maps of the school that show where the class has been and where the ginger bread man will be going.  I think this helps, because the reader can see where all of the rooms are and where the ginger bread man is. 

 

     I would use this book to do a lesson on the ordering of events in a story.  I would have a map of the school like what is in the book.  After I read the story, I would have the class show me what order the ginger bread man moves around in the school.  I could also have a sequence activity where they explain how the children made the ginger bread man.  The ginger bread man never gives up trying to find his class; another activity would be to have them write about a time when they were determined to do something and never gave up on what they wanted to accomplish.  I could also have them make their own ginger bread men or do a ginger bread man craft.  This book would be most appropriate for kindergarten through second grade.