The Gingerbread Man (Picture Books)

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On ran the gingerbread man, and by-and-by he came to two men digging a ditch. "Where ye going, gingerbread man?" said they. The story starts with a British undertone and with characters who look as if they're from old Britain. The illustrations are detailed, but sometimes unrealistic. The cow, pig, and fox were standing and had human characteristics and body language which was the weirdest part of the book. The story line, however, was very well written in that the language was fun to read and the rhyming made the story easy to tell if one had to read it out loud.

Maybe a collage art gingerbread man is more what your kiddos would enjoy. Providing a tray of decorating goodies can give a child the opportunity for creativity and independence. But if you’re looking for more therapeutic benefits, you can incorporate body awareness and multiple fine motor skills. You can, can you?" Yelped the fox, and he snapped up the gingerbread man in his sharp teeth in the twinkling of an eye. Thus, the little boy, the old man, the old woman, the spotted dog, the hungry crow, the three mowers, the two piglets and the pony were chasing the Gingerbread Man. You can also try these fun Gingerbread Man Gross Motor Dice printables to further incorporate movements related to the book. Read and move together!

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The plot of this re-telling is that everyone wanted to nibble the gingerbread man but he ran too fast until the cookie met the fox. The fox then ate the gingerbread man all up without leaving any crumb for anyone else. This allows there to be two themes to the story. The original theme of if was that if you are boastful, someone cleverer than you will come along and destroy you. The additional theme with this re-telling is one of greed. The fox was so eager to eat up the gingerbread man that his greed overtook him and he left not even one crumb for any of the other characters. The other characters were illustrated as being sad that they didn't get a bite because the fox was so greedy. Thus, the little boy, the old man, the old woman, the spotted dog, the hungry crow, and the three mowers were chasing the Gingerbread Man. You can easily print it and immediately have it as a cute writing activity to go along with your gingerbread unit. The gingerbread man came up close, and leaning towards the fox, screamed out "I’VE OUTRUN AN OLD MAN, AN OLD WOMAN, A LITTLE BOY, TWO WELL DIGGERS, TWO DITCH DIGGERS, A BEAR AND A WOLF, AND I CAN OUTRUN YOU TOO-O-O!"

Maybe simple Gingerbread Theme Play Dough Mats are all you are looking for to have kiddos work on fine motor hand skills. Gingerbread Sensory Activities I’ve put together pairs and groups of books for you by grade level, to make it easy for you to plan the perfect Gingerbread Man unit. The little boy ran after him as fast as he could manage, crying out to his grandfather and grandmother, who heard the noise, and threw down their spades in the garden to give chase too. The gingerbread man outran all three a long way, and was soon out of sight, while they had to sit down, all out of breath, on a bank to rest. Then the old woman popped the Gingerbread Man into the oven, and went out to the garden. The little boy waited by the oven. He was very hungry. I created this image for you to pin if you want to save this to reference later. All you do is hover over the picture below and hit “Save” to save it to one of your boards 🙂

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And that was the storynory of the gingerbread man. I think that the ending is rather sad, but Bertie doesn’t agree. He says that gingerbread is extremely tasty, and he doesn't blame that fox at all for wanting to eat it. I suppose he has a point, but then again, it’s not just any old piece of gingerbread that can run. The gingerbread man stopped his race for the first time, and went a little closer, and called out in a very loud voice, "I’ve outrun an old man, an old woman, a little boy, two well diggers, two ditch diggers, a bear and a wolf, and I can outrun you too-o-o." On went the gingerbread man, and by-and-by he came to a bear. The bear said, "Where are ye going, gingerbread man?" This 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff' Story e-Book is another great fairytale resource. Perfect for story-sharing at home and in school.

These are meant for mid-year kindergarteners and they’re best used after you’ve read aloud one of the traditional picture books. The moral of the gingerbread man story is that you should consider anyone you meet first, before trusting them completely. It shows children the damage a lie can do. After all, if everybody behaved like the fox, the world would be a difficult place to navigate. This allows children to establish sold rules for social interactions, consider the feelings of others and put other people's needs before their own. What is The Gingerbread Man Story about? The boy could not believe his eyes, but he soon yelled out, “Help! The Gingerbread Man is getting away!”

Characteristics that Support the Genre - This is a traditional story because it has been told in many different forms for many years. There are many different morals that could also be taken from this story, from being persistent to having patients. Maybe using scissors is not the skill level of your child so try a Gingerbread Pom-Pom Match activity and use tongs as a pre-scissor skill. He said, "I’ve outrun an old man, an old woman, a little boy, two well diggers, two ditch diggers, and a bear, and I can outrun you too-o-o!" If you need a fun and easy writing template to use for your gingerbread unit, this Gingerbread Man Writing Craft template is adorable and only a dollar! 🙂

The best thing about teaching with this popular folktale is that there are so many versions of it! That makes it really easy for children to compare and contrast setting, characters, illustration style, plot, and more. We had pirate gingerbread characters… now it’s time for ninjas! The Ninjabread Man is such a fun one! I love all the different ninja animals illustrations in this adorable story. Great one to add to your collection. So, the Gingerbread Man climbed onto the fox’s nose. Immediately, the fox tossed him up into the air, opened his mouth and gobbled up the Gingerbread Man. You can, can you?" Snarled the wolf. "We’ll see about that!" So he set into a gallop after the gingerbread man, who went on and on so fast, that the wolf too saw there was no hope of overtaking him, and he too lay down to rest.After a while, the Gingerbread Man reached a farm. Standing at the gate, were two piglets waiting for the farmer to feed them. They were really hungry. When they saw the Gingerbread Man, they jumped out, and joined in the chase. Do you have a child working on spoon use? Try this fun Feed the Gingerbread Man printable to setup a low prep scoop and pour activity or use tongs to feed the gingerbread man. You can, can you?" Growled the bear. "We’ll see about that!" He trotted as fast as his legs could carry him after the gingerbread man, who never stopped to look behind him. Before long the bear was left so far behind that he saw he might as well given up the hunt at the start, so he stretched himself out by the roadside to rest. Crafts can work on scissor cutting, drawing, coloring, tool grasp, glue management, direction following, and sequencing. Now, let’s craft some gingerbread goodies. I don’t have all of these ones below but I thought I’d include them for those of you who do an entire gingerbread theme in your classroom or have your own kids that can’t get enough gingerbread man stories. 🙂