5th June Gingerbread Day

It is Gingerbread Day! Not Gingerbread House Day. That is on 12th December. Gingerbread is 

often associated with Christmas because it is ideal in cold weather, but really you can cook, 

decorate and eat it any time of the year.

Gingerbread is a sweet and spicy cake-like biscuit that is traditionally made with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and molasses. It has a rich and warm flavour. Gingerbread has a long history and has been enjoyed for centuries in many different cultures. If you can find First Catch Your Gingerbread by Sam Bilton you will be well informed about all things - gingerbread.

My children loved making gingerbread men or gingerbread shapes. I think they just enjoyed using rolling pins and cookie cutters. If you have a young child raid your Maisy collection for:

So now to celebrate find a recipe for gingerbread and read The Gingerbread Man or any other book with gingerbread. 

From Minds In Bloom

You should have no trouble locating a traditional version of  The Gingerbread Man.

Our library has these:

What ever you choose, make sure it has all the great repetitive refrains and onomatopoeia so the children can join in.

Now you can explore all the 'spinoffs'!

There is a series by Laura Murray and Mike Lowery which includes:

• The Gingerbreadman Loose in the School     

• The Gingerbreadman Loose at Christmas

• The Gingerbreadman Loose on the Firetruck

 • The Gingerbreadman Loose at the Zoo

 • The Gingerbreadman and the Leprechaun Loose in the School

Another gingerbread series by Lisa Campbell Ernst includes:

• The Gingerbread Girl

• The Gingerbread Girl Goes Animal Crackers 

Author illustrator Jan Brett has three books:

•Gingerbread Baby; Gingerbread Friends  and Gingerbread Christmas. 

Online there is a myriad of activities to accompany these books.

And all the extras:

•  Georgie the Gingerbread Fairy by Tim Bugbird

• The Library Gingerbread Man  by Dotti Enderle

• Tough Cookie  by Edward Hemingway

 • How to Catch a Gingerbread Man  by Andy Eckerman

•  The Gingerbread Man 2 : What Happened Later?  by Stephen Dixon

• Hansel and Gretel's Gingerbread House  by Sue Nicholson

• Everyone Wants a Bite of the Gingerbread Man by Anthony Pinto

• Little Robin and the Delicious Gingerbreadman  by Elaina Moon

• The Gingerbread Star by Anne Fine

And if that's not enough, explore the ninjabread man...

• Kick! Jump! Chop! The Adventures of the Ninjabread Man by Heather Ayris Burnell

• Nanny Pastry and the Nimble Ninjabread Man by Gemma Clatworthy

• The Ninjabread Man by C.J.Leigh and Chris Gall