The Gingerbread Girl Goes Animal Crackers

by Lisa Campbell Ernst

She's fast. She's feisty. And she outsmarted that sly fox in her boisterous debut. Now the gingerbread girl is back with a new batch of friends - the animal crackers! They don't want to listen to the Gingerbread Girl's advice, even though she is one smart cookie. But they'd better watch it, or they'll all become treats for that trickster fox. With fun twists on the classic refrain plus big, candy-colored illustrations, this is one sweet treat.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Christmas, Animals, Fiction, Fantasy, School

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 13, 2011

About the author

Lisa Campbell Ernst was born in Bartlesville, Oklahoma in 1957. She received a Bachelor's degree in art from the University of Oklahoma, and then won an internship as a guest editor for Mademoiselle Magazine in New York City. She has written and illustrated over twenty picture books including Stella Louella's Runaway Book, which won the Children's Choice Award in Kansas, and Sam Johnson and the Blue Ribbon Quilt.

Reviews

[Franxine (Shadowtearling) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read with bff’s baby sis

[Heather McC · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ginger adventure doesn't with the Gingerbread Man - the Gingerbread Girl gets an adventure of her own when a birthday present comes to life.

[Talycat45 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, nice setting, and great use of rhyming that is not to obvious. It's a nice twist to the Gingerbread boy (which ends horribly) and sequel to the Gingerbread Girl. I recommend this as a nice read to relax your mind from all the novels and YA's.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do like the rhinoceros rhyme.

[Dr. T Loves Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are a lot of great children's books out there. This one is not quite one of them. It's not bad; just not as good as some others.

[Victoria Nesselroad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about the Gingerbread Girl and it is her birthday. The old man and old women bought her a present for her birthday. So she opened it up and it was animal crackers. She was so excited because she has been wanting friends to play with. But when she went and opened the box of animal crackers they all went running right out the door. So she chanced them and so did the old man and the old women and then by the time they got to the river many people were chasing them as well. Then they ran into the fox that ate the gingerbread boy and almost the girl too. Then they got on the fox back to cross the river and then the gingerbread girl told them what happens and so they yelled in his ear and the fox ran off.

Teacher ideas that I have for this book would have to do with animals I think. Like what I would do is maybe talk about each animal that is in the book outside of the book or have the kids search them or count them while I read it to them things like that I think.

[Asho · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading The Gingerbread Girl, S went back to the school library this week and came home with this sequel. It was cute enough, but I didn't like it as much as the first one. I thought the repeated chant had a rhythm that didn't quite work, and some of the rhymes for the individual animals didn't flow as well as I wanted them to, either. I also think the animal crackers could have tricked the fox in a more clever way. That said, it's a cute concept and the last page of the book with Gingerbread Girl snuggled up with her animal crackers is very cute.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun twist on the Gingerbread story that will go well in collections where gingerbread stories are popular. Gingerbread Girl is having a birthday and her present is animal cookies that of course run off when the box is opened. Lots of rhyming and frollicking happens before the Gingerbread Girl has to once again outsmart the fox. Since my kindergarten students do a whole month of this repetitive story, I had to add it to both of my elementary school collections.

Rereading this one as my copy was damaged this year, so I had to replace it.

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bookaday #27. Continuation of the Gingerbread Girl, would make a good read aloud for early elementary students, chances to repeat the refrain and predict animal crackers via rhyming words. However there is a bit of inconsistency with the fox as antagonist - they were friends at the end of the first book.

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is cute! The whole town ends up running after the animal crackers to the river; it's fun to see the people of the town be collected along the way. And on each page, a different animal cracker has a rhyme, and I liked a lot of those.

You don't have to have read The Gingerbread Girl, but it seems like it might help.

[Beth Leary · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Gingerbread girl now has some new friends! Animal crackers!!!!! These animals crackers are running away from the Gingerbread girl.. She has to chase them and then they meet the fox.. Will it be the end of the animal crackers, or will the Gingerbread girl save them? Will they save themselves??
Read to find out!

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun rhythms and rhymes add to the story as we reprise the story of The Gingerbread Man, but with Animal Crackers this time.

Probably better if you've read the first Gingerbread Girl book.

The illustrations showing everyone who is in the chase are great.

[Alissa Kennell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a cute spin on the traditional story of the gingerbread man. There is a ginger bread girl and she has animal cracker friends that go along with her on her journey. This would be a really good book to read around Christmas time to a kindergarten class.

[Madison LibraryBookFamily · Rating 4 out of 5]

We’ve all read of the I’ll fated gingerbread boy. This story is about his sister, the Gingerbread Girl. On her birthday she received a box of animal crackers. They escape and the chase begins. Loved the animal rhymes and the sly fox trying to get another snack.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

My favorite part about the original gingerbread man story is when he gets eaten by the fox because he's sassy and he deserves it. So when the animals crackers go out singing their irritating little rhymes and don't get eaten, I find myself disappointed.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Gingerbread Girls let the animal crackers out of their box and they go on the run.

Great for "inferring" which animal is running by figuring out the poem

[Kaitlyn Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picture Book

Fun twist on a classic story. Still follows a lot of the same pattern as the original story.

[Pamela Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute variation of the traditional Gingerbread Man tale. The Gingerbread Girl gets a gift of a box of animal crackers which go crazy as soon as she opens the box!

[Rebecca Caufman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever part 2 of this fun story. This time Gingerbread girl gets a pack of animal crackers for her birthday and they all take off running after she opens her present.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those animal crackers on the loose are the best!

[Rebekah Grimm · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a very cute spin on a traditional tale. Personally I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would. It is a sequel and I have not read the first book so that could be why.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whoops... this must take place before the epilogue of the first book, as the fox is still sly & a liar. I don't appreciate that the wild animal crackers get tamed to be pets, either.

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

"We're wild Animal Crackers,/Hear our fierce roar./You can't catch us,/We're off to explore!"

[Melissa Namba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great illustrations and strong repetition of a new couplet. Might be a little wordy for young ones, but with the proper reader should be overcome.

[Ashley S · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 4yo asked to read this book two times this week. He enjoyed the animal crackers as characters and the refrains used throughout the story.

[ChristineAmelia Elsdon · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I give this book 15 stars.” - A

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story!

[Jude · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do vegetarians eat animal crackers?

This important philosophical question is neither asked nor answered in this book.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Gingerbread Girl is celebrating her birthday with her parents. Her brother was the Gingerbread Boy who got eaten by the fox last year. She is delighted when she opens her gift and finds it to be a box of animal crackers, a cookie, just like her. Now, she has some friends like her to play with. But, the animal crackers break free from their box and go wild. They are roaring and running and singing about themselves in the same tempo as the Gingerbread boy's refrain. Although the Gingerbread Girl ran after them pleading for them to stop and reconsider, the mob just shouted and kept moving.

She tried to warn them of danger of those who would try to eat them, and so did the sheep, but the crackers were not listening. They blew past cats and children, and hens who all regarded them as tasty, all the while singing their refrain. As they came to the river, they discovered the very fox that had eaten the gingerbread boy last year was waiting. He was even licking his lips. The crackers continued to sing their song, but quieter, lower.

The Gingerbread Girl tries to warn them about the sly fox. The crackers had asked Fox if they could trust him. But, they have all climbed onto Fox’s back for a lift over to the other side of the river. Then as all the crackers were on his back, Fox announces his desire to eat the crackers one bite at a time. Remembering the fox has sensitive ears, the Gingerbread Girl instructs the animal crackers to begin making loud noises. They do and soon they are free of the certain death fate that they narrowly missed. Fox takes off and the crackers head back to the birthday party with the Gingerbread Girl. They are all smiling as they head off into the sunset.

Learning extension: I think the children would enjoy this book more if it was read as a sequal to the Gingerbread boy. This way the children would recognize the refrain and the plot with the sly fox. It might be fun to make a Gingerbread Girl in class either out of real candy or pictures of candy. Then you would need to bring in animal crackers. This would also be a great story to act out in dramatic play outdoors.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this sequel to The Gingerbread Girl, the title character receives a package of animal crackers from the people who baked her. The animal crackers escape, saying “We’re wild Animal Crackers, / Hear our fierce roar. / You can’t catch us, / We’re off to explore!” and the girl is given the difficult task of saving them from the same wolf who ate her brother and almost ate her too.

Throughout the book, the animal crackers speak in rhyme, both in the refrain mentioned above, and in their own individual verses, such as this one for the gorilla: “I’m strong and I’m fast, / Though I smell like vanilla. / You can’t catch me, / I’m the cracker gorilla.” Some of the animals’ verses are stronger than others, but the rhyme is definitely the most fun part of the book, and the refrain on each page encourages kids to interact with the book.

This book has a lot of story time possibilities. It would work well with themes like animals, cookies, and even gingerbread during the holiday season. It might also be interesting to compare the wolf in this story to other Big Bad Wolves in other fairy tales and nursery rhymes. The Gingerbread Girl Goes Animal Crackers would also pair well with Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg, The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School by Laura Murray and Peter Spier’s version of Noah’s Ark.