The Library Gingerbread Man

by Dotti Enderle, Colleen M. Madden (Illustrator)

The Gingerbread Man, who lives at 398.2 on the library shelves, decides to escape and leads the librarian on a chase throughout the library.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Christmas, Storytime, Books About Books, Fiction, Humor

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

I'm the author of literally (get it) dozens of books for children.

Born in Killeen, Texas on a cold January day in 1954. My family moved around a lot, allowing me to, over the years, live on a farm, in an historic home and always near rivers or bayous. My playthings were hula-hoops, old typewriters and a wooden leg named Charlie. (Yep, you read that right.) If you want a true glimpse of my childhood dreams, read my novel, Man in the Moon. The character Janine allows you inside my young mixed-up mind.

I’ve lived most of my life in Houston and still live there today. You’ll find me here reading, writing and smiling.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The gingerbread man lives at 398.2. He escapes his book and races along the shelves past many other book characters. But what will happen when he reaches the last shelf?

I saw this book on my Goodreads feed – and I thank whoever it was that read it and put it on my radar! What a wonderful introduction to the Dewey Decimal Classifications. This is quite a fun story and would be a great read-aloud. After all, “It is particularly hard to outsmart a librarian.”

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delight...this book cleverly teaches some call numbers while the gingerbread man is running amok among the books. Also, the librarian is the heroine in the story. Gotta love it!

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.5

[Caryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I especially liked the part where the gingerbread man is captured by the librarian - "It is particularly hard to outsmart a librarian." :)

[Set · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really, really, really like the illustrations but the story does not rhyme and it's a bit stale. It's just another librarian book tooting their own horn.

[Kimberly Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my new favorite children's picture book. I'm so happy I found this. Thank you.

[Mary · Rating 1 out of 5]

The idea of the book is good--to use a story to teach children about the different sections of the library. But, the text and the pictures had some qualities that did not ring true with the public library I use. In this book, titles of books written on the spines of the books are written from bottom to top on most of the books, whereas in my library, they are written from top to bottom, including on the spine of The Library Gingerbread Man . Many of the titles that are on the shelves in the pictures do not seem to belong to the section they are placed in, such as My Big Book of Monkeys in 397.1-389.2. Biographies about Abraham Lincoln, Harriet Tubman, and Amelia Earhart are listed as 920 but belong in 973, 305, and 629 in my library. Again, I like the idea of the book, but the execution is lacking.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dotti Enderle has taken the traditional story of the Gingerbread Man and set it in the library. The naughty Gingerbread Man escapes from his book and is chased around the library by a number of characters who pop out of their books. This is a clever story to introduce kids to the idea that the library has an organization, and that the numbers stand for different subjects. The one thing that would have made this book perfect would have been a page at the end outlining the Dewey Decimal System. Aside from that, very entertaining--and I totally agree with the statement "It is particularly hard to outsmart a librarian."! Recommended.

[BiblioBickie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute book to use with fractured fairy tales and introducing the Dewey Decimal System.

I like how the thesaurus word wizard uses synonyms for stopping and how the book titles near the end allude to the usual ending to the fairy tale as well as other stories ("What animals will eat cookies, cakes, and bon-bons," "54 Hungry wolves," "Cookies at a high altitude," "Mammals that eat cookies," "If you give a fox a ginger snap").

People who make appearances in the biography section are Abe Lincoln, Harriet Tubman, Amelia Earhart, and Jesse Owens. Other biographies on the shelves include Moore, [B]eethoven, Sendak, Eleanor, Presl[ey], Susan B Anthony, Santa Claus, Alcott, and Ms. Hepburn.

I wish that the Arctic fox did not come from 998 - that is history and geography of polar regions, not fauna. Arctic fox belongs with other mammals in the 599s in most libraries. :-(

Otherwise, a clever, fun book.

Librarian presents as white, with a bun and glasses.

[Sabrina Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

We read this to the kids at the elementary school we work at, and along with the book, we have a stuffed Gingerbread Man named Gingy that escapes this book and hides in the library. The kids have to look for him, but they're not allowed to tell me or the other librarian where he is, or he'll move. The goal is to catch him before Christmas break, or he'll make a mess in the library while we're gone.

[Kbreach · Rating 3 out of 5]

Used for 3rd grade with active hands-on kids searching for books mentioned in this book on our NF Dewey shelves. Kids loved the story, especially the ending. The activity — not so much. Next time I need to have the specific books they are hunting for pulled 1/2 way out of the shelf for easier locating. Thank goodness for the classroom teacher and Para who jumped right in to assist the kiddos!

[Mother Goose Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another fabulous gingerbread man tale! This one offers readers a glimpse into the Dewey Decimal classification system as the gingerbread boy runs through the library shelves. He encounters different characters, such as a word wizard, robot, and well-known historical figures in the biography section

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would be a great book to use at the beginning of the year when we teach kids how to use the library...or at least that is what I plan to do this next year! It would be a great way to introduce kids to the Dewy Decimal system.

[Pamela Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun variation on the old Gingerbread Man tale!! This version keeps the traditional rhyme "Run, run, as fast as you can..." but changes the setting to a library. This is a wonderful introduction or reinforcement of the Dewey Decimal System while just being a fun story!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to the Dewey Decimal System for young readers. The imaginative book titles that the Gingerbread Man ran past were hilarious, titles like Mammals That Eat Cookies, 54 Hungry Wolves, Rumpled Shirtskin, and My Favorite Earrings by Anna Lobes.

[Victoria Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This, ladies and gentlemen, is how I will introduce the nonfiction section to students in the future! Enderle weaves the traditional gingerbread man story through the stacks, with characters popping out in accordance to their Dewey decimal number. So great!

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a librarian, I LOVED this book! The librarian nerd in me loved seeing all of the call numbers and the characters that came from them! I think this book would still be fun for younger children even if they don’t understand the ins and lots of the Dewey Decimal System

[Geri]

With his impish reputation to uphold, the library gingerbread man escapes his shelf and runs through the library chanting his favorite phrase, "Run, run, as fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!" There are bold illustrations on each page which adds to this delightful story.

[Rebecca Caufman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The gingerbread man escaped from his book in the library and he runs away from the other characters telling him to stop...the librarian is clever though. Uses the Dewey decimal system to point out where the characters are in the library.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent version of the gingerbread man story. Being a librarian, I especially enjoyed the line --"It is particularly hard to outsmart a librarian." Put this on your Christmas book list.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's about a gingerbread man who comes out of his storybook and keeps running away past everyone. No one can catch him and some of the text is repetitive.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

At the very end, the librarian catches the gingerbread man in his book.

[Jessica Calaway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading age
6 years and up

I loved how it introduces the Dewey Decimal system for kids with characters and topics they can relate to. The only issue is that not all subjects match up as some weeks have been made such as Bios having their own section now.

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful introduction to Dewey for primary students.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Though I'm not a fan of the illustration style, it describes call numbers in a very fun way (and I love the line "It is particularly hard to outsmart a librarian") K-5th

[Serenity · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this to intermediate classes and they all seemed to enjoy it (third graders actually sang along). A cute look at some parts of the Dewey Decimal System told through a familiar story.

[Awjtf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny! Teaches children about the Dewey Decimal system in a fun way!

[Theresa Grissom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, especially being a librarian. The kids at school will like this but only the ones that understand the dewey decimal systems will truely appreciate it.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have always been partial to gingerbread and libraries so i guess it is no surprise that i loved this book! I especially love the Illustrations.

[Kristin Fletcher-spear · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great story to introduce the Dewey Decimal system. Also, keeping the standard Gingerbread man line helped keep the kiddos engaged through it all.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute with a library focus on a Dewey decimal system that is slowly fading away. Students had many questions and noticed inconsistencies in illustrations. Many of the jokes flew right over heads.