Jan Brett writes a beautiful story but the true star of the show are her gorgeous illustrations. I love how the stunning art in the central picture is augmented by the secondary story being told in the images in the side bar. She is a tee master of her craft. ( )

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That mischievous cookie, Gingerbread Baby, whose adventures began in the eponymous picture-book, Gingerbread Baby, returns in this second story devoted to his adventures. Although happy to live in the gingerbread house his creator Matti had made for him in the previous book, our hero finds himself lonely from time to time, and sets out to find others like him. His quest leads him nowhere, and he returns home dispirited, only to find that in his absence Matti has provided him with just what he needs.

A sweet sequel to Gingerbread Baby's earlier adventure, Gingerbread Friends features a rhyming refrain, in which our cookie-hero continually asks the inanimate delectables he meets if they will be his friend, that put me in mind of the text of the more traditional tale, The Gingerbread Man, upon which these books are based. The artwork, as is always the case with Brett, is colorful and ornate, with beautiful details throughout. I appreciated the parallel narrative involving Matti and his baking, that is depicted solely in the side-panels of the illustrations. I also enjoyed the huge fold-out page at the end, in which Gingerbread Baby discovers what Matti has made for him. Recommended to all Jan Brett fans, and to anyone who has read and enjoyed Gingerbread Baby's first book. ( )

Genre: Fantasy
Summary: This is a story of all of the gingerbread babies friends. It is a sequel to the story Gingerbread Baby.
Use in classroom: Predictions because there are pictures on the sides that show what will happen next
age appropriateness: primary or intermediate

The gingerbread baby visits a bakery, where he shows off to make friends. He is soon followed by a sugar cookie and an assortment of other treats. In the end he runs home and Mattie, bakes him some friends. ( )