This document provides an overview and teaching resources for the folktale "The Gingerbread Man." It summarizes the classic story of a gingerbread cookie that comes to life and outruns several pursuers before being captured. It also includes discussion questions, descriptions of notable retellings of the story, and a reproducible activity for students.

1. 61
The
Gingerbread Man
About the Tale
There are literally hundreds of published adaptations of this timeless
European tale. In the earliest ones—produced in Norway in the
mid-1800s—the fleeing confection is a pancake. But somehow, as the story
was shared between countries and continents, the lead character morphed
into a gingerbread man. And we Americans wholeheartedly embrace this
cookie version! In the story, a clever gingerbread man hops off a tray and
outruns several hungry pursuers before finally getting gobbled up by a
crafty fox. What child—or adult for that matter—could resist such a
deliciously silly treat?
Discussion Questions
1. Is the gingerbread man good or bad? Tell why you think so.
2. How did the fox trick the gingerbread man into becoming his snack?
3. If you could write a story about a runaway food, what would it be?
Notable Retellings
B The Gingerbread Man by Jim Aylesworth (Scholastic, 1998).
Clever wordplay and charming “old-fashioned” pictures combine in
this kid-pleasing version.
B The Gingerbread Man by Karen Schmidt (Scholastic, 1980). This simply
illustrated, straightforward retelling makes for an excellent read-aloud.
B The Musubi Man: Hawaii’s Gingerbread Man by Sandi Takagama
(Bess Press, 1997). Kids will laugh out loud at this Hawaiian-flavored
yarn, in which a runaway Musubi Man encounters a famished surfer.
Companion Reproducible
Focus Skills: Comprehension, Understanding Dialogue,
Writing
Invite children to use the reproducible on page 62 to
create their very own gingerbread man. They can then
imagine something he would say and write it in the
speech balloon.
My Gingerbread Man
Use your imagination to draw your very own gingerbread man.
Then write something your cookie might say.
Name _______________________________________________
Folk
&
Fairy
Tale
Easy
Reade
rs
Teachi
ng
Guide
62
62
Level
G
Word Count
276
Vocabulary
clever,dashed, fibbed,
munched, naughty
Supportive Features
repetitive, patterned text;
few lines of text per page
Challenging Features
some difficult adjectives
and verbs: clever, naughty
dashed, fibbed, munched;
dialogue
Comprehension
Use this book with the
Sequencing Chart
on page 22.
Phonics
long i (y, igh, i_e): time,
right, might, try, while, like.
Writing
Have children write
directions for decorating a
gingerbread man.
Fluency
Model how to read
dialogue.Then read aloud
the story.Stop when you
get to dialogue, and have
children chorally read it
back to you. Provide
feedback and additional
modeling as needed.
Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers Teaching Guide © Scholastic Teaching Resources

2. My Gingerbread Man
Use your imagination to draw your very own gingerbread man.
Then write something your cookie might say.
Name _______________________________________________
62 Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers Teaching Guide © Scholastic Teaching Resources

3. Scholastic
•
Folk
&
Fairy
Tale
Easy
Readers
Teaching
Guide
•
page
63
“I don’t like cookies,” fibbed the clever fox.
“I just want to help you get across this river.
Hop on my shoulder! I promise you will not
get wet.”
CRUNCH! The fox munched the cookie
in one bite.
“My, what a tasty treat!” he said.
And that was the end of the poor
Gingerbread Man.
The Gingerbread
Man
A retelling by Violet Findley • Illustrated by Hector Borlasca
3
14
16
But the naughty cookie jumped off the plate
and dashed out the door.

4. Scholastic
•
Folk
&
Fairy
Tale
Easy
Readers
Teaching
Guide
•
page
64
A
B
“Don’t even think about eating me up. I ran
away from an old woman and a dog and
a cow. And I will run away from you, too!”
said the cookie.
“OK,” said the cookie.
So he did.
Once upon a time, an old woman baked
a gingerbread man. She put it on a plate
to cool.
“Run, run, as fast as you can. You can’t
catch me. I’m the Gingerbread Man!”
he sang.
13
4
2 15

5. Scholastic
•
Folk
&
Fairy
Tale
Easy
Readers
Teaching
Guide
•
page
65
“Run, run, as fast as you can. You can’t
catch me. I’m the Gingerbread Man!” sang
the cookie.
“Run, run, as fast as you can. You can’t
catch me. I’m the Gingerbread Man!” sang
the cookie.
After a while, the cookie came to a fox
standing by a river. The fox was licking
his lips.
The cookie was right. Try as she might, the
old woman was just too slow.
7
10
12 5

6. Scholastic
•
Folk
&
Fairy
Tale
Easy
Readers
Teaching
Guide
•
page
66
C
D
The cookie was right. Try as he might, the
dog was just too slow.
After a while, the cookie came to a dog.
“I’m going to eat you up!” said the dog.
After a while, the cookie came to a cow.
“I’m going to eat you up!” said the cow.
The cookie was right. Try as he might, the
cow was just too slow.
9
8
6 11

7. 29
1. Make double-
sided copies of the
mini-book pages.
(You should have
two double-sided
copies for
each one.)
2. Cut the pages in half
along the dashed line.
3. Position the pages so that the lettered
spreads (A, B, C, D) are face up. Place
the B spread on top of the A spread.
Then, place the C and D spreads on
top of those in sequence.
4. Fold the pages in half
along the solid line.
Make sure all the pages
are in the proper order.
Staple them together
along the book’s spine.
A
“Me!” said the dog.
“Me!” said the cat.
“Me!” said the duck.
Once upon a time, a little red hen decided
to plant some wheat.
“Who will help me plant this?” she asked.
2 15
A
B
“I will just have to bake it by myself,” said
the little red hen.
“I will just have to plant it by myself,” said
the little red hen.
13
4
B
C
“Not me!” said the dog.
“Not me!” said the cat.
“Not me!” said the duck.
Before long, all the wheat was ground.
“Who will help me bake this into bread?”
asked the little red hen.
6 11
Scholast
ic
•
Folk
&
Fairy
Tale
Easy
Readers
Teaching
Guide
•
page
35
“I will just have to grind it by myself,” said
the little red hen.
“I will just have to cut it by myself,” said
the little red hen.
“Not me!” said the dog.
“Not me!” said the cat.
“Not me!” said the duck.
Before long, all the wheat was tall.
“Who will help me cut this?” asked
the little red hen.
7
10
12
5
D
Before long, all the wheat was cut.
“Who will help me grind this?” asked
the little red hen.
“Not me!” said the dog.
“Not me!” said the cat.
“Not me!” said the duck.
9
8
D
C
The Little
Red Hen
A retelling by Violet Findley • Illustrated by Lynne Cravath
Making the Mini-Books
Scholast
ic
•
Folk
&
Fairy
Tale
Easy
Readers
Teaching
Guide
•
page
33
Before long, all the bread was baked.
“Who will help me eat this?” asked
the little red hen.
“No! Because you did not help, I will just
have to eat this bread by myself,” said
the little red hen.
And so she did, with jam on top!
The Little
Red Hen
A retelling by Violet Findley • Illustrated by Lynne Cravath
3
14
16
“Not me!” said the dog.
“Not me!” said the cat.
“Not me!” said the duck.
You see, they were all quite lazy.
“No! Because you did not help, I will just
have to eat this bread by myself,” said
the little red hen.
And so she did, with jam on top!
The Little
Red Hen
A retelling by Violet Findley • Illustrated by Lynne Cravath
16
✃
Scholastic
•
Folk
&
Fairy
Tale
Easy
Readers
Teaching
Guide
•
page
33
Before long, all the bread was baked.
“Who will help me eat this?” asked
the little red hen. 3
14
“Not me!” said the dog.
“Not me!” said the cat.
“Not me!” said the duck.
You see, they were all quite lazy.
Book Badge Reproducibles
Let me read
______________________________ .
to you!
✃
Let’s read
______________________________ .
together!
✃
Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers Teaching Guide © Scholastic Teaching Resources

8. Sequencing
Chart
Make
a
movie
of
the
story
you
just
read!
Write
or
draw
what
happened
in
the
beginning,
middle,
and
end.
Title
of
Story:
__________________________________________
22
Name
________________________________________________________________________________
Beginning
Middle
End
Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers Teaching Guide © Scholastic Teaching Resources