10 Picture Books Featuring The Gingerbread Man

Richard Scarry’s The Gingerbread Man, by Nancy Nolte and Richard Scarry
The Gingerbread Man is a classic, and so is Richard Scarry. This sweet Little Golden Book sticks with the original folklore of The Gingerbread Man and was published in 1953 with Scarry’s incredible one-of-a-kind illustrations. Your children will gobble this up (pun most definitely intended) at bedtime and it’s the perfect introduction to the “real” story of The Gingerbread Man.

The Gingerbread Man Loose at Christmas, by Laura Murray and Mike Lowery
The Gingerbread Man Loose at Christmas is one of a series of books about The Gingerbread Man running amok, but it’s the best one for the season. Everyone’s sweet little guy has decided that he has a card to deliver and will stop at nothing to get it to the recipient. It’s a fun adventure with all the important parts of Christmas included—kindness, gratitude, and love. Oh, and dessert.

The Gingerbread Pirates, by Kristin Kladstrup and Matt Tavares
For a really fun spin on Christmas stories and the lore of The Gingerbread Man, The Gingerbread Pirates is cute, quirky, and pretty hilarious. On Christmas Eve, a little boy decides to make gingerbread pirates to leave for Santa, but can’t stand the thought of leaving his favorite one, the Captain, to be eaten. That night, the Captain Gingerbread Man decides to take matters in his own hands to save the other gingerbread pirates from the cannibal he keeps hearing about—Santa Claus. Kids and adults alike will love this imaginative picture book, even if it does make them feel a little bad about chowing down on their favorite Christmas cookie.

Gingerbread Man, by Jim Aylesworth and Barbara McClintock
In this saucy version of the original story, The Gingerbread Man decides to taunt hungry cookie lovers with fun rhymes and repetitive phrases that your kids will love to memorize. There are also some really gorgeous, vintage-looking illustrations here that are just dying to be shared with every gingerbread man lover.

The Gingerbread Girl Goes Animal Crackers, by Lisa Campbell Ernst
No longer a gingerbread man, this picture book is about The Gingerbread Girl, who has already outsmarted the fox once and is now trying to save her friends, the animal crackers. It’s a delightful twist on the classic story with a courageous Gingerbread Girl as the lead, doing her best to save her friends.

Gingerbread Boy, by Richard Egielski
Another retelling of the classic, but with a modern edge. This Gingerbread Boy is on the loose in New York City, running into subway musicians and construction work. It puts the fantasy into a world your children can relate to and it’s darling.

The Gingerbread Family: A Scratch-and-Sniff Book, by Grace Maccarone and Louise Gardner
There’s nothing more fun than a scratch-and-sniff book. Scents of gingerbread, lemon drops, chocolate, peppermint, and more fill the pages along with a sweet story about a little gingerbread family living in a world of candy and other confections. This one is such a fun book for kids to get lost in and it will definitely keep them entertained while they’re waiting on those cookies to come out of the oven.

Ten Tiny Gingerbread Men, by Tiger Tales
Even the littlest gingerbread fan can fall in love with this counting book about sweet gingerbread men counting down the numbers in little peek-through pages. It’s bright, glittery, colorful, and a great addition to your Christmas book collection.

Gingerbread Mouse, by Katy Bratun
What’s sweeter than a Gingerbread Man? A Gingerbread Mouse. The sweet little mouse is living at home when a tree branch falls and destroys her house. With Christmas on its way, she has to find a new place to live and, without giving too much away, that’s how she becomes a Gingerbread Mouse. (OK, I gave some of it away.) A seriously cute and a lovely little story.

Gingerbread Cowboy, by Janet Squires and Holly Berry
And finally, for your little cowboy-hat-wearing sheriffs in the house, Gingerbread Cowboy is a sweet country tale. Like other stories about gingerbread men on the run, this one’s fleeing, too. But instead of foxes, he’s running from ranchers and past cattle, hoping to not be spotted by a coyote. Giddyap!