The Gingerbread Man: Buttons on the Loose

by Laura Murray, Mike Lowery (Illustrator)

Overview

This fan-favorite Gingerbread Man is loose in graphic novels for the earliest readers!

The Gingerbread Man loves living in his gingerbread house at school. The kids there made him and baked him, gave him a hat and a little bow tie, and—oh no! His two candy buttons are missing!

This smart cookie starts searching right away, looking all over the school. And luckily, he meets someone who is a great help and a new friend.

This Gingerbread Man’s series of graphic novels is for the youngest readers, full of the hilarious rhymes and action-packed escapades kids know and love from his picture books.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593532409
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	01/02/2024
Series:	The Gingerbread Man Is Loose Graphic Novel , #1
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	220,422
Product dimensions:	9.06(w) x 9.06(h) x 0.18(d)
Lexile:	GN330L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 7 Years

About the Author

Laura Murray was a teacher before becoming a writer, and she has had to deal with many an escaped gingerbread man in her time.

Mike Lowery is an author and New York Times bestselling illustrator who has worked on dozens of books for kids. Some of his favorites are The Gingerbread Man is Loose series by Laura Murray, the Mac B, Kid Spy series by Mac Barnett and the Everything Awesome series which he also wrote. He likes to collect weird facts and other bits of knowledge and he draws them every morning in his sketchbook. Visit him online at mikelowery.com and follow him on Instagram @mikelowerystudio

Editorial Reviews

10/16/2023

There’s no daring escapes, treacherous chases, or taunting from humans of any kind in this emerging reader graphic novel series by debut author Murray, which stars an upbeat Gingerbread Man dealing with a wardrobe malfunction. Baked and decorated by a racially diverse group of schoolchildren, the animated Gingerbread Man is proud to be “part of the class”: he poses happily in a group photo, and is appreciative of his humble pastry abode, jaunty pink-striped sailor hat, frosting bow tie, and two candy buttons—which have suddenly gone missing. His momentary panic turns to resolve (“But I have a plan. I can find them. I’m the Gingerbread Man!”) and, in sunny, boldly lined cartoons that move at a fast clip, Lowry (Santa Shark) portrays the confection as he comically retraces his steps throughout the school, employing the boundless energy that made him fairy tale famous. When a student offers both empathy—“You look kind of down. Why are you wearing that very sad frown?”—and two red candies from a lunchbox cookie, it’s winning times two in this breezy summation of the frustration and triumph surrounding a beloved lost object, embodied by one smart cookie who’s also cute as a button. Ages 5–7. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Gingerbread Man: Buttons on the Loose:

“Murray’s rhyming text lends itself well to a read-aloud but will also hold solo readers’ attention. Lowery’s artwork uses an effective combination of full-page images and paneled scenes. . . No doubt fans of the picture books starring this edible detective will enjoy this tale.” –Kirkus Reviews

“It’s winning times two in this breezy summation of the frustration and triumph surrounding a beloved lost object, embodied by one smart cookie who’s also cute as a button.” –Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

2023-10-07
The Gingerbread Man loses his candy buttons and needs help finding replacements.

The cookie from Murray and Lowery’s popular picture-book series is back in this graphic novel spinoff. The tale starts with the Gingerbread Man’s backstory (he was baked by a class of kids and now lives among them). Upon realizing his buttons are gone, he looks all over the school, including their classroom, the library, and the gym, before hitting the lunchroom. There, he meets a brown-skinned, curly-haired girl who offers to share her cookie. Breaking it open, she finds candies—the perfect replacement buttons for the Gingerbread Man—and he discovers that he’s made a new friend. Murray’s rhyming text lends itself well to a read-aloud but will also hold solo readers’ attention. Lowery’s artwork uses an effective combination of full-page images and paneled scenes. An appealing lead, the Gingerbread Man is darling in his hat and bow tie; the teachers and children at his school are racially diverse. No doubt fans of the picture books starring this edible detective will enjoy this tale, even though the plot is a little less compelling than in earlier stories. Ultimately, readers will want to know what the book doesn’t answer: What did happen to those original buttons?

Not as strong as other installments, but its toothsome hero never really disappoints. (Graphic early reader. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews