
“The classic tale of the old couple, with no children of their own, who bake a gingerbread boy to keep them company. Just as the little old woman is about to take him from the oven, he slips away and runs out the door past a cow, a horse, a group of threshers, mowers, etc. All follow in hot pursuit until the gingerbread boy meets up with a wily fox, and ‘at last and at last he went the way of every single gingerbread boy that ever came out of an oven . . . He was all gone!’ A wonderfully frenetic cross-country chase is depicted in Galdone’s broadly humorous color wash drawings. Of the eight editions of this well-known story now in print, this hilarious version is the most delectable.” —School Library Journal, starred “Galdone has already proven many times over that he is perfectly at home with those traditional nursery tales that are still preschoolers’ favorites, and his expressive, unassuming style just right for their very young audience... Children will follow along breathlessly . . . right up to that last snip snap snip when the Gingerbread Boy goes ‘the way of every single gingerbread boy that ever came out of an oven.’”—Kirkus Reviews
Author

Paul Galdone (1907 - November 7, 1986) was a children's literature author and illustrator. He was born in Budapest and he emigrated to the United States in 1921. He studied art at the Art Student's League and New York School for Industrial Design. He served for the US Army during world War II. He illustrated nearly all of Eve Titus' books including the Basil of Baker Street series which was translated to the screen in the animated Disney film, The Great Mouse Detective. Galdone and Titus were nominated for Caldecott Medals for Anatole (1957) and Anatole and the Cat (1958). The titles were later named Caldecott Honor books in 1971. He died of a heart attack in Nyack, New York. He was posthumously awarded the 1996 Kerlan Award for his contribution to children's literature. His retellings of classic tales like "The Little Red Hen" or "Three Billy Goats Gruff" have become staples.