The Gingerbread Man Loose at the Zoo Children's Book {Review and Giveaway}

We had the opportunity to review this fun children's book, the fourth in a series, called The Gingerbread Man Loose at the Zoo, written by Laura Murray and illustrated by Mike Lowery.

About the book:

This story is about a cute little Gingerbread Man and one of the adventures he has with his friends (the students and teacher of the class he lives in). It is zoo field trip day and the class is going to go on a scavenger hunt using riddles to find different animals. Unfortunately, the first animal they find, the giraffe, tries to eat the Gingerbread Man while the children are busy working on their second clue. Fortunately, the Gingerbread Man gets away, but he is separated from his class. He thinks fast and realizes he can use the clues to make his way to the same animals the class is finding, thereby hopefully finding them. Along the way, he finds many animals, some of which really want to chow down on him. Then he comes upon a kangaroo joey that is lost. Can the clues help the Gingerbread Man help the joey find his way back to mama kangaroo? Of course, I'm not going to give away the ending of the book.

What did we think of it?:

I have to say, this is an adorable story. As I mentioned, there are 3 previous Gingerbread Man books. I had never heard of this series until this book arrived in my mailbox. It started with The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School, and continued with The Gingerbread Man Loose on the Fire Truck, and the following book was titled, The Gingerbread Man Loose at Christmas. We loved this book so much, I have put the other books on hold at the library.

Here is a little more about the series, "When Laura Murray first started writing Gingerbread Man Loose in the School (2011), she had no idea that her beloeved Gingerbread Man would soon become a household name. Now with three books, seven state awards, and countless hilarious adventures behind him, everyone's favorite smart cookie is back in THE GINGERBREAD MAN LOOSE AT THE ZOO.

I've mentioned before that I love books that have rhyming text, so that was one of the things I enjoyed about this book. I really liked the way the answer to the animal riddle clue rhymed with the last word in the clue. The Gingerbread Man gets to go on an adventure around the zoo, while we get to help him solve the riddles and see the cute animals created by the illustrator. The book is designed like a comic book with adorable cartoon-type characters. I love the page that gives a little nod to the original story by having him hurry by a fox because he had been warned by his classmates to stay away from foxes.

Here are a couple more of our favorite pages:

How's this for something really cool? 

There is a free poster tucked in a pocket in the back of the book.

And the back has fun activities:

What do the kids have to say?

Tabitha: I really like how he went around the zoo solving riddles, finding different animals, and finally found his class.

Amelia: I thought it was cute.

Hannah: I liked that the Gingerbread Man found the way to his class.  I like that it's a really cute book.

Harold: My favorite part is where he finds all different kinds of animals.

About the author and illustrator:

Laura Murray was a teacher before becoming a writer, and had to deal with many an escaped Gingerbread Man in her time. When Laura's not writing, she loves to return to schools with fun, interactive school presentations. Laura lives, explores, and has loads of fun with her family in northern Virginia. This is her fourth book. You can visit her at www.lauramurraybooks.com.

Mike Lowery's work has been seen in galleries and publications across the globe. He is Professor of Illustration at the Savannah College of Art and Design. You can visit him at www.mikelowery.com

Published by the G.P. Putnam's Sons an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group.  The book retails at $16.99. Release date: August 23rd, 2016.

Giveaway Time!

Great news! I have been given the opportunity to offer a giveaway for one person to win their own copy of Gingerbread Man Loose at the Zoo.

All you need to do is enter in the Rafflecopter form below. 

There are only 2 simple mandatory entries, with the remainder of the entries being optional. 

Remember, you do not have to do the extra entries, but they will increase your odds of winning. 

This giveaway is open to US residents 18 and over. 

The giveaway runs August 22nd through September 3rd.

Thanks for stopping by, and good luck!

 By entering the giveaway, you understand and agree that your contact information will be shared with the sponsor.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received a hardcover copy of  The Gingerbread Man Loose at the Zoo in exchange for my honest review. No further compensation was given. This did not in any way influence my review. I only recommend products I use personally and feel will be a good products for my readers.