THE PLAN FOR THE GINGERBREAD HOUSE

A group of children create gingerbread houses in Pattison’s picture book, illustrated by Joven.

When teacher Miss Sheridan announces a gingerbread-house-making contest, her young students race into action to create an entry for the class. At first, they burn the cookies, spread icing too thin, construct uneven walls, and place the roof askew. They also don’t put enough gumdrops on the structure, which eventually caves in. However, with a whole lot more icing—“We glue and we glue and we glue and we glue”—and swift chiseling, they manage to complete the house, which wins the grand prize. Joven’s playful, humorous color illustrations feature construction equipment and children with various skin tones, hairstyles, and eye colors. Pattison’s love of rhyming and repetition is on full display: “This is the roof, that we drop right on top….And it’s nibbled and pinched, and that simply must stop!” However, the book’s subtitle, “a STEM engineering story,” suggests that it will include math or science—in backmatter, at least—yet none accompanies the story; a spread titled “Lessons we’ve learned” reads like an afterthought. Despite these hiccups, Pattison’s text begs to be read aloud, and Joven’s spreads offer dynamic visuals that give readers’ eyes many places to travel on the page.

An often fun read-aloud that could use a spoonful of science.