BUTTONS ON THE LOOSE

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.