Monday, May 21, 2007

The Death of a Gingerbread Man

I am happy to report that the reign of The Gingerbread Man is over.

Just in time, too. After weeks of reading - "Run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!" - over and over and OVER again, I had started dreaming of having to chase a giant gingerbread man.

In my dream (or is it nightmare?), I'm huffing and puffing on some sort of a treadmill, and this huge gingerbread man, with his beady button eyes and a mocking painted-on smile is just out of my reach. It is apparently very important that I catch him, but of course, I never do. And throughout the dream, an irritatingly high pitched voice (surely I don't sound like that?!) keeps saying, "Run, run as fast as you can.."

Um, anybody care to try a Freudian analysis of that? :-)

But wait, don't break out the strait jackets yet - Moppet has finally transferred her affections to two new titles, which are thankfully far more (re)readable than the GB Man.

The top book of the moment is Dr Seuss's The Shape of Me and Other Stuff - it's fun to read, and the illustrations, done in silhouette, are eye-catching. It has so many fun and weird shapes that she enjoys pointing out - including a 'Blogg' which, by the way, is nothing like you would imagine.

The other book that she enjoys is Just Like My Dad, by David Melling - a cute and simple story about a lion cub and his goofy yet lovable Dad. It's short, funny, and the pictures are delightful. My favourite line in the book is spoken by the lion cub: "And when I lie around being lazy, my mum says, 'You're just like your dad!'"

I figure if I read it often enough, either Moppet will get the message and be a little more lazy, or her dad will and be a little less lazy. Either will work just fine for me! :-)

But should neither miracle come to pass, I will still be happy - at least I don't need to chase that giant gingerbread man anymore.

17 comments:

By Deepa and Supriya said...

:)...should I shouldn't I...i guess I will..tell you that this is just the tip of the iceberg...I have read to my 31/2 yr old over and over and over and over...u get the picture..what I am saying is, moppet might very well go back to the ginger bread man!

Anusha said...

thanks for the book unreco. I am so not buying GB ;)

Sue said...

Er, I don't like to rain on your parade, but trust me, Dr Seuss can get your tongue really twisted when you have to keep reading him aloud. We have almost all of his books, so I do know.

But at least you're not reading The Sleep Book! (Also by Seuss.)

sims said...

hehe..nice post.. :)

Tharini said...

LOL! No need to do a Fraudian analysis there! :)

Maggie said...

Orchid: Uh uh, me and the GB Man are done! If she decides she wants him back, her father can do the chasing! :-)

Kodi's Mom: Yes, yes, stay away from him!

Sue: Well, I learnt my lesson after the Gingerbread Man. These days I only buy Moppet books that I can stand to read myself. So no Fox in Socks, for example.

Too bad for Moppet, you might say, but she's welcome to read all that when she's reading by herself! :-)

Sims: Thanks.

Sunita said...

:) he he. I buy books that I love and so no GB. We need decent 100-times-tellable and bearable stories that won't haunt us in our sleep

Aqua said...

i agree with orchid...this is really just the tip of the iceberg :) thankfully my lil one never took to Dr. Seuss' book, else i wld have been a wreck by now ...have you tried reading "green eggs and ham"? ...actually...don't even try that.
tara's fav book is 'my little potty' :) she insists we read it to her everywhere...imagine our plight in restaurants :)

Sunita Venkatachalam said...

Cute..But hey, I don't mind Fox in Socks, but poppin does not like it :)

Crumbling Cookie said...

You have GB and I have 'row row row your boat'-my nemesis. This board book had only 5 pages (boards?) and its only a rhyme for crying out loud..but we read it 20 times a day!!!

Rohini said...

"either Moppet will get the message and be a little more lazy, or her dad will and be a little less lazy. Either will work just fine for me"

Amen to that.

Gauri said...

Ha Ha !! You think so !!

Orchid is so right when she said "Moppet might just go back to Gingerbread man".

Just a couple of months back, I was reading it over and over and over and over and over and over ......... u get the message dont you ....... to Abhay.

Let me dig out that post from the archive and send you the link.

Gauri said...

Here it is :

http://tiny-tidbits.blogspot.com/2007/02/gingerbread-man.html

"Run Run as fast as you can ....."
:-))))))

Maggie said...

Tharini: I'm obviously not one for dreaming subtle dreams, huh?

Sunita: You bet!

Aqua: LOL! My little potty! And yes, I have read Green Eggs and Ham, and decided not to buy it! :-)

Poppins: Little Poppin is a discerning reader. I bet she wouldn't like the GB Man either! ;-)

SM: Seriously, for little folks with such tiny attention spans for everything else, how come they don't get bored of the same book being read to them ad nauseum?!

Rohini: Grin!

Gauri: Noooooooooo!

Artnavy said...

first time here- i saw moppet and thought u were my flatmate from yesteryears...found out ur not and also discovered anush( my baby) is a lot like moppet - she wants to be read the same story over and over and over- power of repetition?

Maggie said...

Hi Art, welcome here! Power of (shrill) petition is more like it in Moppet's case! ;-)

Just Like That said...

he he.. and not only the same story, they even want it told the same way!

Think I must get the Just Like my Dad- will Hubs dear get the message, I wonder? Lol.

Lets hope you are rid of the GB man for good, but I doubt...