A beautifully illlustrated Christmas folktale about the power of kindness:
In a land filled with troubles and bad-tempered kings (not so different from our own time), Hans and his father are commanded to make special gingerbread cookies for the king. Using his creativity, Hans devises a way to turn plain cookies into delightful treats that bring joy to his sad town. In the process, he starts a tradition that continues to this day.
Recipes and patterns to make your own gingerbread houses are included.
A beautifully illlustrated Christmas folktale about the power of kindness:
In a land filled with troubles and bad-tempered kings (not so different from our own time), Hans and his father are commanded to make special gingerbread cookies for the king. Using his creativity, Hans devises a way to turn plain cookies into delightful treats that bring joy to his sad town. In the process, he starts a tradition that continues to this day.
Recipes and patterns to make your own gingerbread houses are included.
Christmas can be a magical time of year. Joy is felt as we select the "perfect" Christmas tree, hang ornaments and stockings, sing our favorite holiday songs, and gather together for a day of merriment. Food is a central point of many holidays. During Christmastime, families work together to make dozens of holiday treats. Cookies are typically on the sweet treat list because children want to stay on Santa's nice list.
The holidays are a stressful time for many of us. The baker and his family are facing the pressure of astronomical proportions. Besides having to impress the king with their culinary skills, they must generate more income, but how? The village has gone to shambles. Crops have withered and died. Streets are littered with trash and forgotten potholes. Homes look drab and rundown like the clothes families wore. The residents have no compassion for those in need: hungry and homeless.
Due to a lack of sales, Hans's family's livelihood depends on making extraordinary gingerbread cookies for the King's Christmas banquet. If they fail to impress the royal house, they will receive no payment, and Hans's father could end up in the dungeon. With the help of the moon's light, a child sees what others might've missed. He uses his artistic skills to create stunning gingerbread homes using his father's "plain heart" cookies. Herr Baker marveled at Hans's ingenuity. The king was impressed, and the townspeople adored the culinary masterpieces that resembled their residences. Since the villagers wanted their homes to look similar to the beautiful structures before them, they banded together to clean up the streets, fix what was broken, tend to the fields, and help the town thrive again. They started treating each other with kindness, too!
The First Gingerbread House is a beautiful story that reminds us to see the beauty in life, be kind to one another, and always support our community members. The author encourages family and friends to make a homemade gingerbread house using the recipe, construction steps, and templates in the book's final pages.
Amazon's recommended reading age is 4-18.