The Plan for the Gingerbread House: A STEM Engineering Story

by Darcy Pattison (Author) John Joven (Illustrator)

The Plan for the Gingerbread House: A STEM Engineering Story
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

Come one, come all! The Gingerbread Fair opens soon!

Teams of kids are baking, building, and decorating. The project guidelines are clear: the winning house must stand upright on its own and a gingerbread boy and girl must fit inside.

Sounds easy? It would be except...cookies burn, the icing is too thin, the house caves-in, someone is eating the candy decorations, and-oh!-they forgot about the gingerbread boy and girl.

Follow the team as they struggle to create the perfect gingerbread house. Young engineers will learn to overcome problems and press on to a finished house. At the end, they evaluate their efforts and plan for a better gingerbread house.

Need a winter STEM engineering project? This book inspires the budding engineers to think about the classic gingerbread house in a new way. Written in a lyrical rhyme, it's sure to please the language arts folks, too.

Select format:
Hardcover
$25.99

School Library Journal

K-Gr 2--This lighthearted STEM engineering story revolves around students who successfully and not so successfully build a gingerbread house. The story opens when the teacher tells students the requirements for the gingerbread house project. First, a gingerbread boy or girl must fit inside it. Second, the house needs to be structurally sound and not collapse. Text and illustration are fun and convey the STEM message without being heavy-handed. "These are the walls that should stand straight and tall. We spread the white icing to hold them in place. But this wall's too thick, and that one's too small. It wibbles and wobbles! LOOK OUT! Hold it steady," is accompanied by an illustration of a scared gingerbread youth running away from the falling wall as two children, one in a construction worker hat and another in a chef hat, look on. At the end of the appealing text, there is a list of lessons learned to prevent mishaps. VERDICT Highly recommended for public and school libraries. The title can be used as a read-aloud to a group. It can also be a excellent tool for teachers or librarians to read before assigning STEM projects.--Robin Sofge, Prince William P.L. Syst., VA

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Kirkus

This lighthearted STEM engineering story revolves around students who successfully and not so successfully build a gingerbread house.

Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9781629441573
Lexile Measure
630
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Mims House
Publication date
October 20, 2021
Series
-
BISAC categories
JNF014000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Cooking & Food
JNF005000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Architecture
JNF051120 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Technology | How Things Work/Are Made
Library of Congress categories
Stories in rhyme
Baking
Science projects
Cooperativeness
School children
Engineering
Structural engineering
Gingerbread houses

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