Touch and Feel: The Gingerbread Man - Ladybird

My son received this touch and feel gingerbread man book for his birthday and it quickly became a family favourite.
The book is a hardback and contains 10 pages. These pages are thick and strong so they can stand up to a fair bit of battering. The book is a decent size and perfect for a toddler to hold - not too small that it is fiddly to turn the pages and not too big that it is difficult for them to pick up.

*Story*
The story revolves around a cheeky little gingerbread man who has been made by a baker. When the baker takes him out of the oven the gingerbread man comes alive and runs off! A chase then ensues with various people and animals all trying to catch the gingerbread man, who just sings his catchphrase 'Run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!'

*Ending*
Sadly, the story does not end happily. On the final page the gingerbread man is tricked by a crafty fox who then gobbles him up. I wouldn't normally reveal the end of a story but I don't think it matters as much for a child's book. I also think it's important for parents to know that the gingerbread man gets eaten at the end so they can decide whether tehir child will get upset. My son isn't at all bothered that the gingerbread man gets eaten, in fact he seems to find it hilarious and even pretends to eat him from the pages! However, some more sensitive children may get upset by the ending so it is best parents know what happens and can decide if their child will be okay with this. I would imagine most children will be fine with the ending though.

*Touch and Feel*
Each double page has one touch and feel feature. It is a different texture each time e.g. scratchy, smooth, woolly. These tactile features are good and provide an extra bit of interest for young children, however I think more could have been made of this. Seeing as it is advertised specifically as a touch and feel book I think there should have been more for the child to touch and feel! There is only one little tactile part on each double page but I think there should have been at least two different textures on each page, if not three.

Despite the lack of tactile parts, I do really like this book. The illustrations are simple but effective as they are so bold and bright. The story is a classic and my son loves to join in with the gingerbread man's catchphrase. If the book had a few more touch and feel bits then it would have had 5 stars but I do feel disappointed with what appears to be minimal effort on the touch and feel side of the book.

Summary: Don't buy just for the touch and feel bits