THE weirdly wonderful world of Gingerbread Men is brought to life by the imagination of Tyneside artist Sarah-Jane Szikora in her fantastic new book. Packed full of brilliant illustrations, some from her collection of greetings cards, A Half-Baked History of Gingerbread is a fanciful journey across billions of years.
Beginning with the origins of Homo biscuitus emerging from the primeval soupy swamps of early Earth, though the Biblical Flood and Roman Empire and right through to the heyday of Hollywood, this beautiful hardback is witty and vibrant.
It even glimpses the future of Gingerbread Men – cloned, robotic and travelling between galaxies on rockets from the Gingernational Space Space Station!
Sarah-Jane launched the book in London to wide acclaim this summer and to mark the occasion The Grasmere Gingerbread Shop offered up a signed, limited edition of Sarah-Jane’s painting ‘Field’.
Featuring a terracotta army of Gingerbread Men, it was won by machinist Garath Lamb, 33, from Burnley.
“I’ve been a massive fan of Sarah-Jane since I bought a book of her’s a few years ago,” he explained.
Garath correctly answered a question as to how many currant buttons had been removed by two sunbathing Gingerbread Men on Sarah-Jane’s Bare Breads painting (seven in total).
“I was thrilled to win the competition and I’m now just working out where to hang it in my home.”
A Half-Baked History of Gingerbread would make a perfect Christmas gift or even a stocking filler (if the stocking is wide enough)..
