Customer Reviews

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

5 star:		(145)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

We've finally grown out of this book at our house - but it took a long time. My soon-to-be 9 year old will occasionally (in secret)read this book now, but from age 3 to 6, it was a bed time favorite!

The story is funny, as are the illustrations of the little mouse, making a mess and asking for more things - and it all started by just giving the little fellow a cookie.

The hardcover book alone is a great gift item, but it's better yet as a mini book with the cute little stuffed mouse. If you add a small package of chocolate chip cookies, this would make an exceptional gift. Or, if not cookies, a crayon set with some paper is ideal (you have to read the story to understand why!)

For kids who want to read and listen, the audio tape will be listened to again and again. This is also one of those books that adults enjoy reading to their children!

.....you will have hours of fun ahead of you.
My favorite time of the day is when I take my kids to bed and read for them. We read different kinds of books, but each child always gets some special favorites. If you give a Mouse a Cookie is among 5 year old Marta's all time favorites. We can read the book over and over again, and the story is just as cute as when we first discovered it.
The story starts with a little boy eating cookies outside his house, he sees a mouse and wants to share his cookies with it. The mouse eats the cookie, then asks for a glass of milk, of course the boy gives him some milk, and the story goes on and on. The little mouse asking for more and more, the boy having a wonderful time following his new companion. From a napkin, to scissors to trim his hair, a broom to sweep up, and so on. And the wonderful, funny last page when the mouse asks for a glass of milk, but of course, if you give him a glass of milk the chances are that he will want a cookie to go with it, and we are right back to the start of the book. The most perfect story for a child who always wants repetitions, over and over again.
The book is beautifully written by Laure Joffe Numeroff, and the cute drawings to illustrate the story are made by Felicia Bond.
Lucky parents and children with books like this to share.

Britt Arnhild Lindland

Laura Joffe Numeroff is an excellent children's author! My daughter and I have read this book so many times, she can recite word for word throughout the story. The cassette tape that comes along with the story book is excellent, because after the story is read, there is a fill-in-the-blanks game. Your child fills in the blank. (example - "If you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of _____.) The answer is milk. And this continues throughout the story. I highly recommend this book. No child's library should be without it!

"If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" really has been the "It" book for some time. Parents love this story, and their children really get into it as well. On and off, I'd heard various things about it, but nothing that so sparked my interest that I ran to my nearest library to peruse its pages. Now, however, I've grown old and wise in the ways of kiddie lit. and I found myself wanting to know what all the fuss was about. Was this book really as overwhelmingly fantastic as everyone said? Was I doomed to fall desperately in love with it like 98% of the population of known Western Civilization? The answer is a resounding yes yes yes. I had counted on finding some mild enjoyment with a fun story. Was I got was extreme enjoyment from a sly, understated, exceedingly clever story.

As we open, a small mouse treks down a hill on its own as a boy contentedly reads his comic book, munching on a bag of delicious chocolate chip cookies. After the boy offers the mouse a cookie (not knowing what such an action has wrought) the mouse asks for milk. Milk leads to a napkin. A napkin leads to a mirror (to check for a milk mustache, of course). A mirror leads to a hasty haircut. A haircut leads to sweeping up. And so on. All the while the boy gamely follows his rodent friend over, around, and through the different parts of the house, ever supplying the guest with whatsoever it may require. By the end, the house is in shambles, the boy exhausted on the floor (parents will relish this picture above all) and the mouse has just started in on a second cookie.

Some books expertly place kids in the position of their parents. In the picture book, "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus", kids are allowed to finally tell someone (the someone in that instance being a naughty pigeon) no. In this book, the kids are now the patient parents, forever cleaning up and amusing the endlessly enthusiastic and hepped-up mousey. The pictures are deceptively simple, drawn with pure pen and ink. Just the same, millions of tiny details are apparent in every shot. The boy's refrigerator displays (oddly) a newspaper clipping of a car crash. The mouse's drawing of his family displays some pretty original dresses on his mother and sister. And I'll leave up to your imagination the variety of odds n' ends surrounding the depleted boy at the end of the story. Suffice to say, ladies and gentlemen, this book has it all. And it's a delightful story to boot.

As a children's librarian I often heard parents refer to this title affectionately; now, as a parent, I more fully understand the wonderful feeling of curling up with one's child and reading about this demanding little rodent, who proceeds from demand to demand until his accommodating friend is exhausted.

The illustrations are packed with humorous details, and the image of the mouse splayed out drawing with crayons is a hoot. Young and old will enjoy this little classic.

Laura J. Numeroff's picture book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, illustrated by Felicia Bond, is a classic for children. The book tells the story of a young boy's encounter with a demanding little mouse. When he gives the mouse a cookie, he unknowingly sets the mouse off into a tirade of requests. Each demand is directly followed by another more curious demand. The mouse asks for a pair of scissors for trimming his hair, to be read a story, to put a picture on the refrigerator door and many other odd things. Eventually, the story comes full circle. The mouse, thirsty from all the activity, asks for a glass of milk and you can imagine what might follow! If You Give a Mouse a Cookie is an excellent picture book for young children. The plot is very appealing to a young audience. It explores the world of "what if's" and presents experiences familiar to its intended readers such as being read a story and drawing a picture. It encourages its audience to make predictions about what the mouse might demand next. Not only is the plot appealing to children, but the illustrators are as well. The illustrations correspond beautifully to the plot and aid in developing the characters. Although the mouse and the boy are not described within the text, we learn a great deal about them through their pictorial depictions. The illustrations create for the reader a sense that hte mouse and the boy are both very friendly and warm, even if one of them may be somewhat demanding! The plot of the story is also complemented by the illustrations. Within the text, we are not explicitly told how the boy is reacting to all these requests, but we see in the pictures the exasperation and fatigue he is experiencing. The illustrations also enhance the mood of the story. The tale is very lively and fun and so too are the pictures provided by Bond. The colors utilized are bright and inviting and the lines are realistic, yet free. Numeroff's style and language are a perfect match for the children's interests and age levels. She utilizes a good deal of repetition which young children tend to enjoy in a story. Additionally, her vocabulary is consistent with that of three to seven-year olds. Sentences are not too difficult, but do go beyond entirely simplistic construction providing children with language development opportunities. Overall, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Numeroff is a very worthwhile child's picture book. It provides opportunities for children to improve their language development. Additionally, it encourages children to explore possibilities and make predictions. However, it is most importantly an extremely fun and humorous book for a parent and child to share.

Laura Joffe Numeroff and Felicia Bond have teamed up on several children's stories. Many people will tell you that this is their favorite in the series. I slightly prefer When You Give a Moose a Muffin, but you'll have to decide for yourself by reading them both.

Having had two sons, I always found them most delightful when they were the most physically worn out. Oh, if only I had had this mouse to keep them occupied!

The boy is sitting in his front yard eating a cookie. He spies a mouse, and gives the mouse a little bite.

This is a forward mouse, though, and he asks if he might have a glass of milk to go with the cookie. The boy takes him inside and obliges. Then the mouse inquires about having a straw. The boy finds him one. Then the mouse requests a napkin. That means that he is concerned about having a milk mustache. So the mouse wants a mirror to check. While looking in the mirror, he notices that his whiskers need some trimming. He requests some nail scissors from the boy. Considerately, he then wants a broom to sweep up. But if you're going to sweep in one area, you might as well do many. While you're at it, the floors could use a good washing. That makes the mouse tired, so he needs a nap. The boy makes him a little bed out of a box and a tiny blanket and pillow. But the mouse cannot sleep without a story. Seeing the pictures, the mouse thinks what fun it would be to make some pictures. Paper and crayons must be obtained! After the picture is done, he must naturally have a pen to sign his name. Then, the boy has to get some Scotch tape so that the picture can go on the refrigerator. Then, of course, you get thirsty from all that activity. You get some milk from the refrigerator . . . and of course, it's a good idea to have a cookie. And off we go again!!

The contrast between the increasingly exhausted looking boy, and the sprightly mouse make for much good humor. Also, the boy is better at getting things for the mouse than putting them away, so the house is soon filled with messy piles of what the mouse wanted . . . sort of mouse droppings as it were.

The absurdity of a tiny mouse running a boy ragged is quite hilarious to youngsters. By reading the book faster and faster, you can add a note of semi-hysteria that increases the fun.

The words are easy to follow, and closely track the illustrations. Children can easily begin to memorize the story, decode the words, fill in the blanks, and later begin to read aloud to you (first from memory, and later in reality).

The book is beautifully illustrated in a semi-Dr. Seuss style by Felicia Bond that adds much to the enjoyment.

One thing I like about the story is that it gets into how one thing can lead to another. That's one of the best ways to stimulate intelligence and imaginative thinking. It is also good for problem solving later in life. Now, where did all these mouse whisker shavings come from? What caused them?

After you have had fun with this story as written, you might want to have a little more fun with your child or grandchild and occasionally change one of the words. For example, when the mouse wants a napkin, you might substitute "diaper" for a young child. I guarantee gales of laughter with that one!

Have fun from beginning to end, and through the repeating refrain, for ever and ever!

This is one of the best audio version of a story that we have come across. My 2 daughters, ages 2 and 4, love to listen to it in the car. Carol Kane has such a wonderful, fun voice. The tape not only reads the book, but also has a couple of little activities and a cute dancing song. First Carol Kane reads the story. Next she reads it again, playing a couple of games with the kids. In one version she leaves out words for the kids to fill in. (What kid does not know the book by heart?) Then she reads it again, changing some of the words to create an even sillier version of the story. Finally she sings a cute little song that the kids love to dance to. We listen to this in the car. The kids love it even if the book is not handy. I highly reccomend the audio version of this book. Pick it up, you won't be sorry.

My seventeen-month old son will search through his vast library to find this book (and the others in this series), protesting when I try to compromise with another selection. He loves the story, knows when to turn the page (which is no longer necessary, as I can recite them all from memory) and will accept no subsitute. I even tried burying the books away so that I could read something new to him, but he dug them out, carried them down the stairs and insisted I drop everything to recall what are apparently his favorite stories.

Simply put, this is a wonderful book. Our 19 month old daughter has enjoyed this book since she received it on her first birthday. The story is simple and easy to follow and the pictures are big and bright and wonderfully drawn. There aren't alot of words on every page so if you have a younger child that likes to turn the pages frequently, this makes it easy to keep the story going. Although the story is whimsical and involved enough for an older child to enjoy as well. We have read this book so many times that my daughter has memorized some of the words on every page and pretends to "read" it herself. Personally, I feel this is the best of the "If you give a ....." book series (we have them all). I think the only improvement this book could use is if it came in a board book version as the paper pages in our hardback version are quickly becoming worn from all the frequent reading and toting around! A true classic that I feel any parent with a young child can't go wrong with.