If You Give a Cat a Cupcake (If You Give... Books) [Hardcover]

Laura Numeroff (Author), Felicia Bond (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up | Series: If You Give... Books

If you give a cat a cupcake, he'll ask for some sprinkles to go with it. When you give him the sprinkles, he might spill some on the floor. Cleaning up will make him hot, so you'll give him a bathing suit . . . and that's just the beginning!

The lovable cat who first appeared in If You Give a Pig a Party now has his very own book! Written in the tradition of the bestselling If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond's newest story will show everyone that Cat is where it's at!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

If you give an adorable gray kitten a supporting role in a popular series, he'll cry out for a lead—and thus, this latest entry from Numeroff and Bond, which features a cat that first appeared in If You Give a Pig a Party. Like its predecessors, the story bubbles with cascading if... then silliness: a girl's granting of a cupcake, for example, leads to a request for sprinkles, which causes a mess; cleaning up gets the cat overheated, which prompts a trip to the beach, and so forth. Some of the connections feel forced even for this series (a ride on a merry-go-round whale inspires a wish to go to a science museum), but the vivacity of the drawings and pertness of the kitty protagonist make up for the shortcomings. Besides, a lot of the series' appeal can be credited to the competency and ingenuity of the various human enablers in the books. While sometimes baffled by the goings-on, the girl in these pages is able to roll with the punches—unlike many adults. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 3–7. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2—This story begins with a girl, a cat that originally appeared in Numeroff's If You Give a Pig a Party (HarperCollins, 2005), and a cupcake. The cat asks for some sprinkles, and naturally, they spill on the floor. Cleaning them up makes the cat hot, so he asks for a bathing suit, and hijinks ensue. The resulting series of events leads the protagonist and the cat to the beach, into a boat, through an amusement park, and eventually back to the sprinkles and another cupcake. The familiar madcap illustrations contrast a gleefully mischievous gray cat with a bemused blond girl. The tone is wry, and the story features the zany childhood logic of the earlier titles by this creative team. The concept is beginning to wear thin, but the book will be popular among fans of the series.—Rachael Vilmar, Eastern Shore Regional Library, Salisbury, MD
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1 edition (September 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060283246
• ISBN-13: 978-0060283247
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,446 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #44 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Cats

More About the Author

Laura Numeroff grew up in Brooklyn, with her mother, father and two older sisters. Her house was filled with books, art, music and folk dancing.

She attended Pratt Institute and graduated with a degree in communications and a contract for her first children's book, AMY FOR SHORT, published in 1975 by Macmillan.

A New York Times best-selling children's book author, Laura is best known for the series based on her book IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE. First printed in 1985, "Mouse" is in its 40th printing. The fourth book in the series, IF YOU TAKE A MOUSE TO THE MOVIES was on the New York Times Children's Best Seller list for five months- nine weeks at number one.

Publisher's Weekly listed IF YOU TAKE A MOUSE TO THE MOVIES as the number two book for children in 2000 (Harry Potter was number one) and at one point, Laura had three books on the New York Times Bestseller List in the same week.

In 2000, IF YOU GIVE A PIG A PANCAKE was featured on the Oprah show three times, and was recommended by Oprah's first kids' book club, as well as being noted as Oprah's favorite children's book of the year on her Christmas show. "PIG" was also on Publisher's Weekly Bestseller List for over a year. In addition, the series has sold over 4.5 million copies, been printed in fourteen languages, and won the prestigious Quill Award in the picture book category.

Some of Laura's other books currently in print are: WHAT MOMMIES DO BEST/WHAT DADDIES DO BEST, DOGS DON'T WEAR GLASSES, THE CHICKEN SISTERS, WHY A DISGUISE? The first two books in Laura's JELLYBEANS book series made the New York Times Best Seller List.

Hillary Clinton, President Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush have all read Laura's books to kids. First Lady Michelle Obama, her mother, her daughters, Malia and Sasha read Laura's book at the 2010 Easter Egg Roll on the White House Lawn. Laura was one of ten children's authors invited to a literacy day in Washington during the Bush administration in 2001. She has also visited over 100 elementary schools and has been a speaker at teacher conferences around the country.

Laura donates book sales to FIRST BOOK, a non-profit organization that provides brand new books to children who otherwise would not have access to them. She has also donated all royalties from THE HOPE TREE- KIDS TALK OUT ABOUT BREAST CANCER, to the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Laura has appeared on The Today show twice as well as Good Morning America. On her December 13th, 2000 appearance on The Today Show, Laura donated 500 Mouse mini-books with doll ornaments to the show's toy drive.

When not writing, Laura takes tennis lessons (she says she's not very good but loves it anyway), reads to children in hospitals and foster homes and calls herself a book and movie fanatic.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not as Good as Mouse/Cookie, October 2, 2008

By 

Christine "MJsMama" (Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: If You Give a Cat a Cupcake (If You Give... Books) (Hardcover)

We love the "If You Give..." books at our house. Our 2 1/2 year old will sit through "Mouse Cookies & More" which has "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie", "If You Give a Pig a Pancake", "If You Give a Moose a Muffin" & "If You Take a Mouse to School" all in one, and then she'll want to read it all over again.

We were very excited to get a new "If You Give..." book, especially one about a cat (our daughter's favorite animal); but I found this story to be less charming than the others. Some of the transitions felt forced; for example, Cat goes to the gym and then suddenly wants to go to the park - I didn't get the connection so the book just didn't flow as well as the others I've read.

This is not to say my little girl isn't completely captivated by the book. We've had it less than a day and have read it through several times (we had to stop because of dinner and bedtime or we'd probably still be reading it!).

So, overall the story is cute and sweet, just like the others, but "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" is still my favorite.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Terrible story, June 8, 2011

By 

Robo (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: If You Give a Cat a Cupcake (If You Give... Books) (Hardcover)

I gave this two stars only for the illustrations and because I liked the other books in the series so much. This is a terrible story it doesn't even make sense. I thought I missed a page at one point and went back. I had not missed a page it just really didn't make sense. The story does not flow and seems forced, like the author couldn't think of anything else.

I LOVE If you Give a Mouse a Cookie, If you Give a Moose a Muffin and If you Give a Pig a Pancake. I love the sequence of events and the fun circular story bringing the reader back to the beginning. In my humble opinion, she should have stopped there. They continue to get worse, with this one taking the cake (pardon the pun). My son would not even sit through the first reading. Just got up and went to look at another book. I can't say that I blame him. And I should say we read the others over and over and over. We love them. Save your money and buy a different book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for toddlers, November 13, 2009

By 

Julie S. "Julie S." (NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: If You Give a Cat a Cupcake (If You Give... Books) (Hardcover)

My mother bought this book at a local deparment store that was selling the book for $5 and the cute stuffed cat for $5. It quickly became one of my daughter's favorites. She loves the illustrations, and the story is simple enough for her to follow, without being boring. There are 32 pages, but only a short sentence or two on each page which is ideal for toddlers that can't sit still for long stories. I highly recommend it.