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

by Laura Numeroff (Author), Felicia Bond (Illustrator)

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.)
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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.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (September 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060283246
• ISBN-13: 978-0060283247
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 8.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,067 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 27 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

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as the others, December 28, 2008

By	G. Bowers (CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is not anywhere as good as the others she has written. It doesn't flow or make much sense. The transitions are very poor and it feels like something that was slapped together with out much thought.

2.0 out of 5 stars Maybe The Cat Really Wasn't Interested in the Cupcake, July 14, 2009

By	A. Mellgren - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

My husband, daughter (who's not quite 2 years old) and I really like the If You Give . . . series of books. I especially like the If You Give a Pig A Party book, so we were quite happy to learn of this new book. However, when we got the book, the flow just wasn't there. The other books at least flow from scene to scene. In this case, however, A hall of apes in a museum for one thing is rather odd and why would someone put a hot cat in a bathing suit and bring him to the beach of all places. It's just not as good as the others.