If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (If You Give...) [Hardcover]

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

Book Description

Release date: April 27, 2010 | Age Range: 4 - 8 years | Series: If You Give... | Lexile Measure: 660L (What's this?)

If a hungry little traveler shows up at your house, you might want to give him a cookie. If you give him a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk. He'll want to look in a mirror to make sure he doesn't have a milk mustache, and then he'll ask for a pair of scissors to give himself a trim....

The consequences of giving a cookie to this energetic mouse run the young host ragged, but young readers will come away smiling at the antics that tumble like dominoes through the pages of this delightful picture book.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Who would ever suspect that a tiny little mouse could wear out an energetic young boy? Well, if you're going to go around giving an exuberantly bossy rodent a cookie, you'd best be prepared to do one or two more favors for it before your day is through. For example, he'll certainly need a glass of milk to wash down that cookie, won't he? And you can't expect him to drink the milk without a straw, can you? By the time our hero is finished granting all the mouse's very urgent requests--and cleaning up after him--it's no wonder his head is becoming a bit heavy. Laura Joffe Numeroff's tale of warped logic is a sure-fire winner in the giggle-generator category. But concerned parents can rest assured, there's even a little education thrown in for good measure: underneath the folly rest valuable lessons about cause and effect. Felicia Bond's hilarious pictures are full of subtle, fun details. Fans will be happy to know that this dynamic author-illustrator pair teamed up again for If You Give a Moose a Muffin and If You Give a Pig a Pancake. (Great read aloud, ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

Review

"A light confection as suited for use in preschool story hours for beginning readers." -- --SLJ.

"A light confection as suited for use in preschool story hours for beginning readers."

-- --SLJ.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 4 - 8 years
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1 edition (April 27, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060245867
• ISBN-13: 978-0060245863
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (268 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #687 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Mice, Hamsters, Guinea Pigs & Squirrels
  • #14 in Books > Children's Books > Social Situations > Friendship
  • #29 in Books > Children's Books > Humor

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.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 64 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Just add a few cookies, and you've got the perfect gift! August 1, 2000

By Quaker Annie

Format:Hardcover

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!

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars If you share a book with your child........ September 13, 2001

By Britt Arnhild Lindland

Format:Hardcover

.....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

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Cookie cookie cookie starts with C March 7, 2004

By E. R. Bird HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

"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. Read more ›

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars first in the popular series September 6, 2001

By audrey TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

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.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My child's favorite book! February 19, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Audio Cassette

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!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic children's picture book February 25, 2001

By Jennifer Freberg

Format:Hardcover

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. Read more ›