If You Give a Mouse a Cookie facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

Author	Laura Numeroff
Illustrator	Felicia Bond
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	If You Give...
Genre	Children's literature

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie is a popular children's book written by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond. It was first published in 1985. This book is known as a "circular tale" because the story ends right where it began. It was the first book in the famous If You Give... series.

Story Plot: What Happens?

From If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

The story starts when a boy gives a cookie to a mouse. This simple act leads to a whole chain of events!

First, the mouse asks for a glass of milk. Then he needs a straw to drink it. After that, he wants a mirror to check for a milk mustache. Looking in the mirror makes him want to trim his hair, so he asks for nail scissors.

Once his hair is trimmed, he needs a broom to sweep up the tiny pieces. Sweeping makes him tired, so he wants to take a nap. After his nap, he wants a story read to him. Then he wants to draw a picture and hang it on the refrigerator.

Looking at the refrigerator makes him thirsty, so he asks for a glass of milk. And guess what? He then wants a cookie to go with it! This brings the story back to the beginning, completing the circle.

The Art Behind the Story

From If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

The amazing pictures in the book were created by Felicia Bond. She made the mouse look more and more energetic as the story goes on. By the end, the little boy looks quite tired from all the mouse's requests!

Critics praised the art for its "meticulous attention to detail," meaning every tiny part of the drawings was carefully done. Felicia Bond used bright colors by layering magenta, cyan, yellow, and black pencils. This was a complex process that made the illustrations vibrant and lively.

Felicia Bond shared that the mouse's energy in the drawings came from her own excitement. She was rushing to finish the sketches before a trip. She also often mentions that the little boy in the book was inspired by her boyfriend, Stephen Roxburgh, when he was a child.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie in Popular Culture

From If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie quickly became a favorite and is now considered a modern classic. After its success, seventeen more books followed in the If You Give... series. These books have been translated into more than thirteen languages around the world.

The If You Give... series has won many awards. Their popularity is clear because they are often found on The New York Times Best Seller List.

• Famous cartoonist Charles Schulz, who created Peanuts, even made two comic strips about If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.
• In 2000, Oprah Winfrey chose If You Give a Pig a Pancake as one of her "favorite things." She also put it on her list called "Oprah’s Favorite Things from A-Z."
• "If You Give a Moose a Muffin" was once the answer to a question on the TV show Jeopardy!.
• These books have also been turned into plays for children's theaters.

The art from the series has been featured in special places. The Bronx Zoo in New York displayed the artwork in their Children's Zoo for a year. The pictures have also been used to create murals in children's hospitals.

The series has fans of all ages, even in Japan, where a whole city bus in Tokyo was painted with images of Mouse! Mouse even visited the White House. In 2001, Laura Bush, the former First Lady, honored Felicia Bond and Laura Numeroff for their If You Give... series. Laura Bush even wrote that her family's cat, India, loved If You Take a Mouse to the Movies. A bronze statue of India sleeping on the book is at the George W. Bush Presidential Library. In 2009, First Lady Michelle Obama read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie on the White House lawn during the Easter Egg Roll.

The If You Give... Book Series

From If You Give a Pig a Party

Here are some of the books in the popular If You Give... series:

• If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (November 1985)
• If You Give a Moose a Muffin (March 1991)
• If You Give a Pig a Pancake (February 1998)
• The Best Mouse Cookie (July 1999)
• If You Take a Mouse to the Movies (May 2000)
• If You Take a Mouse to School (September 2002)
• If You Give a Pig a Party (April 2004)
• Merry Christmas, Mouse! (August 2007)
• Time for School, Mouse! (2008)
• If You Give a Cat a Cupcake (2008)
• Happy Valentine's Day, Mouse! (2009)
• Happy Easter, Mouse! (2010)
• If You Give a Dog a Donut (2011)
• It's Pumpkin Day, Mouse! (2012)
• Happy Birthday, Mouse! (2012)
• If You Give a Mouse a Brownie (2016)

Awards for the Series

The If You Give... series has won many awards over the years. Here are some of them:

The book series also received an Honoree "Laura Bush Celebrates American Authors" award in 2001. It was also part of the Presidential Inauguration "NEA Teacher’s Picks Books to Read Across America" in 1999.

Adaptations

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie was made into an animated TV series. This show was released on Amazon Prime on November 7, 2017.

Images for kids

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  From If You Give a Pig a Party