Laura Numeroff facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Laura Numeroff
reading at Gaithersburg Book Festival
Born	Laura Joffe Numeroff (1953-07-14) July 14, 1953 (age 72) New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Author
Alma mater	Pratt Institute
Genre	Children's stories

Laura Joffe Numeroff, born on July 14, 1953, is an American author and illustrator. She writes and draws pictures for children's books. She is most famous for her book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.

Laura Numeroff's Early Life

Laura Numeroff was born in Brooklyn, New York. She was the youngest of three sisters. By the time she was nine years old, she knew she wanted to be a writer. She says two of her favorite childhood books inspired her. These were Stuart Little by E. B. White and Eloise by Kay Thompson.

Numeroff went to Pratt Institute for college. She first studied fashion design. But she soon realized fashion was not for her. She then went back to her dream of writing. She took a class on writing and illustrating children's books. For a homework assignment, she wrote and drew pictures for a book called Amy for Short. This book was about the tallest girl in third grade. Amy For Short was published by Macmillan Publishing in 1975, before she even graduated.

Laura Numeroff's Career as an Author

Laura Numeroff wrote and illustrated her first nine books herself. Later, she worked with many different illustrators. These included Felicia Bond, Lynn Munsinger, and David McPhail. Felicia Bond is the artist who drew the pictures for the famous If You Give . . . series.

One of her early books was Phoebe Dexter Has Harriet Peterson's Sniffles. It was published in January 1977. The story is about Phoebe Dexter, who is sick at home. She misses school but finds ways to have fun. She pretends to be a dog and plays cards with her grandmother. Numeroff both wrote and illustrated this book.

Her most famous book, If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, was first turned down nine times by publishers. Finally, HarperCollins bought the story. Numeroff's editor chose Felicia Bond to illustrate it. Laura Numeroff has said that she loves drawing. However, she feels her best skill is writing, not illustrating. She does not think she would illustrate a whole book by herself anymore.

In 2003, Numeroff wrote her autobiography, If You Give an Author a Pencil. An autobiography is a book about your own life. She wrote it so that children in second grade could easily read it. Laura Numeroff's books have been printed in many different languages around the world.

Laura Numeroff's Personal Life

Laura Numeroff lives in Los Angeles, California.

Popular Book Series by Laura Numeroff

Laura Numeroff has created several popular book series.

The If You Give... Series

The book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie was published in 1985. It was illustrated by Felicia Bond. This book started the very popular If You Give... series. As mentioned, it was rejected by publishers nine times before Harper accepted it.

These stories use a "circular story" format. This means they show a chain of events. At the end of the story, the characters end up right back where they started. The whole story is an "If this happens, then that happens" kind of adventure. After the mouse book, other stories in the series featured a moose, a cat, a pig, and a dog.

The What...Do Best Series

The first book in this series was What Mommies Do Best/What Daddies Do Best. It was published in April 2008. Lynn Munsinger drew the pictures using watercolors. This series was written for children aged 4 to 8.

This children's book is actually two stories in one. On one side, you read What Mommies Do Best. This part shows many things mothers do. For example, they give piggyback rides, teach kids to ride bikes, and sew buttons on teddy bears.

Then, you can flip the book over to read What Daddies Do Best. This side shows things fathers do with their children. The stories are very similar. Both parents do the same kinds of things in each book. Later books in this series were about grandparents, aunts, and uncles.

The Jellybeans Series

The Jellybeans series features four friends. Bitsy is a pig who loves to draw and make art. Emily is a dog who loves to dance. Anna is a rabbit who loves to read books. Nicole is a cat who loves to play soccer. The first letter of each of their names spells "BEAN." They also love jellybeans, which are their favorite candy from their favorite store, Petunia's.

Other Books by Laura Numeroff

Laura Numeroff loves animals. She always wanted to write a book about service dogs. In 2016, she and Sean Hanrahan released Raising a Hero. Lynn Munsinger illustrated this book. It tells the story of a young boy who raises a puppy to become a service dog. This dog will help children with disabilities. Money from Raising a Hero helped Canine Companions. This group trains service dogs for people with disabilities.

Laura Numeroff's Ten Step Guide to Living with Your Monster was published in April 2002. Nate Evans illustrated it. This book was for children aged 4 to 8. It teaches readers how to make a monster a good pet. It helps kids not be afraid of monsters. A part of the money from this book was given to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

Awards and Recognition for Laura Numeroff

Laura Numeroff has won many awards for her If You Give... series. Here are some of them:

In 1999, Laura Bush invited Numeroff and Bond to the White House. They were honored at the Presidential Inauguration "NEA Teacher’s Picks Books to Read Across America." They were also honored again in 2001 for the If You Give... series at "Laura Bush Celebrates American Authors."

Numeroff also won the Milner Award in 2007 for her individual stories.

Laura Numeroff's Works

The If You Give... Series

From If You Give a Pig a Party

All books in this series are illustrated by Felicia Bond.

• 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)

The What People Do Best Series

• What Mommies Do Best/What Daddies Do Best
• What Grandmas Do Best/What Grandpas Do Best
• What Aunts Do Best/What Uncles Do Best
• What Sisters Do Best/What Brothers Do Best

The Jellybeans Series

These books were written by Nate Evans and illustrated by Lynn Munsinger.

• The Jellybeans and the Big Dance (March 1, 2008)
• The Jellybeans and the Big Book Bonanza (March 1, 2010)
• The Jellybeans and the Big Camp Kickoff (March 1, 2011)
• The Jellybeans and the Big Art Adventure (March 1, 2012)
• The Jellybeans Love to Dance (March 12, 2013)
• The Jellybeans Love to Read (March 11, 2014)

Other Titles by Laura Numeroff

• Raising a Hero (with Sean Hanrahan)
• Beatrice Doesn't Want to
• Sometimes I Wonder If Poodles Like Noodles
• Monster Munchies
• The Chicken Sisters
• Laura Numeroff's Ten Step Guide to Living with Your Monster
• Dogs Don't Wear Sneakers
• Chimps Don't Wear Glasses
• Two For Stew
• Why a Disguise?
• When Sheep Sleep
• Emily's Bunch (with Alice Richter)
• Walter
• Amy for Short
• Does Grandma Have an Elmo Elephant Jungle Kit
• You Can't Put Braces on Spaces (with Alice Richter)
• Phoebe Dexter Has Harriet Peterson's Sniffles
• If You Give an Author a Pencil
• Sherman Crunchley (with Nate Evans)
• "Would I Trade My Parents"