Laura Numeroff facts for kids

Laura Joffe Numeroff (born July 14, 1953) is an American author and illustrator. She is famous for writing children's books. Her most well-known book is If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.

Early Life and Dreams

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

Laura went to Pratt Institute for college. At first, she studied fashion. But she soon realized fashion was not for her. She remembered her dream of becoming a writer. So, she took a class on how to write and illustrate children's books. For a homework assignment, Laura wrote and drew a book called Amy for Short. It was about the tallest girl in third grade. Before she even graduated in 1975, Amy For Short was published by Macmillan Publishing.

Laura's Writing Career

Laura Numeroff wrote and illustrated her first nine books herself. As she continued her career, she started working with other talented illustrators. Some of these artists include Lynn Munsinger and Felicia Bond. Felicia Bond is the illustrator for Laura's very popular If You Give . . . series.

One of Laura's early books was Phoebe Dexter Has Harriet Peterson's Sniffles. It was published in 1977. The story is about a girl named Phoebe who is sick at home. She misses school but finds ways to keep busy. She pretends to be a dog and plays cards with her grandmother.

Laura's famous book, If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, was turned down by publishers nine times! Finally, HarperCollins bought the story. They chose Felicia Bond to draw the pictures. Laura has said that she loves drawing, but she realized her best skill is writing. She decided her "strength was in writing and not in illustration."

In 2003, Laura wrote her autobiography, If You Give an Author a Pencil. An autobiography is a book about your own life. She wrote it for young readers, so it is easy for children to understand. Laura Numeroff's books have been translated into many different languages around the world.

Laura's Personal Life

Laura Numeroff lives in Los Angeles, California.

Popular Book Series

The If You Give... Series

From If You Give a Pig a Party

The book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie came out in 1985. It was illustrated by Felicia Bond. This book started the very popular If You Give... series. These stories are special because they use a "circular story" format. This means the story starts with an action, which leads to another action, and so on. By the end of the book, the characters end up right back where they started! It's like an "If this happens, then that happens" kind of story. After the mouse, Laura wrote books about a moose, a cat, a pig, and a dog.

• 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...Do Best Series

The first book in this series was What Mommies Do Best/What Daddies Do Best. It was published in 2008 and had watercolor illustrations by Lynn Munsinger. These books are written for children aged 4 to 8.

This book is actually two stories in one! On one side, you read What Mommies Do Best. It shows many wonderful things mothers do, like giving piggyback rides or teaching kids to ride a bike. Then, you can flip the book over to read What Daddies Do Best. This side shows the same activities but with fathers. The stories are identical, showing that both parents do amazing things for their children. Other books in this series are about grandparents, aunts, and uncles.

• 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

This series was written by Nate Evans and illustrated by Lynn Munsinger. It features four friends:

• Bitsy: A pig who loves to draw and make art.
• Emily: A dog who loves to dance.
• Anna: A rabbit who loves to read books.
• Nicole: A cat who loves to play soccer.

The first letters of their names spell "BEAN"! They also love jellybeans, their favorite candy from their favorite place, Petunia's.

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

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. This book, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger, is about a young boy who raises a puppy to become a service dog. This dog will help children with disabilities. Money from Raising a Hero helps Canine Companions, an organization that trains service dogs.

Another book, Laura Numeroff's Ten Step Guide to Living with Your Monster, came out in 2002. It was illustrated by Nate Evans. This book teaches kids aged 4 to 8 how to make a monster a good pet instead of being scared of them. A part of the money from this book was given to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

• If You Give a Man a Cookie
• 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"

Awards and Special Recognition

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

In 1999, Laura Bush, the First Lady of the United States, invited Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond to the White House. They were honored for the If You Give... series at a special event. They were also honored again in 2001.

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

Images for kids

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  From If You Give a Pig a Party