What happens when you give a mouse a cookie

This month’s Book Nook topic is...

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This month’s Book Nook topic is...
We’ll let you know when a new Book Nook topic has been posted!
Whats the moral of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie?
Is If You Give a Mouse a Cookie Award winning?
How many times was If You Give a Mouse a Cookie rejected?

To truly understand a story, children need to do more than just recognize the words written in the text. Reading comprehension is about understanding the overall meaning of a story, including reading between the lines to understand a story’s overall message.

Discussing why things happen in a book is a great way to encourage your child to think about the story and deepen her understanding. This could mean talking about characters’ emotions or motivations, and talking about cause and effect – how one event leads to another. The better your child understands the stories she hears, the easier it will be for her to read and write stories on her own later.

Let’s get started!

The Book

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff, Illustrated by Felicia Bond

Why we picked it

This story is about a boy who offers a mouse a cookie, which leads the mouse to make many more requests from the boy. The story provides many opportunities to talk about why the characters do the things they do and the thoughts and emotions that might be motivating their actions.

Building understanding in the first reading

When you read this story for the first time, it’s best to keep the story moving and have very short conversations that help your child remember the main characters, their actions, and what the main problem is. For example, you could make comments like:

“I don’t think the boy expected the mouse to want to do so much when he have him the cookie.”
“Oh wow – the mouse didn’t want to nap at all!”

Incorporating explanations in later readings
Once your child has grasped the basic story, she’ll be able to think about it in different ways and have longer conversations that deepen her understanding. Being encouraged to explain something also prepares preschool children for the demands of school, where they are often asked “Why?”.

You can encourage your child to think about why things happen by using these two strategies:

Making “thinking-out-loud” comments
Asking questions that encourage explanations

Making “thinking-out-loud comments”

“Thinking-out-loud” comments show your child how you are thinking about the story and trying to figure out things that are not actually stated in the book. By making these types of comments, you’re modelling a way for your child to express her own thoughts and ideas. For example, you could say:

“I’m wondering why the boy wanted to give the mouse a cookie.”
“I’m thinking that mouse has a lot of energy because he did not take a nap.”
“I think the boy is feeling exhausted because the mouse keeps him very busy.”

Asking questions that encourage explanations
Another way to deepen your child’s understanding of why things happen is to ask questions that go beyond what is written on the page and shown in the illustrations. These questions encourage your child to use her knowledge and reasoning skills. For example:

“Why do you think the boy gave the mouse a cookie?
“Why do you think the mouse wants to put his picture on the fridge?”
“Why do you think the boy is so tired at the end of the book?”

If your child has difficulty answering questions like these, you could provide the answer yourself and continue with the book. For example, if you asked why the boy gave the mouse a cookie, you could say, “Maybe he thought the mouse would really enjoy the cookie.”

The more times you read the story, the more you’ll be able to make “thinking-out-loud” comments and ask questions that deepen your child’s understanding of the story. As you engage your child in conversations that encourage her to think more deeply about a book, you’re helping to develop the comprehension skills she’ll need to read successfully on her own.

Happy reading!

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Laura Joffe Numeroff is the acclaimed #1 New York Times best-selling children's author of “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” and the subsequent If You Give... series. First printed in 1985, “Mouse” is now beyond its 60th 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.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Laura grew up as the youngest of three girls, surrounded by art, music, and books. 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.

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 Publishers 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.

An avid animal lover, Laura, with co-creator Sean Hanrahan, released "Raising a Hero," about a puppy learning to become a service dog and help children with disabilities and special needs. A portion of all sales supports Canine Companions for Independence, a non-profit providing skilled service dogs to children, adults and veterans with disabilities, free of charge.

President George W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton have all read Numeroff’s books to children. First Lady Michelle Obama, with her mother and two daughters Malia and Sasha, read Laura’s “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” 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. Laura has also visited over 100 elementary schools and has been a speaker at teacher conferences around the country.

In addition to her work with service dogs and kids with disabilities, Laura donates a portion of her book royalties to First Book, a non-profit organization that provides brand new books to children who otherwise would not have access to them. She donated all royalties from “The Hope Tree – Kids Talk About Cancer,” to the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

“If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” is actually a parable about eternal return, a part of Indian philosophy that says the universe has and will continue to reproduce itself an infinite number of times.

“A light confection as suited for use in preschool story hours for beginning readers.” — SLJ. From the #1 New York Times bestselling team Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond, the award-winning If You Give a Mouse a Cookie is one of the most beloved children's books of all time.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, published in 1985 and illustrated by Felicia Bond, was the book that launched the hit If You Give... series. It was rejected by publishers nine times before it was finally accepted by Harper.