If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

by Laura Joffe Numeroff

Synopsis:

While at home one day a boy discovers a mouse who asks him for a cookie. Seeing no harm in the small demand, the boy grants his request. But as soon as the mouse gets his cookie, he realizes he’ll need a glass of milk to go with it, and how can he be expected to drink his milk without a straw to sip it?! As the story continues, the mouse’s requests get more and more outlandish and wear the boy into the ground. And just as it seems the demands will cease, the boy is in for a rude awakening! For the mouse realizes that he’d like another glass of milk…and if he has a glass of milk he’s going to need a cookie to go with it!

Response:

This story by Laura Joffe Numeroff, with illustrations by Felicia Bond, was another enjoyable read. After thinking about the domino effect of action seen in the last two linked books, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie jumped out at me as the next book to read. After looking through other books in the series, If You Give a Pig a Pancake and If You Give a Moose a Muffin, the original “If You” series book was the book I settled on linking.

This simple story with fun and detailed illustrations is a strong example of cause-and-effect to be shared with young children. Just as in There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Seashell and Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears, this story shows how one small action can start a series of events with very unexpected repercussions!

The bossy mouse may give students a reminder of an older sibling or family member, as it did with me, and would allow students an opportunity to see how blindly following the direction of others doesn’t always work out in their favor. Plus the recycled action of the story, though not as clearly presented as in There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Seashell, offers young children a book in which they can follow along and participate.

Activity:

For this book I would incorporate more than one of the “If You” series books to work with students on making predictions about story events, and would have to take place over a few days. I would read one or two of the series books with students, pausing during reading to ask about what the animal character might ask for next. After taking student responses I would continue reading the story to the finish, pointing out how the action is in an infinite loop as the animal character makes the same demands at the end of the book and starts the story all over again.

After reading one or two of the books I would reveal the title of the third story but before reading it have students create their own version of what will happen, using their knowledge of the story structure present in the first two books. After students finished their versions, they could share them with the class and the third book would be read to compare their original stories with Numeroff’s books.