If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

Children love order. Sometimes it seems like the order comes out of chaos but it doesn't matter. they still love order. Each step a child takes is taken from an inner voice that says, " A must lead to B which brings us to C and then onto D, which eventually takes me back to A."
Which brings me to the book  "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie." In the story, each step the mouse takes, leads from one thing to anotherr, until ultimately he is back where he began. 
 The story is about a boy and a mouse. The boy offers the mouse a cookie which leads the mouse to crave a glass of milk, a straw, a napkin, grooming, art, naps, stories and finally, back to the cookie again. The little mouse goes from one task to the next with total concentration, while the little boy plays the part of parent, supplying whatever is requested, humoring, admiring and cleaning up after each of the mouse's projects. At the end, tired, and wanting nothing more than a few moments peace, the boy gets up again, when the mouse requests a cookie.
The book is written by Laura Joffe Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond.
Felicia Bond, as illustrator gives the book pictures which are sure to appeal to everyone. The illustrations are very detailed but not overly complicated. The expressions on the mouse and boy let you know exactly what they are thinking. Though the style seems simple on the surface, every detail is there to see if you look closely enough.
Laura Joffe Numeroff, the writer, grew up in New York City. She went to school for fashion, but decided she liked writing better. In her senior year she wrote and illustrated a book called, "Amy for Short." Macmillan accepted it and Laura Joffe Numeroff graduated college with a degree and a book contract.
Laura Joffe Numeroff has written well over 20 books. A personal favorite of mine is "The Ten Step Guide to Living with Your Monster"; A book that shows your child how to train and care for the monster living under her bed. Besides the cookie hungry mouse, she has written, "If You Give a Pig a Pancake," and "If You Give a Moose a Muffin." just to name two. Her "If you Give" series was so popular that when she wrote her autobiography, she called it, "If You Give an Author a Pencil".
Laura Joffe Numeroff has won several awards for her work. In addition, she was honored by the Bush administration for her work on Children's Literature. Her appeal is international, as well as national with her books being translated into multiple languages around the world.
Pick up any of her books and enjoy it with your 7 and unders. After they go to bed, enjoy them yourself !