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If You Give a Mouse a Cookie



Last updated Friday, December 14, 2012

Author: Laura Joffe Numeroff
Illustrator: Felicia Bond
Date of Publication: 1985
ISBN: 0060245867
Grade Level: Kindergarten    (GLCs: Click here for grade level guidelines.)
Date(s) Used: Dec. 2012

Synopsis: If a hungry little traveler shows up at your house, you might want to give him a cookie. If you give him a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk. He'll want to look in a mirror to make sure he doesn't have a milk mustache, and then he'll ask for a pair of scissors to give himself a trim.... The consequences of giving a cookie to this energetic mouse run the young host ragged, but young readers will come away smiling at the antics that tumble like dominoes through the pages of this delightful picture book.

Note to readers:
•  This is a short book. You may want to do a picture-walk first.
•  There is a board game at the end of the book.

Discussion topics for before reading:
•  Do you think a mouse would eat a cookie?
•  What kind of cookie would it be? What kind is your favorite?
•  What would happen if you gave a mouse a cookie?

Vocabulary:
•  Consequences – what happens as a result of something (like if you did something bad)
•  Antics – attention drawing act or action

Discussion topics for during/after reading:
•  What story would you read to a mouse?
•  What did the mouse ask for after the cookie? The milk?

Craft ideas:
•  Draw a mouse and a cookie. Use a hole punch to make the chocolate chips.
•  Make a little bed for a mouse’s nap – use yarn, scraps of fabric, a paper box, cotton, ribbon, etc.
•  Draw and/or write a story to read to a mouse or another pet.
•  Draw a picture like a mouse would (mouse family and home) and be sure to sign it!

Special activities:
•  Make a spinner before reading club or buy a dice to play the board game on the last page

*Note: These craft ideas are just suggestions. You can use them, but you don't have to use them. You can expand upon them, or add your own twist. Remember, though, that the focus of your time should not be on the development and execution of a craft; the focus should be on the read-aloud and the enjoyment of the book!