If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff

Title: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

Author: Laura Joffe Numeroff

Illustrator: Felicia Bond

Reading Level: Ages 4 - 8

Hardcover: 32 Pages

Publisher: Harper Festival

Yay!! I finally got around to posting one of my daughter's favorite books of all time!! 'If You Give a Mouse a Cookie' book that is. My little one totally devours this mouse and cookie book and we have been reading this for a really long time now. In fact, I bought her several books in this 'If You Give a..' series and she loves them all. But, let me tell you about the one book that started it all. 

A young boy sitting on his front lawn happily snacking on some chocolate chip cookies from a brown bag happens to meet a little mouse walking by. Our young hero is kind-hearted and he is glad to share a cookie with the mouse. But, Mr. Mouse asks for a glass of milk to go with it. And, How about a straw little boy? What started out as a simple request turns into incessant demands and our poor little guy could barely keep up with the demanding mouse. After some messing up, washing and cleaning and some nap time stories, the mouse finally winds down with a glass of milk and cookies again!! The story comes a full circle and its a great book that could help teach them about cause and effect. 

The illustrations are captivating and the story line is excellent. It is more interesting when you read it the first time, as I found myself as curious as my daughter to know what the little mouse would demand next. After many endless re-readings, we still love it. This is one book DD knows by heart, she could finish the sentences for me. She has learnt many new words from this book like scotch tape, mustache, scissors, refrigerator, pillow and so on. She finds the story hilarious and the pictures amusing. Especially, we spend a good amount of time meeting the mouse family in the picture he drew with the crayons. We have moved on to several other books in this series, but we always revisit this book all the time. A great modern classic you wouldn't want to miss!!

My Rating: 5/5

I Love My New Toy! by Mo Willems

Title: I Love My New Toy!

Author/Illustrator: Mo Willems

Reading Level: Ages 4 - 8

Hardcover: 64 Pages

Publisher: Hyperion Books

After sweeping off the children's feet with the pigeon books, Mo Willems' new series of picture books titled the 'Elephant and Piggie' books are creating quite a sensation among young readers out there. A recipient of Dr. Seuss Medal Winner for 2008 and 2009, these books are nothing but terrific read-alouds!! We borrowed a few of these from the library and my daughter devours them all. They get picked up again and again and still remain her favorite books after many countless re-readings. Please check out a few titles and see for yourself what I am talking about..

In 'I Love My New Toy', Piggie brings along a new toy to play with Gerald, the Elephant. Gerald is curious about the toy as well, but both of them have no idea how to play with it. 'May be its a throwing toy' says Gerald. 'Here, try it' says Piggie. What starts out as a fun adventure ends in a mishap. 'Zip' goes the toy up up up and down down down it comes crashing on the floor. Piggie gets mad and sad that his toy is broken. Gerald's apology won't cut it for Piggie and he becomes inconsolable. Soon, they both start wailing their hearts out, not knowing what to do. When the little readers begin to wonder if that's the end of their friendship, a little squirrel scurries along their way. Can he fix the toy and revive their friendship? 

Picture books for young readers are seldom long. Elephant and Piggie books are an exception though. Many Parents might initially wonder if their child would sit through a 65 page book. But, I beseech you to ignore those initial thoughts and delve right in. You'll flip through the pages faster than you would think and before you know it you'll be at the end of the book longing for more. Each page only has a few words and a cartoonish illustration, nothing overwhelming. The book has tons of pictures and they capture almost every single emotion of the Elephant and Piggie, it feels as if you are watching a cartoon movie! The stories are short, hilarious and has a subtle message to take away with. I don't know how much my daughter understands the underlying moral of the story, but I can assure you that she has LOADS of fun with this book. Her Elephant and Piggie bathtub toys seems to be getting lot more attention these days with all those extra hugs, washing and scrubbing during bath time :) The excitement with which she brings me this book and the giggles and laughter I hear from her every time we read it says it all. Seems like she can't have enough of this book!!

My Rating: 5/5