If you give a mouse one cookie, you are going to have quite a lot of insanity and commotion to deal with! Author Laura Numeroff and illustrator Felicia Bond do a wonderful job of bringing this mischievous mouse to life in If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, If You Take a Mouse to School and The Best Mouse Cookie. The first two are Cause and Effect books, while the latter is simply a cute story.

1. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie: A little boy sees a mouse in front of his house and gives him a cookie. From there it is just a whirlwind of activity as the little mouse asks for a glass of milk, a mirror to check for a milk mustache, nail scissors to trim his hair - one request after another pours out of his mouth until he is exhausted and thirsty at the end, needing a drink of milk. And that glass of milk sure would go good with a cookie! The illustrations capture the craziness perfectly, as the little boy is barely able to keep up with the mouse's demands. And the illustrations are so realistic at certain points. For example, when the mouse is coloring with crayons, you feel like you can lift a crayon off the page. Overall it is an excellent cause and effect book, and if you are planning on buying any Numeroff book - this should be your first choice.
Suggested Retail: $16.99
Pages: 32
Recommended age: 4 - 8
Publisher: Laura Geringer, 1985

2. If You Take a Mouse to School: This time the little boy brings his mouse friend to school. Of course the mouse needs a lunch box (with a cookie) if he is going to school. It leads the reader from one consequence to another and the mouse makes himself right at home at, well, school. From writing books to building with blocks he creates quite a spectacle for the classmates to watch. Bond's full page illustrations are busy, chaotic and fun - just like the story. It's a great book for a child's first day of school!
Suggested Retail: $16.99
Pages: 32
Recommended age: 4 - 8
Publisher: Laura Geringer, 2002

3. The Best Mouse Cookie: This is not a cause and effect book. But, it does bring us back to what the mouse really loves - COOKIES!The little mouse is in his tree house baking cookies. But he isn't very attentive. But it doesn't matter, because the best cookie is the one that is shared with a friend. This book is very short, with approximately 70 words.
Suggested Retail: $9.99
Pages: 32
Recommended age: 4 - 8
Publisher: Laura Geringer, 1999

*Although the recommended age is 4 to 8, don't let that deter you from reading it to your younger toddler. Keegan loves these stories.

One of my favorite series of books is the "If You Give..." books by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond. Laura Numeroff has actually written many other titles, outside of this series, but she is most well known for her pesky animals that turn a house upside down after they are given a treat.

The "If You Give..." series includes:
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (1985),
If You Give a Moose a Muffin (1991),
The Best Mouse Cookie (1995)
If You Give a Pig a Pancake (1998),
If You Take a Mouse to the Movies (2000),
If You Take a Mouse to School (2002),
If You Give a Pig a Party (2005),
Merry Christmas Mouse (2007)
and most recently
If You Give a Cat a Cupcake (2008).

The Best Mouse Cookie and Merry Christmas Mouse actually don't follow the "If you give a ..." format, although they are included in the series.

The great thing about these books is they really teach cause and effect to little ones. Plus, the illustrations are very detailed with lots of fun hidden surprises to look for.

Over the next few days I will break up the series into Mouse Books, Pig Books and Moose Book. But two of the books in the series are actually Christmas related, so be on the look out for those reviews early December.