Laura Joffe Numeroff(born July 14, 1953) is an American author and illustrator of children's books who is best known as the author ofIf You Give a Mouse a Cookie.
Laura Numeroff | |
|---|---|
| Born | Laura Joffe Numeroff July 14, 1953 New York City,U.S. |
| Occupation | Author |
| Alma mater | Pratt Institute |
| Genre | Children's stories |
| Website | |
| www | |
Early life
editNumeroff was born inBrooklyn,New York,the youngest of three girls. By the age of nine, she had decided she wanted to be a writer when she grew up.[1]She credits her current profession to two childhood favorites, saying that they "are the reason" she is a writer:E. B. White'sStuart LittleandKay Thompson'sEloise.
Numeroff attendedPratt Institute,where she initially studied fashion. Realizing fashion "wasn't for her", she returned to her childhood dream of becoming a writer and took a course in illustrating and writing children's books.[1]A homework assignment prompted Numeroff to write and illustrateAmy for Short,about the tallest girl in third grade. Before graduating from Pratt in 1975,Amy For Shortwas published byMacmillan Publishing.[1]
Career
editNumeroff's first nine books were both written and illustrated by Numeroff herself.
Numeroff has worked with illustrators including Lynn Munsinger, David McPhail, Tim Bowers, Nate Evans, Joe Mathieu,Sal Murdocca,Sharleen CollicottandFelicia Bond;Felicia Bond is the illustrator of theIf You Give...series.
Phoebe Dexter Has Harriet Peterson's Sniffles,published in January 1977, tells the tale of Phoebe Dexter who is stuck at home because she is sick. Upset that she is missing all the happenings of her school day, Phoebe busies herself pretending she is a dog and eventually playing Go Fish with her grandmother who comes over to keep her company. The book is both written and illustrated by Numeroff.
When the manuscript forIf You Give A Mouse A Cookiewas bought by HarperCollins after nine rejections, Numeroff's editor chose Felicia Bond to illustrate. When asked about her earlier endeavors into illustrations during an interview, she mentioned that though she loves drawing, she decided her "strength was in writing and not in illustration" and said "I don't think I would illustrate a whole book anymore at this point."[citation needed]
Her autobiography,If You Give an Author a Pencil,was published in 2003; it was written at a second-grade reading level so that it is accessible to children.[citation needed]Numeroff's books have been published in many languages.
Personal life
editNumeroff lives inLos Angeles,California.
Themes in her series
editIf You Give...
editIf You Give a Mouse a Cookie,published in 1985 and illustrated byFelicia Bond,was the book that launched the hitIf You Give...series. It was rejected by publishers nine times before it was finally accepted by Harper.[2]These stories use a circular story format, presenting to the reader a chain of events. At the end of the story, the reader discovers that the characters have ended up at the same transaction that they started with. The entire story is an "If ____________, then ___________" scenario. IfYou Give a Mouse a Cookieled to other books about a moose, a cat, a pig, and a dog.
What...Do Best
editThe first book in this series by Numeroff,What Mommies Do Best/What Daddies Do Best,published in April 2008, was illustrated, in watercolors, by Lynn Munsinger. The series was written for children ages 4 – 8.
This children's book is a two part story. On one side of the book isWhat Mommies Do Best.This book demonstrates many of the things that mothers do, such as give piggyback rides, teach children how to ride a bicycle, and sew a button on a teddy bear.
FollowingWhat Mommies Do Best,the book can be flipped to revealWhat Daddies Do Best.This side illustrates things that fathers do with their children. The stories are identical. Both parents do the same things in each book. Subsequent books are about grandparents, aunts and uncles.
The Jellybeans
editBitsy, a pig wearing purple, loves to draw, color, paint and make art. Emily, a dog wearing pink, loves to dance. Anna, a rabbit wearing yellow, loves to read books. Nicole, a cat wearing blue, loves to play soccer. The first letters of their names spell the word "BEAN", and they love jellybeans, their favorite candy from Petunia's, their favorite place.
Other works
editAn animal lover, Numeroff had always wanted to write a book about service dogs.[3]In 2016, Numeroff and co-creator Sean Hanrahan releasedRaising a Hero,illustrated by Lynn Munsinger. The book is about a young boy raising a puppy to become a service dog in order to help children with disabilities. Proceeds fromRaising a Herosupported Canine Companions, a non-profit devoted to training service dogs for people with disabilities.
Laura Numeroff's Ten Step Guide to Living with Your Monster,illustrated by Nate Evans, was published in April 2002 and was intended for children aged 4 to 8. The book explains to readers how to make a monster a good pet, rather than being afraid of monsters. A portion of the profits from the book were donated toThe Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.
Awards and recognition
edit
Numeroff has won numerous awards as author of theIf You Give...series, including:
| Book | Award and Year |
|---|---|
| If You Give a Mouse a Cookie | Alabama Children's Choice Book Award, K–1 (1986–87)[4][5] |
| California Young Reader Medal(1988)[6] | |
| Colorado Children's Book Award (1988)[7] | |
| Georgia Children's Picture Story Book Award (1988)[8] | |
| Nevada Young Readers' Award (1988–89)[9] | |
| Buckeye Children's Book Award, K–2 (Ohio) (1989)[10] | |
| Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award (1994)[11] | |
| Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award (1994)[12] | |
| Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Blue Chip Classic Award (1994)[13] | |
| If You Give A Moose A Muffin | Children's Choices (IRA/CBC) (1992) |
| Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award (1998)[14] | |
| If You Give A Pig A Pancake | Oppenheim Platinum Award (1999) |
| IRA Children's Choice (1999) | |
| Oprah WinfreynamedIf You Give a Pig a Pancakeher "favorite book for children" | |
| Listed on Oprah Winfrey's"Oprah’s Favorite Things from A-Z" | |
| If You Take A Mouse To The Movies | NAPPA Gold Award (2000) |
| Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award(2001) | |
| IRA/CBC Children's Choice (2001) | |
| If You Take A Mouse To School | Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award(2003)[15] |
| If You Give A Pig A Party | Quill Award(2006) |
Laura Bushinvited Numeroff and Bond to the White House to be honored at the Presidential Inauguration "NEA Teacher’s Picks Books to Read Across America" in 1999 plus for theIf You Give...series at the "Laura Bush Celebrates American Authors" in 2001.
Numeroff has also won awards for her individual stories, including the Milner Award in 2007.[citation needed]
Works
editIf You Give...series
edit
All illustrated byFelicia Bond.
- If You Give a Mouse a Cookie(November 1985)
- If You Give a Moose a Muffin(March 1991)
- If You Give a Pig a Pancake(February 1998)
- The Best Mouse Cookie(July 1999)
- If You Take a Mouse to the Movies(May 2000)
- If You Take a Mouse to School(September 2002)
- If You Give a Pig a Party(April 2004)
- Merry Christmas, Mouse!(August 2007)
- Time for School, Mouse!(2008)
- If You Give a Cat a Cupcake(2008)
- Happy Valentine's Day, Mouse!(2009)
- Happy Easter, Mouse!(2010)
- If You Give a Dog a Donut(2011)[16][17]
- It's Pumpkin Day, Mouse!(2012)
- Happy Birthday, Mouse!(2012)
- If You Give a Mouse a Brownie(2016)
TheWhat People Do Bestseries
edit- What Mommies Do Best/What Daddies Do Best
- What Grandmas Do Best/What Grandpas Do Best
- What Aunts Do Best/What Uncles Do Best
- What Sisters Do Best/What Brothers Do Best
TheJellybeansseries
editWritten by Nate Evans, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger
- The Jellybeans and the Big Dance(Mar 1, 2008)
- The Jellybeans and the Big Book Bonanza(Mar 1, 2010)
- The Jellybeans and the Big Camp Kickoff(Mar 1, 2011)
- The Jellybeans and the Big Art Adventure(Mar 1, 2012)
- The Jellybeans Love to Dance(Mar 12, 2013)
- The Jellybeans Love to Read(Mar 11, 2014)
Other titles
edit- If You Give a Man a Cookie
- Raising a Hero(with Sean Hanrahan)
- Beatrice Doesn't Want to
- Sometimes I Wonder If Poodles Like Noodles
- Monster Munchies
- The Chicken Sisters
- Laura Numeroff's Ten Step Guide to Living with Your Monster
- Dogs Don't Wear Sneakers
- Chimps Don't Wear Glasses
- Two For Stew
- Why a Disguise?
- When Sheep Sleep
- Emily's Bunch(with Alice Richter)
- Walter
- Amy for Short
- Does Grandma Have an Elmo Elephant Jungle Kit
- You Can't Put Braces on Spaces(with Alice Richter)
- Phoebe Dexter Has Harriet Peterson's Sniffles
- If You Give an Author a Pencil
- Sherman Crunchley(with Nate Evans)
- "Would I Trade My Parents"
References
edit- ^abc"Who Wrote That?".February 2008. Archived fromthe originalon 2008-05-16.Retrieved2008-12-02.
- ^Shields, Ann (October 28, 2000)."Rejecting Rejection".Los Angeles Times.
- ^Laura, Numeroff."Author".Laura Numeroff.
- ^"Alabama Children's Choice Book Award, now named Alabama Camellia Children's Choice Award"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2011-01-02.Retrieved2013-04-30.
- ^"Renaming of award".Archived fromthe originalon 2012-03-04.Retrieved2013-04-30.
- ^"2013 Winners".California Young Reader Medal.Archived fromthe originalon September 3, 2013.
- ^"Previous CCBA Award Winners".Archived fromthe originalon February 2, 2014.
- ^Georgia Children's Picture Storybook Award[permanent dead link]
- ^Nevada Young Reader's Award
- ^"Buckeye Children's Book Award".Archived fromthe originalon August 7, 2015.
- ^Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum AwardIf You Give a Mouse a CookieArchived2012-06-06 at theWayback Machine
- ^Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold AwardIf You Give a Mouse a CookieArchived2012-06-06 at theWayback Machine
- ^Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Blue Chip Classic AwardIf You Give a Mouse a CookieArchived2012-06-06 at theWayback Machine
- ^Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum AwardIf You Give a Moose a MuffinArchived2015-11-25 at theWayback Machine
- ^If You Take a Mouse to SchoolOppenheim Toy Portfolio AwardsArchived2015-11-25 at theWayback Machine
- ^New York TimesBest Seller ListIf You Give a Dog a Donut
- ^If You Give a Child a Book, HarperCollins book donation programArchived2013-04-07 atarchive.today