If You Give a Cat a Cupcake

Written by Laura Numeroff and Illustrated by Felicia Bond.  Numeroff born in Brooklyn New York and is the author of the popular "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie"  books.  She was honored by Laura Bush at the White House for the "Laura Bush Honors American Authors" event. Bond, the illustrator for the popular series, currently lives with her family in Santa Fe, Texas.  For more information about them both, and the book series click here!

Genre: Fiction

Theme: Animals/Food

Ages: 3-6 years

Summary:  If you give a cat a cupcake, he'll ask for sprinkles to go with it.  Which spirals into a whole story of "If....then..." scenarios which are so silly and fun the reader will be delighted. The story finally loops back to the sprinkles and cupcake to bring the ending full circle.   

Link to Picture

Pre-Reading Activity:   Introduce the story a mini lesson on cause and effect. The "if...then..." scenarios of the story are a great way to solidify the concept.  Ask students if they have ever been told by their parent that "If you finish your vegetables, then you can have dessert".  Explain the cause and effect works with weather, if it rains then you have to use an umbrella.  As class if they can think of examples of cause and effect.  Tell students that this story will have many causes and effects and to be listening closely for them.

Post-Reading Activity:  Have students write about an "if...then..." scenario in their life.  This can be a free write activity in a journal, or a worksheet created by instructor.  Students may model cat and cupcake examples from the text, or create ones of their own.

Reflection:  When I was a child I loved reading through the mouse and moose books in this series.  This story is full of animals, foods, sequences, and a fun series of events that will keep children excited and laughing along.