By Leslie Lindsay

One of my very favorite children’s books is If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by the talented Felicia Bond.  It reminds me so much of parenting, which is probably why I think it’s so great…everything that happens in this little mouse/boy’s day is a function of “scope creep,” that is, everything leads to another and before you know it, a seemingly small project has become a bigger and bigger one.  So, it’s no surprise that I love the all of the “if you give” series…well, maybe not everyone of them (too much of a good thing becomes a little lackluster).

So, with it being September and all…I thought why not highlight If You Take a Mouse to School?  And, I am giving away a copy of the book (paperback) to a lucky blog reader!!  That’s right–FREE and BRAND-NEW sent directly to you just for being a blog reader. 

How do you get it:  Tell me something you like about this blog in general…the writing style, the tips, the themed days (which day do you like best?), something cool you’ve learned or done with your kids because you read the blog…You can email me at leslie_lindsay@hotmail.com to let me know, or post a comment in the comment section of today’s blog.  This will enter you for the contest. 

A name will be drawn at random by the end of the week, Friday September 16th.  Don’t miss this great opportunity to WIN this FREE COPY of “IF YOU TAKE A MOUSE TO SCHOOL”

Here are some fun ideas to do with the book: 

• Read the story to your child (or host a playdate with a few friends
• Pretend to be “as quiet as mice,” while you go about the next 30 minutes or so.  See who “wins.”
• Nibble on cheese and crackers for an afternoon snack as mice might…
• Draw or create your own construction paper mouse
• Bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies with or without the kids
• While the kids are busy doing something else, tell them the mouse sneaked into the kitchen and left the cookies for snack time.  (you can substitute store-bought cookies if you decide to sneak)
• Play an old-fashion game of “Mouse Trap.”

For more information on Laura Numeroff and her books, look to:

http://lauranumeroff.com/

To learn about the illustrator, Felicia Bond,

http://www.readingmylibrary.com/2010/07/illustrator-felicia-bond.html

And the mouse-cookie books in general:

http://www.mousecookiebooks.com/indexSite.html