Book review: if you give a mouse a cookie.
and it's hard to get out to post.
But I stole the Father's phone tonight so I can post this. Forgive me
if there are typos. I'm not bothering to learn how to type with my
thumbs as I expect my generation will do something completely different.
I first picked up "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" as part of a
collection of such books about what could happen if you give certain
animals certain things. First, what I don't like. Pretty much at
every turn of the page I find myself in the shoes of a weak little boy
who can't even stand up to a mouse. Now a moose I can understand. If a
moose comes to my window demanding muffins and jam, there is little
room for refusal. But, for example, the second sentence in the first
paragraph:
"If you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk.
When you give him the milk,...."
Hold it right there-"when"? Thats what bugs me- too many "whens" in
this book, not enough "ifs." The line should read "if you haven't
killed the mouse yet,...." or "since you didn't gave the greedy mouse
a cookie", etc.
Pretty much every page could have the words "Thats when you make your
move." stuck in just before the page turn. For example:
"...he might notice his hair needs a trim. So he'll probably ask for a
pair of nail scissors. That's when you make your move. "
or
"...when he's done he'll probably want to take a nap. That's when
you make your move. "
Anyhoo. What I liked about the story: it's the classic story of the
small triumphing over and even subjugating the weak. The mouse, like
all of us, just wants to stick it to the one in power, take all he can
get and, in the end, try and get even more. The mouse doesn't care
who he steps on on his way to the top, how many suffer because of his
selfishness, how many messes are made or naps ruined, how many jobs
are half started or milk jugs are left out to spoil. He wants his
cookie and he wants it now and no one will get in the way.
It's the story of my life.
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