Laura Joffe Numeroff is the acclaimed #1 New York Times best-selling children's author of “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” and the subsequent If You Give... series. First printed in 1985, “Mouse” is now beyond its 60th printing. The fourth book in the series, “If You Take a Mouse to the Movies” was on the New York Times Children’s Best Seller list for five months- nine weeks at number one.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Laura grew up as the youngest of three girls, surrounded by art, music, and books. She attended Pratt Institute and graduated with a degree in communications and a contract for her first children’s book, “Amy for Short,” published in 1975 by Macmillan.
In 2000, If You Give a Pig a Pancake” was featured on the Oprah show three times, and was recommended by Oprah’s first kids’ book club, as well as being noted as Oprah’s favorite children’s book of the year on her Christmas show. “Pig” was also on Publishers Weekly Bestseller List for over a year. In addition, the series has sold over 4.5 million copies, been printed in fourteen languages, and won the prestigious Quill Award in the picture book category.
An avid animal lover, Laura, with co-creator Sean Hanrahan, released "Raising a Hero," about a puppy learning to become a service dog and help children with disabilities and special needs. A portion of all sales supports Canine Companions for Independence, a non-profit providing skilled service dogs to children, adults and veterans with disabilities, free of charge.
President George W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton have all read Numeroff’s books to children. First Lady Michelle Obama, with her mother and two daughters Malia and Sasha, read Laura’s “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” at the 2010 Easter Egg Roll on the White House Lawn. Laura was one of ten children’s authors invited to a literacy day in Washington during the Bush administration in 2001. Laura has also visited over 100 elementary schools and has been a speaker at teacher conferences around the country.
In addition to her work with service dogs and kids with disabilities, Laura donates a portion of her book royalties to First Book, a non-profit organization that provides brand new books to children who otherwise would not have access to them. She donated all royalties from “The Hope Tree – Kids Talk About Cancer,” to the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
