Laura Numeroff was born and raised in Brooklyn, NYC. She graduated from Pratt Institute in 1975 with both a BFA (with honors) and a contract with Macmillan for her first children’s book, “Amy for Short,” that she wrote and illustrated as a homework assignment for a class in Writing and Illustrating Books For Children.

She has now written forty-seven books and illustrated nine of them. After eight rejections, Harper & Row bought “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie,” which is now in its 74th printing. It became a series and includes “If You Give A Pig A Pancake,” “If You Give A Moose A Muffin,” “If You Give A Mouse A Brownie,” “If You Give A Dog A Donut,” “If You Give A Cat A Cupcake,” “If You Take A Mouse To School,” “If You Take A Mouse To The Movies” and “If You Give A Pig A Party.”

Oprah declared “If You Give a Pig A Pancake” as her favorite kids’ book and added it to the Oprah’s Favorite Things list. She also put it on her children’s book list. In addition, Oprah featured another of Numeroff’s books, “The Hope Tree: Kids Speak Out About Cancer.”

Several “If You Give” books have been on the NY Times Bestseller List for a total of over 30 weeks. “If You Give a Mouse A Cookie” is in its 80th printing. “If You Give a Pig A Pancake was” on Publisher’s Weekly Bestseller list for over a year. In June 1998, Numeroff made publishing history when three of her books were simultaneously on the top ten Publisher’s Weekly bestselling children’s books list. The books have been translated into over fourteen languages including Spanish, Greek, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Italian, Portuguese and Dutch Afrikaaner. The “If You Give” series has sold over 72 million copies including board books.

First Lady Laura Bush invited Numeroff to the White House twice. Once to read at the Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn, and then to join other authors for a luncheon. First Lady Michelle Obama read “If You Give a Mouse A Cookie” in 2014 at yet another White House Easter Egg Hunt.

On CNN, as a way to celebrate National Read Across America Day, Anderson Cooper read to his 10-month-old son, Wyatt, “If You Give a Mouse A Cookie,” his son’s favorite book. Harrison Ford referenced the first two lines in his movie, “Air Force One.” Charles Schulz drew two comic strips featuring IF books. LeVar Burton featured “If You Give a Mouse A Cookie” on his first episode of “Reading Rainbow.”

Numeroff’s most recent book is “Raising A Hero,” which is about a young boy raising a puppy on his way to becoming a service dog. A portion of sales benefits Canine Companions, one of the largest organizations that trains dogs to help people with disabilities, including war veterans with PTSD.

For nearly 20 years Numeroff has sponsored a horse for children and adults with disabilities to experience the unique healing properties that can only be found in therapeutic riding. She wrote a book called “The Hope Tree: Kids Speak Out About Breast Cancer.” She, her co-author, and the illustrator donated all the profits to the Susan B. Komen Foundation. Numeroff also granted a young girl’s wish for the MAKE-A-WISH foundation by helping her write a children’s book and has visited children’s hospital whenever she can.

A portion of royalties from the “IF” series is donated to First Book, a non-profit that gives brand new books to children in underserved communities. Numeroff has visited schools in every state except Hawaii and Iowa. Thanks to Zoom, she has virtually visited schools in Germany, Japan, Italy, China, Colombia, and Malawi.

She recently funded the Florence and William Library at Biwi School in Malawi and attended the opening in 2023. The library is open to the community and has over 1,000 books available.

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