I’ve been highlighting a lot of books with heavy material, so I thought I’d lighten up the mood with a pair of fun books.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, written by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond, soon became a classic after it was published in 1985. It is commonly referenced as an example for not one, but two literary devices: the use of second person point of view and circular plot structure. The title phrase initiates the sequence of events that follows, and this simple action leads to comical situations as we read of a demanding mouse who continues to want more.

If you enjoy the “If you … , then …” cause-and-effect style of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, then you may like When a Dragon Moves In by Jodi Moore, illustrated by Howard McWilliam. This story starts , “If you build a perfect sandcastle, a dragon will move in.” We then follow a young boy’s day on the beach with his family and, of course, his dragon. The illustrations are cleverly done, and it’s left to interpretation as to whether the dragon is imaginary or real.

These are fun reads and there are others that follow. Numeroff and Bond collaborated on many more books, such as If You Give a Moose a Muffin and If You Give a Pig a Pancake, following their initial premise. Moore and McWilliam produced a sequel titled When A Dragon Moves In Again, in which our young boy copes with the arrival of a baby brother. All titles are appropriate for all ages, though the target audience is for kids 4-8 years old.