Laura Numeroff

If you give an Author a Book

Laura Numeroff

“I started writing my own stories and drew pictures to go with them. I would make a book cover for them and write down the name of a publisher. I also spent a great deal of time reading. The public library was about 5 blocks from my house and I went every week.”

About the Author:

Laura Numeroff was born on July 14, 1953 in Brooklyn, New York. She was the youngest of three girls and was surround by art and book since her mother was a teacher and her father worked on the art staff for a newspaper. Because her parents had such a love for music, collecting items, and reading Laura Numeroff developed a love for these hobbies as well.

                  She discovered her love for writing stories when she was young because she used to make covers for books and write her own stories and drew pictures to go along with the story. Since the library was only 5 blocks from her house, she spent a lot of her time at the library reading and checking out as many books as she could. The books that caught her attention were books about animals, a lot of the books she used to check out. She was so passionate about reading that by the age of nine she decided that she wanted to become a writer when she grew up.

                  When Laura Numeroff applied to college she only applied to a college that her sister went to because she wanted to follow her footsteps and become a fashion designer. Once she got to college she realized that being a fashion designer wasn’t what she wanted to do. She started to take classes that interested her animation, photography, and writing and illustrating books for children. It was that class that got Laura Numeroff back into her childhood dream of being a writer. An assignment for that class was to write and illustrate a children’s book and this helped her realize that this is where her heart was. The book that Laura Numeroff wrote and illustrated for that class was published by Macmillan after only four rejections.

                  Laura Numeroff’s career started off when she graduated from college and had a contract for her first book! In the beginning of her career she wrote and illustrated all of her books, in fact her first nine books were written and illustrated by her! Ever since Felicia Bond illustrated her book If You Give A Mouse A Cookie she has not illustrated another book.  She was invited to the White House by Laura Bush to be honored for her series of “If You Give A…” at the “Laura Bush Celebrates American Authors” event. Since she has been writing she has won several awards for her stories. She received her first award in 1986 and that was the Alabama Young Reader Medal and then her last award in 2007, which was The Milner Award, in-between those two she also won five other awards.

                  Many of Laura Numeroff’s books are read in other countries and she loves knowing that her books are being read all over the world. Not only are her books in several different languages such as Korean and Italian she also donates her books to a non-profit organization. This organization is called First Book and it supplies books for children who do not have them. Another organization that she has donated books to is The Hope Tree- Kids Talk Out About Breast Cancer. She has also donated books and ornaments to The Today Show’s toy drive. When she is not writing she enjoys going to schools and reading to the students as well as reading to children in hospitals and foster homes.

                  Laura Numeroff considers her work her life and does not see a difference in work and spare time. She loves reading and writing books and doesn’t really consider her career “work”. She loves what she does and has a great life, not only does she love to read for two or three hours a day she has time for other hobbies such as going to the movies, working out, and riding a horse. Even though she has a heart for children’s books Laura Numeroff would eventually like to write screenplays and adult fiction.


Laura Numeroff's Personal Website: http://lauranumeroff.com/