Author: Margaret Hillert

Illustrator: Donald Charles

Publishing Information: Modern Curriculum Press, 1981

Number of Pages: 32

Genre: Folktale

Analysis:

The Little Cookie is a classic tale of an elderly woman who bakes a cookie that comes to life as she finishes making him. Once he realizes he is alive and active, he runs off across the land meeting a variety of new animals and taking in all the scenery he could not have otherwise seen if he was confined to the kitchen. His adventure comes to an end after he accepts a ride across the stream from a sneaky fox, leaving readers to conclude for themselves what happens next.

            The story only uses a total of forty eight basic words, which are counted and listed in a guide at the end of the book, which evidences that it is a story meant for beginning readers to enjoy. Furthermore, the text is rather repetitive as the cookie goes along his different adventures, making it an easy and fun read for younger children.

The illustrations are done in brighter colored paint, reflecting the lighthearted and fun tone of the story as the cookie goes about his adventure out of the kitchen. He is typically featured on the right-hand side of the page, which interested me because he had seemed so free and excited throughout the story. This leads me to believe that perhaps he is not as secure as one may believe him to be, since he is unfamiliar in the outside world. It is not until the very end (when the fox is giving him a ride across the stream) that the cookie is featured on the left-hand side of the page, although they are moving to the right. This could show that although the cookie thinks he is secure, he is headed toward danger as the fox has other plans for him. There are some instances in which the text does not even inform the reader of who is doing the speaking, which leads me to conclude that the story is mostly a picture book narrative where the pictures could tell the story with little to no help from the text.

Although there is certainly the ideology of the dangers of wandering away from one’s caretaker demonstrated in the story, I feel as though this is mostly a fun book to engage beginning readers.