What Do All The Memes About Giving A Mouse A Cookie Mean?

A popular old children's book has become the unexpected subject of memes lately and the references are flying right over some people's heads. The memes, such as a fake MrBeast thumbnail where he gives a mouse a cookie, reference the 1985 book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and more specifically, the unforeseen effects of giving the mouse his cookie. Here's an explanation.

What Is The 'If You Give A Mouse A Cookie' Meme?

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie is a children's book about cause and effect released in 1985. In the award-winning book, which spawned the If You Give A… series, a young boy gives a mouse a cookie, setting off a string of events that he never could have anticipated.

After the mouse gets his cookie, the mouse makes request after request for things including a glass of milk, a mirror, scissors to cut his hair, etc. The mouse eventually sees the fridge, wants a glass of milk, then asks for a cookie, bringing the requests full circle. The story is often described as a "circular tale" for this reason.

While the cover of the book became the subject of children's book cover parodies throughout the 2010s, the book really became the subject of memes starting in 2021. The memes play with the idea that you should not give a mouse a cookie, lest you get stuck in an endless circle of follow-up requests from the little rodent.

How Is 'If You Give A Mouse A Cookie' Used In Memes?

The majority of memes about If You Give A Mouse A Cookie are image macros that vaguely allude to the consequences of giving a mouse a cookie. In some memes, characters admit to giving a mouse a cookie, consequences be damned, as if it's the ultimate Chad move.

Other memes include comedic Photoshops of the book's cover, changing various aspects of it. One Twitter user went viral recently by tweeting his regrets over giving a mouse a cookie, assumedly not expecting the barrage of requests that followed.

For the full details on the If You Give A Mouse A Cookie memes, be sure to check out our entry on the meme here for even more information.