Children benefit from stories with predictability. They also need stories that expand their imaginations. If You Take a Mouse to the Movies provides plenty of both.
If you have read the other wonderful stories that precede this one by Felicia Bond, you will quickly recognize the theme. One thing leads to another . . . and pretty soon you are back at the beginning. In this case, the sequence is from movies to popcorn, to strings of popcorn as an ornament, to a Christmas tree, to snowman, to carrot, to fort, to snowball fight, to being cold, to blanket, to Christmas carols, to radio, to singing along, to making Christmas tree ornaments, to popcorn strung as an ornament, . . . and on to a movie.
The beauty of these stories is that they take the perspective of a parent, older sibling, or other older person. This is a hard perspective for a child to appreciate . . . except in these stories. Intuitively, your child will recognize her or his many demands and how they build up on the provider. The result may be to help create a child's perception with a better sense of self-imposed limits. The long-suffering expression on the boy's face as he helps the mouse surely will create sympathy.
I also like the way this book helps children see the connections among things, ideas, and actions. Learning to identify natural systems is a good thinking skill to develop.
The repetition is desirable from another perspective. There are fewer words to learn as a beginning reader.
The humor makes it fun to reread the book, which can lead to memorizing it faster, which leads to learning to read it sooner.
The illustrations are particularly fine in their color and clarify. They set a wonderful mood of positive adventure for your child.
After you have finished enjoying the story for about the 100th time, I suggest that you and your child or grandchild try your hand at writing and illustrating a similar kind of story. The challenges of extending a string of actions and items to reconnect with the beginning will enhance the perceptual benefits that can be gained from this fine book.
What goes around, comes around.