“The Friendly Mouse is a beautiful story about the power of kindness. Its positive message will resonate with children and adults alike and be a wonderful reminder to treat people the way you want to be treated.
It reminds me of my favorite quote by Zig Ziglar, ‘You can have everything in life you want if you just help enough other people get what they want.’
Share this book of encouragement with all the children in your life!”
—Michelle Prince, CEO Performance Publishing Group (www.PerformancePublishingGroup.com)
by Sophia R. Tyler
Pub Date: March 21, 2022
The good-natured and eager mouse loves his home in the countryside and works in the city. It’s a difficult and arduous journey for the little mouse to travel into the city for work, and because of this he is often terribly late. One morning after the journey into work, he almost falls asleep at his post. The poor little mouse is almost fired when he suddenly makes a bold choice that could cost him everything.
Despite being overwhelmed by his struggles, he chooses to be kind and learns that, sometimes, your job isn’t your most important responsibility. So much in life can be lost if you allow jobs and responsibilities to overwhelm you. Far more is gained when you take the time to show kindness and to treat others as you want to be treated.
Julie’s Review:
I think the lesson of kindness and compassion this book shares is timeless and super important for kids to learn early on. Others may not always be kind to us, but stepping outside that hurt and still showing kindness and compassion can really make a difference. And you never know when that kindness will be returned to you.
I don’t think I realized this book would have a religious slant before I joined the tour, but it’s not pushing anything strongly. This is just more of a head’s up.
The illustrations were cute, especially of the little mouse family. The colors are bright and fun. I mostly enjoyed the emotions as they were drawn very clearly on the character’s faces.
Author Interview
Where did you grow up/live now?
I grew up on the east side of Michigan in a small town called Fenton. Fenton was a farmers market, restaurant-filled lake town in the summer, and in the winter, it was dead. I remember most winters all my friends and I would do was either go to the movies or go to a random restaurant. However, in the summer, it felt like a whole different town. There are a couple small lakes nearby, and my friends, sister, and I would go on the boat, get ice cream from Uncle Rays, get breakfast in the morning, go to yoga, go shopping in our tiny downtown area, etc.
I now live on the west side in Holland, Michigan. Holland is a quaint, cozy, lively town. It’s similar to Fenton, where in the summer, it turns into a lake town with lots of people buzzing around. I love going to college in Holland because we have Lake Michigan a couple miles away, lots of places to hike/take walks, and a beautiful downtown area filled with cool bars and cute coffee shops. It’s a fun place to go to college because you can take a walk, and at one point be in the midst of a college campus filled with young people but the next be in a downtown area where it feels like you’re on a vacation up north filled with precious families, elerderly people, and dogs.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was little, I wanted to be a librarian, which was very fitting for my personality as a little girl. I was a super reserved and quiet little girl who valued calmness. I also really liked the musical, The Music Man, and thought that the librarian was so pretty and that her job looked so fun. Another reason I wanted to be a librarian was because in elementary school, we had library time where the librarian would read to us and use different voices. I just remember that it was such a peaceful and relaxing time to have in the middle of a school day.
What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your book(s)?
The most surprising thing that I learned when creating The Friendly Mouse was just how much time it takes to create a book. It’s relatively easy to come up with a story, but to make it into a book is a lot of work, and the amount of people it takes to make it a book was surprising to me. It made me have a newfound respect and admiration for artists and authors. It takes a lot of work to create a book as well as get its name out there. It made me applaud the authors out there who have awards and recognition because I now know how much work goes on behind the scenes. I am so grateful to all the people who helped me create The Friendly Mouse because I could not do it all on my own.
Do you have a bucket list? What are some of the things on it?
I most definitely have a bucket list. It’s funny because I was cleaning out my childhood room this past summer and found my childhood bucket list that I had actually written down. It was slightly cringey but also really cute. I had fulfilled some of the aspirations which made me smile. For example, two of them were to go to Paris and see One Direction in concert. I was so grateful and excited to have done both of those; they are some of my best and most magical memories. I laughed because one of my bucket list aspirations was to swim side by side with a whale!! But who knows? Maybe one day I’ll do it and laugh at the irony and craziness of life. Currently, an item on my bucket list is to go to New Zealand and go to the beach where Narnia: Prince Caspian was filmed.
Is there a message/theme in your book that you want readers to grasp?
There are two main messages that I wanted to convey in The Friendly Mouse. First, that more good things happen than bad when you choose to show kindness. In my story, the mouse was mistreated many times, but instead of showing that same unkindness, he meets these other characters with love and gentleness. Readers of the story will be able to see all the gifts that come his way for being a kind person. Second, that in your lowest, and most stressful times in your life, when you turn your head, God is always right there. There is a point in my story where Mouse is on his knees praying. I wanted to convey that God will always be there to listen and direct your path.
About the Author
Currently a senior at Hope College, Sophia will begin the Master of Social Work program at University of Denver in Fall 2023. Throughout high school and college, Sophia tutored elementary school students and interned for Ready for Life and Benjamin’s Hope, nonprofit organizations which foster inclusive communities and provide creative and engaging opportunities for children and adults with disabilities. She led creative art classes withBenjamin’s Hope, combining her creative side with her social work. Sophia loves to paint and has an Instagram account dedicated to posting her art.
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