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There’s something about storybook mice that are irresistible. On my seventh birthday, my parents gave me a little cassette tape player all my own and a book and an audio collection called Christopher Church Mouse. I fell in love with the little mice and their stories and listened to them over and over until my cassettes wore out. My love of whimsical stories of little animals that began with Beatrix Potter was fed by that series and I never got tired of stories that included little creatures as their heroes and heroines.

It turns out that I never really did outgrow my love for books about little mice and after I became a mother, I had all the more reason to fill my home with delightful illustrations and stories about all kinds of animals–including my childhood favorites. 

And the reward has been the sweetest–watching my own two pour over the stories and fall in love with the mice, past and present, that colored world and ignited my imagination with tales of kindness, bravery, love, and whimsy.

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Adorable Mouse Tale Stories My CHildren Love

Mice aren’t the only little creatures that I adore in the pages of a good children’s book. I have literary friends who are hedgehogs, frogs, grasshoppers and owls among others. But today I want to share some of my favorite Mousey friends and some of the stories that my children love to hear over and over again.

ANONYMOUSE BY CAROLINE ROSE KRAFT

Parsnip Peppersnatch worked his way into my heart a long time ago. Ever since my friend Caroline mentioned she was working on a book about letter writing (one of my favorite introverted joys!) and a mouse. His story exceeded my hopes and his journey to make his little corner of the world…er, post office, a better, happier place–even when it was scary– warmed my heart and delighted me at every page turn. Also, can we take a second to talk about how gorgeous these illustrations are? This is a real gem of a book that deserves a spot on every children’s literature lover’s shelf!

MOUSIE LOVE BY DORI CHACONAS

Tully is pretty happy being a lone mouse. But the moment he lays his eyes on Frill, everything changes. Forgetting every sensible thing he planned to say, he squeaks out “Will you marry me?” instead. But Frill never seems to quite get a chance to actually answer Tully, because he keeps thinking of things that he needs to do to make sure she is comfortable, taken care of and will want to be with him. The sweet little ending made me grin. It’s just adorable!

Gingerbread Mouse by Katie Bratun

It’s Christmas Eve and Mouse is just settling down in her cozy bed when CRASH. A branch destroys her home. She sets out on a long, cold journey that eventually leads her to a new, warm and welcoming home–and a big surprise for Christmas! This one includes Santa granting a wish. Super adorable illustrations and sweet little story.

WILL YOU BE MY SUNSHINE? BY JULIA LOBO

It doesn’t get any sweeter than this little mousy board book that speaks the sentiment of each parent’s heart as they look at their little. Unconditional love on every page with the sweetest illustrations of little mice will make it your tiny’s new favorite.

THE LITTLE MOUSE, THE RED RIPE STRAWBERRY AND THE BIG HUNGRY BEAR BY AUDREY WOOD

This little mouse has its eye on the most beautiful red ripe strawberry ever–but so does the big hungry bear! The little mouse does everything in its power to keep that strawberry safe, and it’s even willing to share it with YOU, just so long as it gets a bite! Classic book from my childhood in the 80s that is fun to read to my kids today.

THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX BY KATE DICAMILLO

Despereax Tilling loves music, stories and most of all the Princess Pea. Rosceuro the Rat lives in shadows and darkness but longs for light. Miggery Sow has a small, but impossible wish. Their individual journeys lead them in unexpected ways into each other’s lives. And to their destiny.

STUART LITTLE E.B WHITE

We all know that Stuart Little is not an ordinary mouse. He may be shy and a quiet sort. But he is also brave, loyal and goes out to save his friend who has been lost. This is another classic that really needs to have a place on your bookshelf–or in your audible library. 

MOUSE’S CHRISTMAS GIFT BY MINDY BAKER

A tiny churchmouse is facing the impossible task of bringing the holiday spirit to his little town all on his own. In this story that reminded me a little of Beatrix Potter’s Tailor of Glouchester. you will hear one very important thing: you don’t have to be big and important to make a big, important difference.

A WEEKEND WITH WENDELL BY KEVIN HENKES

Spending the weekend with Wendell is Sophie’s worst nightmare. Nothing goes right, and everything is pretty much, well, miserable. Until Wendell and Sophie learn to play…together. This book made my kids giggle like crazy. 

IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE… BY LAURA NUMEROFF

Of all the modern mice, Mouse is one of the best. Curious, caring, heartwarming and yes, dramatic, he works his way into your heart as he explores his world with his best friends. Adventures and mishaps–it’s all part of learning and finding out that if you give a mouse, well, anything…what do you think will happen next?

THE ADVENTURES OF SOPHIE MOUSE BY POPPY GREEN

On a quest for sweet early readers, I stumbled into the world of Sophie Mouse. So many of the common chapter book series I’ve seen have included things I wasn’t super thrilled about–attitudes or behavior that I’d rather not feed as funny to my kiddos who come up with plenty of that on their own. Sophie Mouse wants to be a good friend–to everyone. She has a lot of adventures and learns a lot of important lessons. And it doesn’t make me sad at all that every book has the most delightful illustrations to go with it. 

TUMTUM AND NUTMEG BY EMILY BEARN

I met TumTum and Nutmeg in an Audible collection as they attempted to visit the seashore. Reminding me in some way of the classic Wind in the Willows adaptations from the 80s, we have enjoyed following TumTum and Nutmeg around as they bumble along together through various adventures and mishaps that are all part of a literary mouse’s life. 

THE ADVENTURES OF GERALDINE WOODKINS BY KARIN KOFFMAN

Geraldine wants to be strong and brave. But God made her a mouse. Mice are small, and weak and skittish…right? Geraldine learns about what it really means to be brave in these ten stories about her and her family in their forest home.

Have more favorite mouse tales? I’d love to hear about them! 

I’m all ears when it comes to more adorable Children’s books. Mouse or no, if you have a favorite about a forest friend, I’d love to hear more about it. Drop me a comment. :) 

What’s the difference from friending and befriending?

Like many others in my peer group, I’ve struggled with the way that the facebook age has changed the way our culture views relationships and interacts. Instead of quality relationships that we are making efforts and time to develop, we’re overwhelmed with surface contact with dozens of people in a day and often never really connecting with anyone. With hundreds of facebook friends and instant communication with almost anyone, why are we all so lonely?

This year, I set out on a quest to read as much as I can about creating meaningful relationships in a social media world.  In my mid 30s, I had imagined I’d have cracked that invisible friendship code, but more often than not I fail to connect and I’m not really sure why.

As a busy wife and mother, it can be so much easier to hit a quick like ” than to invest in actually understanding and knowing someone.  The internet hasn’t all been bad for relationships. I have found some of my closest friends online. But like everyone else, I’ve been burned, disappointed, and betrayed. It’s hard to be vulnerable and it’s easier to be surface. Not many people seem interested in putting in the effort to go beyond friending to actually befriending. So my big question has been how do we do friendships now?

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As soon as I saw this book, I knew it was the perfect way to begin my reading quest into the subject of meaningful friendships. In his book Befriend, Scott Sauls takes up the question of authentic relationships and peels back the layers to the core. We can’t really befriend or value anyone else until we learn our own value before God. The only way to know our worth is when we come to truly know it in the love of God who sent His Son to die for us.

Once we understand our worth, Saul encourages “Start loving as you have been loved.” (Befriend) And that includes reaching out beyond our comfort zone.

In fact, the whole book centers on love. Loving ourselves as Children of God, and loving all mankind as God’s children–our brothers and sisters.

Sauls gives practical, in-depth takes on how to go beyond the surface and go deep not just with those who are like us, but with the difficult or unlovable ones. He talks about not just hearing words but hearing the heart. Not just seeing the mess, but the soul behind it.

“Live a Love Shaped life, into which Love himself invites us. With Love, we can heal the world.” (Befriend)

I was touched and encouraged by this book and inspired again that there is no greater tool in the hand of God’s child than the gift of love, in the form of offering our hand in friendship to those that are in our path right now.

If you are curious about the other books about friendship that I had in my friendship book stack, check out this post I did on KindredGrace.com. I’ll be reviewing all of these on my blog in more depth in the future!