News
2025
What an amazing start to 2025 for Little Mouse is Absolutely, Completely, Totally FINE! The month kicked off with a fantastic review from BookTrust, (read it here) and it’s ending with the exciting news that Little Mouse has been longlisted for the Children’s Literature Festivals Award 2025! 🎉🐭
I’m incredibly grateful to Children’s Literature Festivals for this wonderful recognition and to everyone who has supported Little Mouse’s journey. A big, squeaky cheer for all the incredible books on the long list—what a fantastic lineup! 📚
I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year brings. Stay tuned for more updates!
🎉 Little Mouse Turns One! 🎂🐭
Little Mouse is Absolutely, Completely, Totally Fine! has officially turned ONE — and what a wonderful year it has been. From classrooms and libraries to assembly halls, book festivals, and bookshops, this little mouse has found his way into so many hearts.
A Birthday Card Celebration
To mark the occasion, we invited children to design a special birthday card for Little Mouse. The response was incredible — colourful, creative, and absolutely brimming with imagination. From schools to families at home, the entries poured in and made judging no easy task!
Huge thanks to our brilliant judging panel — Redditch Library, Waterstones Redditch, Clare Helen Walsh from Books That Help, and of course Little Mouse’s very own illustrator, Marisa Morea — for choosing their favourites.
Celebrations & Community
This birthday has been about more than one little mouse. It’s been a celebration of the children who’ve recognised their own feelings in his story, and the families and teachers who’ve used the book to open up conversations about feelings and emotions.
It’s been a wonderful year full of connection, empathy, and creativity.
Thank You 💛
I’m so grateful to everyone who has welcomed Little Mouse into their lives — your support has made this first year unforgettable. Hearing how the story has helped children feel seen, reassured, and braver in being themselves has been the very best birthday gift of all.
What’s Next?
As we step into a brand-new year of adventures, Little Mouse is ready to keep exploring. If you’d like him to visit your school, library, or bookshop, you can find out more about author visits here.
Here’s to another year of stories, smiles, and reminding ourselves that it’s okay to be absolutely, completely, totally fine — just as we are.
Celebrating the Opening of Charford School’s Beautiful New Library!
I was absolutely delighted to be part of the celebrations at Charford First School as they opened their brand-new library — a beautiful, welcoming space designed to inspire a lifelong love of reading. It was a joy to share Little Mouse is Absolutely, Completely, Totally FINE! with the children and to see their excitement as they explored the shelves. A huge well done to the staff and school community for creating such a magical reading space — it was an honour to be involved in such a special day!
Little Mouse Chosen as a Top Pick for Mental Health Awareness Week
I was absolutely thrilled to see Little Mouse is Absolutely, Completely, Totally FINE! featured by the brilliant team at @books_that_help, with a glowing review from author Clare Helen Welsh to mark Mental Health Awareness Week 2025.
Here’s what Clare had to say:
*“This story serves as a wonderful tool for parents and caregivers to help children navigate and label emotions like happy, sad, confused, scared, angry, calm. With detailed illustrations and meaningful rhyming text, this story provides a safe space for children to recognise their own feelings and even how to be a body language detective. With courage and humour, Little Mouse learns that it’s okay to not be completely fine all the time – in fact, it’s absolutely, totally normal.
A comforting, insightful book that opens the door for important conversations about mental health, making it a valuable resource for both children and adults.”*
I’m so proud to see Little Mouse being used as a resource to open up conversations around emotional wellbeing in schools and homes — especially during such an important week.
🎤 Little Mouse Visits the Recording Studio!
After a busy few months of school visits, Little Mouse is Absolutely, Completely, Totally FINE! has been on a brand-new adventure… to the recording studio!
We’ve been working behind the scenes on something absolutely, completely, totally exciting — and while I can’t reveal too much just yet, let’s just say there were microphones, music… and a few unexpected squeaks along the way!
It’s been such a joy to bring Little Mouse to life in a whole new way, and I can’t wait to share more very soon. Watch this space for exciting updates!
The Little Mouse Story Quilt & Book Cushion is Complete! This special project has been a joy to create, and I’ve loved seeing it take shape. As always, a huge thank you to the wonderfully talented Little Mouse illustrator, Marisa Morea! 🐭
I can’t wait to bring the Story Quilt & Book Cushion into schools and events, sharing the magic of Little Mouse with even more children. Stay tuned for where it will be heading first…
