Author Kat Caravella on the inspiration for her book, 'Marley Mouse Saves the Cake'

July 3rd, 2021

By Kat Caravella

I have been hearing the saying “good things come in small packages” since I was a young child. I’m sure you can guess why but if you can’t, it’s because I was short. I still am I guess, but being in my late thirties, being short isn’t really relevant to anything, is it? I mean, there are no class photos (I was always in the bottom row), I was always the shortest in every sport I played (not that I was very coordinated anyway) and it didn’t help that my younger sister was incredibly tall from when she was a toddler, pipping me in height from when she was two and I, five.

Don’t worry, Katherine, they would say. Good things come in small packages.

And while it was tedious at the time (it happened well into my early twenties) maybe this constant reassurance that indeed good things came in small packages, worked. I never did let my size get in the way of being able to defend myself or my friends and I certainly didn’t allow it to deter me from voicing my opinion on anything I felt strongly about.

But being short is only one challenge – if you can call it that – I faced growing up. I could make this post about the challenges of being a girl but boys have their own challenges and it takes a good amount of self-confidence, support from family and friends to get through childhood unscathed. That’s just life, right?

Now, as a mother of three children, one child with learning difficulties, I am finding myself constantly creating unique ways to guide them on the path to being good, confident, brave and humble people despite whatever challenges they might face in life.

And so Marley Mouse was born; the little SuperMouse of my imagination.

When you google “Superheroes”, these are the first of many (similarly themed) results that come up:

Spider-Man
Batman
Captain America
Hulk
Superman
Iron Man
Wonder Woman

Now it’s pretty obvious from this list that they all have something in common: they all have qualities literally impossible to replicate. No one can fly, nor can they drive a car that flies. No one can climb like a spider and there would be no human known to man with the strength of the Hulk, despite what Hulk Hogan tells you. And while they are certainly cool to watch and fun for the kids to play pretend, do they have qualities I want my children to emulate in their lives? No.

Marley Mouse is a whole new take on a Super Hero. In The Incredible Tales of Marley Mouse, his adversary is Rufus the family’s golden retriever – a classically gentle and loving breed, one the family adores but are oblivious to the dog’s ill intentions. It’s a David and Goliath scenario but without the physical battle and in each tale we discover how Marley Saves The Day using all the qualities we as mere mortals have in our locker.

Originally posted at www.katcaravella.com, reprinted with permission.

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Author Kat Caravella on the inspiration for her book, 'Marley Mouse Saves the Cake'

By Kat Caravella

Originally posted at www.katcaravella.com, reprinted with permission.

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