THREE NEWSPAPER REVIEWS
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Book Review by Dan Barnett:
Thoughts to Ponder from Little Mouse the Mouse
BIBLIO FILE
Little Mouse inspires creative discussions
Little Mouse the mouse lives near Paradise Lake, which, not coincidentally, is where longtime educators Jim and Nancy Barnes reside. Jim has been chronicling Little Mouse’s adventures in a series of books for kids of all ages (littlemousethemouse. com/index.html) and has made it possible for Little Mouse to post weekly “thoughts.”These wise sayings have now been collected in a full-color book, paired with gorgeous photographs of the Paradise Lake area, including lake views in abundance and even fox tracks in the snow.
“Thoughts To Ponder: From Little Mouse The Mouse” ($17.99 in paperback from CreateSpace Independent Publishing; also for Amazon Kindle) is written by James Albert Barnes (who took most of the pictures) and compiled by Nancy Marie Barnes.
The dedication provides the purpose of the Little Mouse series: “To bring out the innate goodness within each of us for self, family and society.” As the introductory poem (“Listen To The Footprints In The Snow”) puts it: “It’s a fact that we were gifted the tools we need/ to become whomever/ we were born to be.// That’s why it’s important/ to seek out The Real You inside/ for that’s where the secret really lies.// So next time you walk in the quiet snow,/ let your footprints uncover/ what’s inside of you to know.”
As Little Mouse says, “You can become whatever you were born tobe, if you try “T.R.Y.” T.R.Y. stands for “The Real You.” Little Mouse’s thoughts are designed to encourage that “real you” to blossom. There are plenty of challenges. “Unwanted red or yellow zone thoughts may come our way,” LM says, “but, thank goodness, we’re only responsible for how we behave.”
“What are the boulders or roadblocks in your life?” he asks. “Do what I did: Write down what is the problem, what should be, and form a plan and execute it. If you solve it, good. If you don’t, try a different plan. Don’t give up until you’ve given it your best effort.”
Good behavior should help develop appropriate responses to life. “Developing good habits in things mundane leads to habits of notable acclaim.”
The book is a creative discussion starter from Little Mouse himself.
Dan Barnett teaches philosophy at Butte College. Columns archived at http:// dielbee.blogspot.com Copyright © 2018 Chico Enterprise-Record, May 10, 2018, Chico Enterprise Record Newspaper, Chico, CA
Order now: Thoughts to Ponder with Little Mouse the Mouse
Book Review by Dan Barnett:
Thoughts to Ponder from Little Mouse the Mouse
BIBLIO FILE
Little Mouse inspires creative discussions
Little Mouse the mouse lives near Paradise Lake, which, not coincidentally, is where longtime educators Jim and Nancy Barnes reside. Jim has been chronicling Little Mouse’s adventures in a series of books for kids of all ages (littlemousethemouse. com/index.html) and has made it possible for Little Mouse to post weekly “thoughts.”These wise sayings have now been collected in a full-color book, paired with gorgeous photographs of the Paradise Lake area, including lake views in abundance and even fox tracks in the snow.
“Thoughts To Ponder: From Little Mouse The Mouse” ($17.99 in paperback from CreateSpace Independent Publishing; also for Amazon Kindle) is written by James Albert Barnes (who took most of the pictures) and compiled by Nancy Marie Barnes.
The dedication provides the purpose of the Little Mouse series: “To bring out the innate goodness within each of us for self, family and society.” As the introductory poem (“Listen To The Footprints In The Snow”) puts it: “It’s a fact that we were gifted the tools we need/ to become whomever/ we were born to be.// That’s why it’s important/ to seek out The Real You inside/ for that’s where the secret really lies.// So next time you walk in the quiet snow,/ let your footprints uncover/ what’s inside of you to know.”
As Little Mouse says, “You can become whatever you were born tobe, if you try “T.R.Y.” T.R.Y. stands for “The Real You.” Little Mouse’s thoughts are designed to encourage that “real you” to blossom. There are plenty of challenges. “Unwanted red or yellow zone thoughts may come our way,” LM says, “but, thank goodness, we’re only responsible for how we behave.”
“What are the boulders or roadblocks in your life?” he asks. “Do what I did: Write down what is the problem, what should be, and form a plan and execute it. If you solve it, good. If you don’t, try a different plan. Don’t give up until you’ve given it your best effort.”
Good behavior should help develop appropriate responses to life. “Developing good habits in things mundane leads to habits of notable acclaim.”
The book is a creative discussion starter from Little Mouse himself.
Dan Barnett teaches philosophy at Butte College. Columns archived at http:// dielbee.blogspot.com Copyright © 2018 Chico Enterprise-Record, May 10, 2018, Chico Enterprise Record Newspaper, Chico, CA
Order now: Thoughts to Ponder with Little Mouse the Mouse
Book Review by Dan Barnett:
The Legacy of Little Mouse the Mouse
BIBLIO FILE
Mouse has insight for kids, adults
A deep blanket of snow envelops the Upper Ridge and the animals “underneath, in, above, beside, around, and near Paradise Lake” as the new year of 1999 is about to break upon them. Little Mouse is deep in thought.
A few months earlier, as recounted in “The Adventures Of Little Mouse,” he and his animal friends used a lever to move a boulder, preventing it from crushing his house. Little Mouse realizes that the “lever principle” can apply metaphorically to nothing less than developing a full and successful life of good character.
At the same time, down Pentz Road in Paradise, Jim Barnes and his wife Nancy “were having their New Year’s breakfast with their visiting niece, Shauna” (a fifth grader), and Uncle Jim is wondering how he can convince her to join him in visiting Little Mouse (which requires the use of imaginative powers to shrink in size) so Little Mouse can present his lever idea to a real student.
The story is told by Jim Barnes himself, a retired elementary school teacher and administrator, in “The Legacy Of Little Mouse The Mouse” ($14.95 in paperback from CreateSpace; also for Amazon Kindle).
The book is intended to be shared and discussed with youngsters, and the fanciful story, Shauna’s inquisitive nature, Uncle Jim’s encouragement, and the puzzle of Little Mouse’s “contraption” will make for rich conversations.
Through sketches and diagrams by the author, what Little Mouse unveils to his two guests in his cozy mouse house is a plan for using “the human fulcrum” (health, environment, society, family, great- souled friends, and “the Universal Origin and Source”) to help discover TRY: “The Real You.”
Little Mouse’s lever is easy for kids to learn but deep enough for adults to ponder.
Barnes has also created an associated coloring book as well as templates for charts and posters (littlemousethemouse.com).
The author is skilled in motivating kids to learn more. When Uncle Jim and Shauna realize that Little Mouse’s insights are expressed in a child’s teeter-totter, Little Mouse “looked at two of the most astonished faces he’d seen since Bear had mistakenly sat down on a red ant’s nest.”
A teeter-totter? Who would have guessed?
The Legacy of Little Mouse the Mouse
BIBLIO FILE
Mouse has insight for kids, adults
A deep blanket of snow envelops the Upper Ridge and the animals “underneath, in, above, beside, around, and near Paradise Lake” as the new year of 1999 is about to break upon them. Little Mouse is deep in thought.
A few months earlier, as recounted in “The Adventures Of Little Mouse,” he and his animal friends used a lever to move a boulder, preventing it from crushing his house. Little Mouse realizes that the “lever principle” can apply metaphorically to nothing less than developing a full and successful life of good character.
At the same time, down Pentz Road in Paradise, Jim Barnes and his wife Nancy “were having their New Year’s breakfast with their visiting niece, Shauna” (a fifth grader), and Uncle Jim is wondering how he can convince her to join him in visiting Little Mouse (which requires the use of imaginative powers to shrink in size) so Little Mouse can present his lever idea to a real student.
The story is told by Jim Barnes himself, a retired elementary school teacher and administrator, in “The Legacy Of Little Mouse The Mouse” ($14.95 in paperback from CreateSpace; also for Amazon Kindle).
The book is intended to be shared and discussed with youngsters, and the fanciful story, Shauna’s inquisitive nature, Uncle Jim’s encouragement, and the puzzle of Little Mouse’s “contraption” will make for rich conversations.
Through sketches and diagrams by the author, what Little Mouse unveils to his two guests in his cozy mouse house is a plan for using “the human fulcrum” (health, environment, society, family, great- souled friends, and “the Universal Origin and Source”) to help discover TRY: “The Real You.”
Little Mouse’s lever is easy for kids to learn but deep enough for adults to ponder.
Barnes has also created an associated coloring book as well as templates for charts and posters (littlemousethemouse.com).
The author is skilled in motivating kids to learn more. When Uncle Jim and Shauna realize that Little Mouse’s insights are expressed in a child’s teeter-totter, Little Mouse “looked at two of the most astonished faces he’d seen since Bear had mistakenly sat down on a red ant’s nest.”
A teeter-totter? Who would have guessed?
Dan Barnett teaches philosophy at Butte College. Columns archived at http:// dielbee.blogspot.com Copyright © 2017 Chico Enterprise-Record, August 6, 2017, Chico Enterprise Record Newspaper, Chico, CA.
Order now: The Legacy of Little Mouse the Mouse
Order now: The Legacy of Little Mouse the Mouse
Book Review by Dan Barnett:
The Adventures of Little Mouse
When a huge storm threatens the smaller animals, Little Mouse’s character is tested. He must choose between protecting his house and helping others.
BIBLIO FILE
Little Mouse teaches problem solving
Ridge-area resident Jim Barnes “spent thirty- five years as an elementary school teacher, mentor, and administrator in Palermo”; now the longtime educator is publishing a series of stories for pre-teens to cultivate “the intellectual and moral virtues that have stood the test of time in attaining a meaningful, productive, and satisfying life” (more at www.littlemousethemouse.com).
The inaugural tale is “ The Adventures Of Little Mouse” ($11.95 in paperback from CreateSpace; also for Amazon Kindle). The book introduces problem-solving methods in a winsome way and encourages adults to read the story to kids and talk about it.
Little Mouse lives “ in his underground home up on Little Butte Creek. … "Paradise Lake was as gorgeous as it could be, with its sky- blue water, fluffy snow-white clouds overhead, and green forest shorelines accompanied by meandering paths.” No ordinary mouse, he believes “he should apply virtue, hope, and charity in his daily life so that he could be an instrument of good rather than bad."
One day a 5-foot diameter boulder “rolled off the canyon slope and landed next to his mountain home. It was only a matter of time before it would crush his entire home.” That is a problem!
Little Mouse uses TRAP (Thinking, Reflecting, Applying, and Persisting) to brainstorm ways of removing the boulder; yet even with others’ help, nothing seems to work. So Little Mouse tries PST (Paradigm Shift Test), visiting human construction at the old Covered Bridge, looking for out- of-the-box ideas. (The journey downstream is itself perilous and he almost becomes “mouse mignon” for a big trout.) Little Mouse nearly despairs until a chance encounter with men using a steel-bar-and-cylinder to lift a car and change a tire. It’s a lever — “That’s the paradigm shift!” He could use a plank and block of wood to leverage the boulder. (An epilogue teaches how with a lever one can lift an adult with one finger.) When a huge storm threatens the smaller animals, Little Mouse’s character is tested. He must choose between protecting his house and helping others.
The story directs the reader to an upcoming sequel where the power of the lever extends “ to the emotional and mental powers as well.”
Stay tuned.
Dan Barnett teaches philosophy at Butte College. Columns archived at http://dielbee.blogspot.com. Copyright © 2017 Chico Enterprise-Record, May 7, 2017 Chico Enterprise Record Newspaper, Chico, CA.
Order now: The Adventures of Little Mouse
Order now: The Adventures of Little Mouse
