Dareese Tolson

The Monkey and the Mouse Dareese Tolson

"I can't do it." As a caregiver of young children, you have probably heard this phrase before. As a parent, grandparent, and teacher, one of my biggest challenges has been, finding ways to inspire children to believe that they can do it! The Monkey and the Mouse is a delightful, open-ended story in which the monkey believes she can't do things, and is unwilling to try. The mouse believes that she can do things, and is willing to try. I chose these two familiar animals because of their size difference. Size doesn't matter, attitude does. Look closely at the mouse's feet, she is disabled. Disabilities don't mean the inability to do things. This book is part one of a two-part book. The story is open-ended, with reinforcement activities. The young reader is asked to use their imagination and think of something that each animal can try to do to accomplish the goal. If you are searching for tools to motivate young children to believe in themselves and become courageous enough to try new things, I believe that this book will be invaluable to you.