Library Mouse

Meet Sam, a tiny mouse with a massive love for books, who lives inside a busy public library.

By showing young readers that anyone with an idea can become an author, Library Mouse has spent decades inspiring classrooms, libraries, and kids around the world to write, illustrate, and share their own unique stories.

Every night, after the head librarian turns off the lights and locks the doors, Sam leaves his cozy home behind the children's reference wall. He spends his hours devouring everything from ghost stories and culinary guides to epic mysteries. One night, inspired by the thousands of voices on the shelves, Sam decides it’s time to create his own book.

Using small scraps of paper, his teeth to sharpen pencils, and his own visual imagination, Sam writes and illustrates Squeak! A Mouse’s Life. He leaves his miniature masterpiece tucked among the real library books for a young human student to find the next day. It becomes an instant neighborhood sensation, sparking a massive mystery: Who is this secret author?

When the librarian leaves a note asking the mysterious writer to host a "Meet the Author Day," Sam must figure out a clever way to answer her request without revealing himself. Daniel Kirk’s warm, textured gouache illustrations bring this beloved classic to life.

Daniel Kirk is the award-winning author and illustrator of more than forty children's books, including the bestselling Library Mouse series, following the adventures of Sam across titles like A Friend's Tale, A World to Explore, A Museum Adventure, and Home Sweet Home. Kirk is also the author of Snow Dude and Bigger, and the illustrator of popular modern classics like Kevin Lewis’s Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo. He was inspired to write Library Mouse after spending countless blissful days with his family perusing the stacks at his local library. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, author-illustrator Julia Gorton.