Tomorrow, Mouse officially makes her way out into the world.

It's a funny thing to write that sentence.

For the past two and a half years, these five little books have lived mostly in my world -- in notebooks and drafts, in countless conversations about words and pictures, and in many, many rounds of "just one more edit."

And tomorrow, they belong to our readers.

That's exciting. And wonderful. And, if I'm being truthful, just a little bit terrifying.

When I started writing Mouse, I wasn't thinking about launching a book series. I was thinking about the small moments that make life with young children so funny and memorable... the determination, the curiosity, the occasional chaos, and those wonderfully outsized feelings that can fill an entire room.

Mouse grew from those moments.

And somewhere along the way, what began as one little story became five.

Tomorrow, families I've never met will be able to meet Mouse for the first time. Maybe she'll make a toddler laugh. Maybe one of her adventures will become a favorite before-bed story. Maybe somewhere out there a little voice will say, "Again!"

That's the part I'm most excited about.

I've spent a lot of time over the past few weeks thinking about launches -- websites and product pages and all the things that need to be checked off a very long list. But tonight, I'm trying to remember what this was really about in the first place:

A child. A grown-up. A book. A few minutes together.

That's more than enough.

So here's to tomorrow. ❤️

Happy reading,

Laura

PS: ...and a hello from Mouse, who has absolutely no idea what all the fuss is about. 🐈‍⬛