A Cumbrian woman’s debut children’s book is helping youngsters and adults build their self-esteem.
Danielle Pearl, 38, of Carlisle, published her book Little Mouse and The Wishing Star at the end of March and she has since received a wave of reviews and stories on the positive impact her book is having.
After spending a decade working as a professional singer under her alter ego ‘Miss Pearl’ and teaching drama workshops in schools, she decided to channel her passion for creativity into story writing.
But it was setting up a children’s charity with her teacher friend in 2019 that sparked her interest in writing a children’s book.
She said: “I set up a children’s charity with my friend in 2019, she was a teacher and I was a performer, so we combined out recourses to offer education based entertainment for children.
“We did lots of work with underprivileged children and children who were dealing with things like poverty, bereavement, or terminal illness who were referred to us by the council.
“It became evident after doing the job for not long at all that there’s a lot of mental health things children experience that I didn’t know anything about.
“So I went on a bit of a journey, read lots of books and did a lot of courses online and in person all about mental health and children’s development and brain development.
“I’ve always written and I wrote short stories while I was living in New York while I was working as a performer, but it was working with children over the last 10 years that the idea to write a children’s book came to me.
“It snowballed and became too big of an idea and had to come out in pen and paper.”
Danielle’s book follows the story of Little Mouse who one day feels sad, small and invisible until a wishing star comes down from the sky and the pair embark on a journey to brighten her world.
The 38-year-old has designed the book to help spark conversations between parents and be a tool for teachers to help children safely understand anxious feelings, worries and self-care.
Danielle said: “There’s a way that we can have these very adult conversations in a way that is accessible for children that doesn’t open them up to a world of horribleness.
“It’s things like ‘you might start having these worries or anxious feelings and that’s okay’ here’s some tools to help you feel a bit less rubbish and it might enable you to have the tools as an adult to put your hand up and say ‘you know what, I am really struggling’.
“I think that’s something my generation didn’t really have, it wasn’t until I got to my thirties that I would stop and think you know what, I feel a bit rubbish and I need to tell someone.
“It’s not a reflection on your parents, I think it’s a generational thing, because they didn’t have the tools and knowledge we have today.”
Danielle said she’d also drawn from her own experiences growing up and her daughter Lyra’s experiences with building self-esteem and confidence.
She said: “I have certainly had open conversations with my daughter following her reading the story where she feels she can now come to me and say she feels like Little Mouse did and she’s able to say ‘but Little Mouse did this and I can do that too’.
“I remember when I was a kid I used to have this thing we’d call ‘funny turns’ and I didn’t know what it was until my late teens or maybe even early twenties when I realised oh my goodness, they were panic attacks.
“I had no idea what they were because nobody was having those conversations with me about anxious thoughts and worry as a child.
“But my book talks a lot about your ‘worry cup’ and how if your worry cup is full, it can feel really overwhelming and it doesn’t have to be one big thing, it can be lots of little things that fill your cup up.
“I also wanted it to focus more on your individual self and those feeling of not being good enough, it’s certainly something I struggle with in my life and my little girl has too.”
Danielle’s book has been illustrated by Naomi York, who specialises in watercolour line and wash, who she found through social media.
She said: “I actually reached out to Naomi completely cold on Facebook! I’m in a lot of author groups and I found her drawings and thought they would be perfect.
“We then did a video call and since then I’ve had a new best mate. She’s absolutely incredible. It’s her second book and it came at the right time in her life because she’d been going through some adversity and said more than once that little mouse had helped her get through.
“But during the illustration process we’d chat through ideas, but I gave her free reign as I wanted it to be hers just as much as it is mine.
“She’d send me these lovely sketches and ask if they were approved and I’d be in tears over them and be like yes, they’re absolutely approved!”
Danielle said she’s had overwhelmingly positive feedback on her book so far and that she’d also felt supported by the local community.
She added: “The initial feedback I’ve had has been really good, I’ve had some anonymous Amazon reviews of people saying they were struggling with issues themselves and that they’d bought it for their child, but that they’d come away with learning themselves, and that’s exactly what I want.
“It’s a really simply message, it’s not complicated, but it’s a really strong and important one.”
Danielle is also working on a sequel – Little Mouse and the Worry Welly – that she is hoping to release next year and is also planning for a third book.
She said: “It’s been a really fun process, I’ve really enjoyed it and I think I’ve got the bug now, so I’ll have to crack on with book two and three!
“A couple of local bookshops have also been really supportive and have given me a few tips and tricks and Bookends in Keswick and Carlisle and stocking my book, which is really nice, so I’ve loved every minute of writing and launching it.”
Little Mouse and The Wishing Star is available on Amazon, online and in bookshops including Bookends and Waterstones.
Danielle also still sings professionally as Miss Pearl at festivals, events, parties and special occasions. She specialises in songs from the 1940s to modern day.
