At long last . . .

The first Giggleswick Village book is finally released. It's been a long eighteen months of writing, designing, editing, cover layout, etc. We couldn't be more pleased with the results. Mrs. Mouse's Garden Party in Giggleswick Village is now available.

Mrs. Mouse goes all out planning a perfect garden party, and it gets rained out. She is upset that the party must move indoors, but everyone has a wonderful time.


This interactive brilliantly illustrated book teaches little ones to look for the silver lining, even when things don't go as planned. Mrs. Mouse reminds children to use their manners and be kind to others. It is sure to become a favorite book to be read over and over again.


This is the first book in a series of stories that will reinforce life's early lessons, as well as build comprehension skills. Look for more Giggleswick Village books coming soon!


Mrs. Mouse's Garden Party in Giggleswick Village is dedicated to the real Mrs. Mouse and my seven grandchildren. The book was a total surprise to all of them. Yes, somehow we successfully managed to keep it a secret until the completion of the book. I wrote this one under my own name, for a change. Regarding my pen name Tika Newman, Tika was my beloved Siamese cat's name. She's gone, but not forgotten. Newman is my maiden name. Tika is in the book as Mrs. Mouse's best friend, showing little ones that even a cat and a pink mouse can put aside their differences, and be friends. There are subtle lessons like that one, as well as more major ones throughout the story.


Last week I read the book to one of my grandson's nursery schools (25 students and 5 teachers. They all loved it! On Tuesday, I read the book to another grandson's kindergarten friends. That time we had 65 kids and 6 teachers. The boys especially loved Steffen the monkey and the girls were all crazy over Mrs. Mouse. One of the teachers purchased four copies of the book and donated them to all the kindergarten teachers. Thank you Miss Quick!


The next book will be about bullying. We believe you can't start teaching this to children soon enough. We are researching it now and will begin putting the book together as soon as possible.


As always, contact me at tika1@frontier.com or on our website www.thistlewoodpublishing.com to purchase autographed copies. Unsigned copies are now available through amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and practically every online bookseller. Your local bookseller will be happy to order one for you if you'd rather not purchase online.


Toodles for now!

Gail Westover aka Tika Newman