A delightful rhyming tale about courage, compassion and a stylish little mouse, the very first picture book in my global best-selling picture book series, Claris: The Chicest Mouse in Paris.
Claris: The Chicest Mouse in Paris follows an adorable mouse who dreams of moving to Paris to follow her fashion dreams. One day, she bravely takes the leap – only to find a mean little girl with a horrible-looking cat standing in the way of her perfect Parisian apartment! Can Claris use all her wit, warmth and – of course – style to make her dreams come true?
BEHIND THE CREATION OF CLARIS THE MOUSE
As soon as I had my own children, I wanted to desperately write a children’s book. There were already so many wonderful books for children but I really wanted to create a character that was different. It felt like all books for little girls had to be either about a complete princess or a total tomboy … I wanted a little character that could love fashion (as I do) but was also enormously brave and adventurous. With that in mind, I created CLARIS – The Chicest Mouse in Paris. Of all the projects that I work on, she is my absolute favourite!
I was inspired to create Claris the mouse during my time in Paris, researching for my book Paris Through a Fashion Eye… I was sitting on my little balcony at Le Bristol Hotel, where I was their artist in residence, and I thought I saw a little mouse on a neighbouring rooftop scurrying across the building. I remember thinking how wonderfully chic it would be to live in Paris, even if you were only a tiny little mouse!
I really wanted the character to be an animal rather than a person because it allows me to explore a whole other world that humans can’t see! I also loved that she’s so small and dainty and yet she’s so strong because of her determination. I wanted the fashion world to be the backdrop of escapism in her stories but the biggest element always her enormous heart.
VIEW THE CLARIS THE MOUSE COLLECTION:
