THE MOUSE THAT ROARED

                                                              THE MOUSE THAT ROARED

I’m bragging big time….

In the 20 years I’ve known him, Mr. Wonderful’s accomplishments have astounded me.  He was awarded two United States Utility Patents for golf training aids. He’s aced 11 holes-in-one (so far) on golf courses in Maine and Florida, even one in Italy. He studied for and earned his pilot license, no easy task, then flew his Cessna up and down the east coast with me as white-knuckled co-passenger, definitely not an easy task. 

Over the years, he has written dozens of songs which he turned into two albums, “Melodies From Maine” and, just last month, “MORE Melodies From Maine.” Enough already, right?  Nope.

Mr. W. has now released his second children’s book, MURFY’S RIVER ADVENTURE. It continues the saga of Grandpa Bob and his adorable sidekick, Murfy the Mouse. The two pals live in a small house in the country, working in their vegetable garden, hanging around, having fun. 

Except that one day, Murfy accidentally falls into a river …. whoa! I can’t give away the plot!

Similar to his first opus (MURFY FINDS A HOME), these are no ordinary children’s books. They are both electronic books (e-books) with embedded music and push-button-narration, playable on iPhones and iPads. Both showcase the combined talent of author and songwriter, Robert Marier, and his good pal, artist and illustrator Steve Hrehovcik, of Kennebunk.

Two years ago these two guys didn’t know an e-book from a nuclear reactor. They assumed “domain names” were something you found on ancestry.com. To them a “computer genius” was an oxymoron. Gigabytes and data drops? Greek, or possibly Aramaic.

But through trial and error, and lots of sweat equity, they figured it out.  And today, both books are available for $4.99 each on iBooks or Kobo. (Another easy way to get a copy is to Google: MURFY’S RIVER ADVENTURE or MURFY FINDS A HOME, making sure you spell Murfy with an “f.”)  

Early reviews are five-star. This could be the “beach read” of summer 2017! And I can tell you this: the books are ideal for grandparents who want to sit and read with their grands. I’ve spent the past few days visiting with my two grand boys, Henry (7) and Miles (9).  Murfy caught their attention big time. Last weekend, grandson Max (15) used the Murfy stories and songs to lull his two-year-old cousin William to sleep. 

I’m not sure what Mr. Wonderful plans to do next. His creativity and zest for life are unquenchable. I wouldn’t be surprised if he writes to Richard Branson, begging for a seat on the soon-to-go-into-space Virgin Galactic. That could seed the plot for Murfy’s next adventure.

So until lift-off, congratulations, Bob and Steve.  Your little mouse is roaring … once again!

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MURFY FINDS A HOME and MURFY’S RIVER ADVENTURE are both available on iBooks or Kobo (with an "f"!).