Category: Book

Spring reviews of The Little Mouse Santi

Spring reviews for The Little Mouse Santi are trickling in. We love this one from Midwest Book Review‘s “Children’s Bookwatch” May 2015 issue:

The Little Mouse Santi is an extraordinarily entertaining read and would prove to be an enduringly popular addition to community library picture book collections for young readers.” Read more

And there is this very thoughtful review from The Dorky Daddy, who wants more Santi! “I really did enjoy it. If I had a critique it’s that I liked it enough that I wanted more from it.”We understand, Dorky Daddy! Read more
Storytime: The Little Mouse Santi by David Eugene Ray

New Orleans author David Eugene Ray narrates his adorable story The Little Mouse Santi, which received a Kirkus star.

The little mouse Santi may be small, but he has a big dream. This beautifully illustrated story explores one of the most important aspects of a child’s life, the search for identity. Santi wants to be a cat, and even though all the other mice laugh at him, he follows his dream. This timeless story ends with a whimsical twist: Santi learns a valuable lesson about self-determination and also learns he is not the only dreamer!

The gentle and lovely illustrations in The Little Mouse Santi, by Santiago Germano, are not to be missed! Order the book at https://confettipark.com/santi/ or at Amazon.

BONUS: This podcast concludes with a song called “Dream Big, Little Santi” composed by David Ray and Katy Hobgood Ray.
Catch a reading of The Little Mouse Santi

Author David Eugene Ray reading from The Little Mouse Santi. Photo by Sally Asher

David Ray recently wrote a guest blog post for Elizabeth Dulemba about the genesis of The Little Mouse Santi and going the indie route to publishing a children’s book. Thank you, Elizabeth, for the opportunity to share our story!

We had a wonderful time at our recent book signing in Shreveport, Louisiana. What a warm, receptive group of people who came to the Barnes & Noble on Youree Drive. We hope you are enjoying your books.

Next up, on March 21, 2015 at 2 p.m., there will be a reading and book signing for The Little Mouse Santi at Barnes & Noble, 2590 CitiPlace Court, Baton Rouge, LA.

Hope to see you there!
A song for Santi – “Dream Big, Little Santi”

A song, and another Kirkus honor, for The Little Mouse Santi!

Today’s the day! Jan. 15, 2015, the official publication date of The Little Mouse Santi! To celebrate, we are releasing a song called “Dream Big, Little Santi,” composed by author David Ray and Kathryn Hobgood Ray. The song is performed by Kathryn (vocals and mellotron) and Tim Robertson (guitar). It was produced by Matt Aguiluz at Marigny Recording Studios in New Orleans.

Confetti Park · Dream Big, Little Santi

As for Louis Ray, his favorite line from the song is: “Elephants and dancing bears are filling up my eyes.” He helped his parents settle on word choice, particularly for this line.

You can download the single through Amazon, iTunes, or CDBaby. It will also be featured on the upcoming “Confetti Park Players” CD hopefully out in April 2015!

Also, we’ve just learned that the Kirkus starred review for The Little Mouse Santi will be featured in the 1/15 print issue of Kirkus Reviews magazine. This is a great honor! Less than 10% of all indie reviews are selected. We are absolutely thrilled.

Dream big, everyone!
Great write up on author David Eugene Ray for The Little Mouse Santi!

In this Jan. 5, 2015 article on NOLA.com (Times Picayune), reporter David Lee Simmons talked with David Eugene Ray and illustrator Santiago Germano about how The Little Mouse Santi came about, and the process of collaborating to come up with what Simmons calls, “a charming and lovingly illustrated fable.” A slideshow gallery is included in the article.

From “With ‘The Little Mouse Santi,’ David Eugene Ray finds his muse in a bedtime story”:

“I showed him the idea of the story with the words, and he showed me an illustration of the mouse from behind, looking out of a mouse hole, so you’re looking at his back and there was this light shining in, but his shadow coming through was that of a cat,” David explained. “Even his body language would talk to us.

“It has a sense of wonder to it, and I think that’s what makes it great.”

The result is a simple but evocative artistic design that perfectly complements Ray’s understated yet lyrical storytelling technique. In a glowing December write-up by Kirkus Reviews, Germano’s technique rightly was compared to the Japanese anime style popularized by Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki. The text, sparingly registering as eight- to 10-word sentences, rolls along the page as if on a soft rollercoaster ride as Santi tries to perfect the mannerisms of a cat to prepare for a revealing audition (and a surprise ending).

Read more on NOLA.com.

Author David E. Ray holds his new children’s book, The Little Mouse Santi, as well as his main inspiration, his toddler son Louis. Photo by David Lee Simmons with NOLA.com | Times Picayune
A Kirkus Star for Confetti Park’s first book, The Little Mouse Santi

We are really proud to report that New Orleans’ newest children’s media publishing house, the Confetti Park workshop of Bienville Ray LLC, just got our first-ever review on our first children’s publication. And it’s terrific!

We got a starred review from Kirkus for The Little Mouse Santi by David Eugene Ray, with illustrations by Santiago Germano. (The Kirkus Star is awarded to books of exceptional merit.)

A clever picture book with an unexpected punch line that will delight young readers… Ray’s text is spare and approachable…accessible to beginning, independent readers…clever text is elevated to a true delight by Germano’s wonderful, cartoonish images, which look like they wouldn’t be out of place in a Studio Ghibli animated film… full of kid appeal.

—KIRKUS REVIEWS (starred review)

The Little Mouse Santi is officially available on January 15, 2015 through Small Press United. This beautifully illustrated story explores one of the most important aspects of a child’s life, the search for identity. Santi wants to be a cat, and even though all the other mice laugh at him, he follows his dream. This timeless story ends with a whimsical twist: Santi learns a valuable lesson about self-determination and also learns he is not the only dreamer!

Learn more at https://confettipark.com/santi/

The Little Mouse Santi from Confetti Park on Vimeo.