See, Oscar is a mouse so it’s off to the vet for him.
And so begins the second installment in the series on Oscar by 101-year-old Scottsdale resident Sam Baker.
Oscar is a friendly, inquisitive little mouse. Think of a well-mannered 4-year-old child, and you’ve got Oscar’s character, Baker said.
One day, about three years ago, Baker sat up in bed and decided to write a book about Oscar.
The idea came from a pet rat Baker had growing up in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
“She was the nicest pet,” Baker said. “She was always cleaning herself but you can’t write about a rat because people will get turned off, but they accept mice.”
His motivation was simple, to get kids reading and using their imagination.
“I read where the reading scores for the American youth were dismal,” Baker said. “Reading is the foundation for learning so if the children can’t read, where are we going to be?”
So Baker decided to help with a silly little mouse who teaches kids to love one another.
A World War II era Marine veteran and civil engineer, Baker’s storytelling days start back when his son and daughter were children.
He would tell them made up stories about Herman the worm and his friend, a little girl named Petunia.
Herman is a large caterpillar that no one wants to play with until Petunia comes along.
So Baker wrote down all the adventures the two had together in his first book, “The Silly Adventures of Petunia & Herman the Worm” about six years ago.
It was after that, that the idea for “Oscar the Mouse” came to Baker, which is printed in both English and Spanish.
After that was published, there came an “Oscar the Mouse and Friends” coloring book and then “Oscar goes to the Vet.”
The inspiration for the latest installment comes from a friend Baker made at the Vi at Silverstone senior living facility in Scottsdale.
Don Casey was a Marine at the Battle of Okinawa, the same as Baker. They were at the same place at the same time on the island but never met as there were thousands of Marines there at the time.
But the two became best of friends at the Vi at Silerstone. Baker wanted to do something for Casey, who became a veterinarian after the Marines, so Baker sent his little friend Oscar to the vet in his latest book.
“So I thought it was time to write a book about him and to honor his service and his life as a veterinarian,” Baker said.
J. Graber can be reached at jgraber@iniusa.org. We invite our readers to submit their civil comments pro or con on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.
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