Book Review: The Mouse Who Couldn’t Eat Cheese by M.B. Mooney

Rating: 4 Stars

I recently picked up The Mouse Who Couldn’t Eat Cheese by M.B. Mooney, and I have to say, it’s a charming and heartfelt story that really stuck with me. The book follows Alex, a lively owl who loves to zoom around and make new friends. When Maya, a mouse, moves into the forest, Alex is eager to play and share treats—especially cheese! But Maya often seems too unwell to join in, and she never eats the cheese Alex brings her. As the story unfolds, Alex discovers that Maya has Crohn’s disease, a condition that affects what she can eat and how much she can do physically.

What I loved most about this book is how it gently introduces young readers to the idea that chronic illness can impact friendships and daily life in ways that aren’t always obvious. The story emphasizes empathy and understanding, showing that true friendship means supporting each other through challenges—not just the fun times.

I also want to mention how eye-catching the cover is—it’s absolutely adorable and really draws you in. The illustrations throughout the book match that charm perfectly, adding warmth and personality to the characters and their world.

Overall, The Mouse Who Couldn’t Eat Cheese is a lovely read with an important message. I’m giving it four stars because while it’s beautifully done and meaningful, I wish there was a little more depth in exploring Maya’s experience. Still, it’s a wonderful book for kids (and adults!) to learn about resilience and compassion in a gentle, accessible way. Highly recommend!

⚠️This review was written based on personal opinions and experiences with the book. Individual preferences may vary⚠️

Alex the owl meets the new kid in town, brings a gift of cheese, and invites her to come and play. Maya the mouse is new to the area and would love to play outside with Alex, but can't eat the cheese given as a gift nor can she go out to play every day. After she explains things to Alex, they still have fun together but differently. This is a wonderful book to explain one of the invisible diseases that can plague children and adults in an understandable way. Excellent and sensitively done!
The illustrations by Ekaterina Mironova are simple, imaginative, and depict things without bias in clear bright colors. Well suited for reading alone or WITH someone of any age, including ESL, and great for gifting to everyone, but especially to a school, waiting room, or your local public library!
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital Galley on Thorium PDF from Yorkshire Publishing via NetGalley. Pub Date Jun 24, 2025 *****review
#TheMouseWhoCouldntEatCheese by M B Mooney @yorkshirepublishing #NetGalley #friendship #chronicillness #foodintolerances #invisibleillness #crohnsdisease #empathy #resilience

This short and sweet story is an accessible take on chronic illness and friendship for young readers. Alex the owl is thrilled to make a new friend, but when Maya the mouse seems unenthusiastic about her gift of cheese and doesn't seem to want to play every day, Alex becomes frustrated and upset. Maya cautiously explains that she has a chronic illness called Crohn's disease that causes pain and fatigue, and that she may not always be able to play with Alex, even though she values their friendship. The two friends decide to spend the day talking and relaxing by the water, an activity that lets them spend time together in a way that works for them both. With colorful and emotive watercolor illustrations and thoughtful dialogue, this book is a fantastic option for introducing children to the concept of chronic illness, or for supporting a child with a condition in setting boundaries and communicating with peers about their needs.

I received an ARC of this children's book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a such an adorable book. It does a wonderful job of helping children understand chronic illness and the pictures are really cute!

M.B. Mooney’s The Mouse Who Couldn’t Eat Cheese is the sort of book with a message for kids that I think they need more of. Most often, a child’s first experience with chronic illness is either because they, themselves, or someone they are close with have that illness. This book bridges a gap, allowing for a realistic look at the emotions a child might feel if they make a new friend whose life is impacted by such circumstances and giving them the opportunity to see someone move through them to a place of understanding for their new friend.

For this reason, I find Mooney’s book to be incredibly impactful.

The artwork within this book is gorgeous throughout, depicting the characters and the world beautifully. I definitely think the cute characters and the brightness of the scenery will keep children happy and engaged.

This book is, however, one that must be read to most kiddos. The language is advanced enough that I wouldn’t want to put it in front of an emerging reader or anyone who struggles with their reading development. Overall a book with a great message, but one that most likely will need to be experience with a more experienced reader. There may be some pieces that you can have your emerging reader help out with, though, which is a plus!

Thank you NetGallery, Yorkshire Publishing and M.B.Mooney for this ARC

Before reading this book, I couldn't think of another title that brings awareness to Crohn's disease. I think it was well done and explained where our kids will be able to learn about it. Also, the inspiration behind this book made it extra special, as you know, it was written with love.

The illustrations were divine, and I hope they lead to a series of books that follow the characters.

Thank you so much to Yorkshire Publishing and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Alex the owl loves to fly and dive, one day she sees a new mouse family moving in and with a present in hand goes to make friends. She and Maya the mouse have such a fun day together but the next few days she doesn’t show up making Alex so sad. But Maya has her reasons.

This was so sweet and lovely honestly, I adored their friendship, seeing in the beautiful illustrations them playing together. I also loved that Alex was never angry just sad that Maya wasn’t coming to play, I loved that they still found ways to enjoy being together. It was such a sweet friendship.

This book also covers something you never see in books Crohn's disease, I really loved the way it was shared and told, it was done so beautifully and delicately. But also shared more information at the back of the book too.

This was honestly just adorable and beautiful and I loved meeting Maya and Alex, I think other readers will also enjoy these two friends, their story and enjoy the beautiful illustrations throughout.

Alex the Owl loves to play and is excited when a mouse family moves near by. He meets Maya and gives her a piece of cheese. She thanks him and he asks her to play. They have a great time and make plans for the next day, but Maya doesn’t show. Come to find out she is sick and doesn’t feel good, because she has Crohn’s disease. Maya explains it to Alex and he now understands why she doesn’t eat the cheese. They end up just sitting together and enjoying each other’s company.

This is a great book. I love the way it presented Crohn’s disease, thoughtful and just right for children of all ages, to understand. I have never read another book like it. I liked that the author explains the disease and why he wrote the book, in an author’s note at the end. Children can learn be empathic to those that are fighting any disease really, through this wonderful book.

Maya the Mouse, despite all expectations, cannot eat cheese as she is afflicted with Crohn’s disease. She’s often tired and gets horrible tummy aches. She doesn’t want to tell her new friend Alex the Owl because she doesn’t want to be treated differently. But will that cause a misunderstanding?

M.B. Mooney’s story is just so-so, but the illustrations? Divine! In addition, Mooney wrote the book with the mother of a girl who died of Crohn’s disease so as to bring more awareness to this deadly disease, so I would have given this picture book four stars just for that!

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Yorkshire Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Few books address chronic illness in children. The Mouse Who Couldn't Eat Cheese offers a simple explanation to children about Chron's Disease through the budding friendship of an owl named Alex and a mouse named Maya. Appropriate for K-2 classrooms, this book could be used as a starting off point (with parent permission) to explain about chronic illness in a classmate. Although the subject matter is heavy, it is approached in a way that is understandable and hopeful.

Thank you to Xpresso Book Tours and NetGalley for an advanced reader's copy. Opinions expressed are my own.

This is truly such an awesome book! There really aren't enough books out there that educate kids on chronic illness in the comfortable and kind way that this book does. I've never read a kids' book quite like this one, and that's a good thing in this case. The author doesn't make a big deal about Maya's illness, but they also don't ignore it. That means that the author *acknowledges* it, showing kids that these things exist but they don't define a person, and these conditions don't have to define a kid's life. Adding onto that, the owl character demonstrates being a good friend, which is such an important thing for a children's book to have. Lastly, I adored how beautifully the illustrations were done, as they authentically and artistically captured nature and friendship in one book. Bravo!!

The Mouse Who Couldn’t Eat Cheese is a great story. It is about a mouse, Maya, who wanted to be just like the other kids. In most ways she was. She loved to run, jump, and play outside with friends.

One day an Owl, Alex, saw the new mouse family move nearby. He decided to show up with a gift he knows every mouse likes…cheese. He asked Maya if she wanted to play. They had a fantastic day playing together. They made another playdate for the next day. Alex waited for a long time at the rendezvous spot. Maya never arrived. This happened a few times.

Finally Alex went to Maya’s house to ask why she never showed up. Maya’ explained she had Crohn's disease and some days she didn’t have enough energy to play like others. She also mentioned she also has stomach aches which is why she couldn’t eat the cheese the Owl brought as a gift. Alex’s choosing to sit, talk, and dream with Maya.

Thank you NetGallery, Yorkshire Publishing and M.B.Mooney for this ARC.

This is a great story about a mouse who has Crohn's disease and cant always make it outside to play with her new friend. In the library it is so important to have books of all kinds that include all illnesses, diseases, and disabilities so children can learn what other people may be going though. It also shares that not all illnesses are visible which so crucial to teach our kids that someone does not have to look like something is wrong with them for them to not be okay. This story has a really good lesson incorporated into it!

Thank you for the ARC. This book meant what expected but in a positive way. What a great story about friendship and a chronic illness. The illustrations were very cute as well. This would be educational for all, especially someone suffering with Chrones.

This is nice story with a serious message I think. It’s educational and would be perfect for a child suffering from Crohn’s disease. My child loved the illustrations too.

This is a book about the mouse who cannot eat cheese. It is a book about tolerance and acceptance of others in the face of chronic illnesses.

What a cute book and such a needed lesson! Poor Mouse can't eat cheese spends a lot of time feeling ill, and her new friend feels hurt because he doesn't understand that Mouse has a special condition. When they finally talk about it, their friendship is better and there is no judgment.
I spent years caring for someone with special dietary needs and people often didn't realize how important it was. Learning from a young age that people are different will help make people more accepting.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

OK, so ignoring the fact owls should want to eat mice, this owl here – Alex – only wants to play with a new mouse friend, Maya. And on that subject, Maya the mouse should want to eat her welcome gift of cheese, right? Well there won't be any eating of either character or cheese here, and not much play together, for Maya has Crohn's disease. What these colourful, lively and easily-read pages will do is introduce a sleeping disease that doesn't really show up as a sickness or visible problem, and that can turn itself on and off to the extent that some days the sufferer is fine and others really under the weather and fatigued. This is a great way to discuss such illnesses, and Crohn's in particular, and it will work for anyone with such a problem, and for friends, siblings and classmates of them. And it's also a short story that a short reader would actually want to pick up for pleasure, at the same time. So there's little in the way of this getting a full five stars.