Former pediatric nurse Michelle Martin makes her debut with Valerie the Vole: The Adventure Begins!, a story about friendship and persistence with a hide-and-seek game on every page.
Some children’s books come from a single flash of inspiration. Others grow slowly, the way a family does. Valerie the Vole: The Adventure Begins!, the debut picture book from author Michelle Martin, is the second kind. It began in a backyard when her son was three and was finished by the time he was a teenager.
A Lifelong Dream, Finally on the Page
Michelle spent three years as a pediatric nurse before moving into a career in sales. Through every job, one ambition stayed with her: she wanted to write for children. Years spent around little ones taught her which stories stay with a child after the book closes. They are the ones with warmth and wonder, and just enough mischief to keep small hands turning pages.
The spark came from somewhere unexpected. Each spring, Michelle’s family faced a common backyard problem: trails and patches of damaged grass left by voles tunneling under the lawn. Most parents would see a chore. Michelle saw a character. She found a story in that frustration, and a tiny vole named Valerie was born.
The Story: A Small Voice With a Big Wish
Valerie lives beneath the grass in the yard of a young boy named Evan. From her hidden world, she watches him laugh, play, and explore, and more than anything, she wants to be his friend. The trouble is that Evan can’t see her. However hard she tries, her tiny voice and tinier body seem impossible to notice.
So Valerie gets creative. She enlists her cardinal friends to spell out Evan’s name in the sparkling lights strung through the trees. Later she organizes an underground team of voles to tunnel his name into the melting snow. Each attempt is charming and clever. Each one also captures a longing children know well: the wish to be seen, to be included, and to be noticed by someone you admire from afar.
Along the way, readers discover a secret world just beneath their feet. There are sandbox beach parties, busy tunnels, and a close-knit community of voles who look out for one another. Michelle also builds in a game. Valerie is hidden in the illustrations on every page, and children are invited to find her. That makes the book both a heartfelt tale and a visual treasure hunt young readers will want to repeat.
Without spoiling the ending, the story builds to a joyful and unexpected moment when Valerie finally meets Evan face to face. After watching her try again and again, readers will feel she has earned it. That moment carries the book’s message: persistence and kindness pay off, and meaningful friendships often turn up where we least expect them.
A Story That Grew Up Alongside Her Son
What sets Valerie the Vole apart is the time behind it. Michelle began writing it when her son was a toddler and added to it as he grew, over bedtime conversations and quiet afternoons watching the backyard. Only when he reached his teenage years did she feel ready to share it. By then the project had been growing alongside her family for well over a decade.
That patience shows. The book doesn’t feel rushed or formulaic; it reads like a story that was loved into existence. Michelle hopes it encourages children to use their imaginations, to treat others with kindness, and to know that the smallest creatures, and the smallest voices, can carry the biggest hearts.
Why Families Will Reach for It Again and Again
For parents looking for a new story-time favorite, Valerie the Vole: The Adventure Begins! offers a gentle lesson about friendship and perseverance. For children who love a hidden-picture challenge, it offers a reason to pore over every illustration. It’s the kind of book families read together more than once, because somewhere on every page Valerie is waiting for her chance to say hello.
Where to Find Valerie
Valerie the Vole: The Adventure Begins! by Michelle Martin is available now on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble.
