Mooty The Mouse creator Jessie Wee, pioneer of S’pore children’s literature, dies at 88

SINGAPORE – Singaporean pioneer of children’s literature Jessie Wee, best known as the creator of the beloved series The Adventures Of Mooty (1980), has died at age 88.

Her architect son Derek Wee, 62, told The Straits Times that she died after an unspecified long illness on March 10. He said the family was proud of his mother – who wrote Mooty for her two sons out of a conviction that children should read local stories – for her accomplishments as a “self-taught, entrepreneurial spirit in the world of creative writing”.

Mr Wee, who also illustrated his mother’s two final autobiographical books – Grandpa’s Remedy (2019) and Secret Of The Malacca Cabinet (2019) – recalls fondly: “When mother and son work together, it’s a mixed atmosphere of excitement and creative tension. We debated a lot about how the characters would be presented, but it was a fun process and very personal.

“These are stories I didn’t experience – they were mum’s childhood memories – but I grew up hearing about them all through my life.”

First published by Federal Publications as a 10-part series in 1980, The Adventures Of Mooty – illustrated by the late Kwan Shan Mei – follows the exploits of a lovable sarong-wearing mouse with his animal friends.

Poet, graphic artist and literary critic Gwee Li Sui – who delivered a lecture on the Mooty series under the National Library Board’s How To Fall In Love With Classics series in 2021 – says of the series’ impact: “We already have a great Singaporean children’s book series – it’s Jessie Wee and Kwan Shan Mei’s The Adventures Of Mooty. The team-up achieved something we shall never see again – a singular vision from two creatives who could not be more different.

“Yet, they created a story that taught many young readers the courage to change, selflessness, ethnic and gender equality, and community-building. They dreamt the Singaporean dream for kids like me.”

Landmark Books publisher Goh Eck Kheng, who published several of Wee’s books, said: “For most Singaporeans, she will be known as the author of Mooty. For me, she’ll be forever Mooty’s mummy.

“Jessie was a gentle and caring person with a playful, cheeky touch. Her stories show those characteristics.”

Wee was a teacher for 12 years and about to resign from Chai Chee Secondary School due to chronic laryngitis when a kitchen encounter with a mouse one night fired her imagination to write a bedtime story for her children.

“Once, a little mouse tried to introduce himself to me, but I yelled with fear. My screams brought the children running. Perhaps that is what created the theme of rejection,” Wee had told ST about the character’s origin in a 1980 interview.

Her rhythmic prose and keen sense of humour made Mooty an instant hit with Singapore children growing up in the 1980s. It was highly commended by the National Book Development Council in 1982, translated into Chinese and Malay, and published in the United States and Thailand.

The stories have subsequently been republished several times, including in a commemorative edition in 2018 by Marshall Cavendish.

Wee was awarded the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award in Children’s Literature by the Asian Festival of Children’s Content (AFCC) in 2013.

Mr Wee, who called his mother “joyful and loving, adventurous and fearless”, added: “Mum lived a life of faith in God, dedicating much of her later life in church ministries where she applied her talents of writing and story-telling.”

She is survived by her two sons – Derek and physics professor Andrew – two daughters-in-law and two grandchildren.