How Small Acts of Resistance Shape the World

History has shown us time and time again that small actions can lead to massive change. Often, these moments start quietly—one person speaking up, one small group refusing to back down, one act of defiance that snowballs into something bigger.

That idea is at the heart of my children's book, The Mouse and the Garden. Maxine, a small mouse, notices something creeping into her beloved garden—something that threatens to take over the beauty and life that once flourished there. At first, she wonders if she can even make a difference. But with the help of her friends, she learns that resistance, no matter how small, matters—and that standing together is the key to fighting back.

This isn’t just a story for kids. This is history. Small pushbacks have always sparked big change, and these moments remind us that even the smallest actions can ripple into something bigger.

Rosa Parks & The Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956)

The Small Action: One woman refused to give up her seat. That’s it. But Rosa Parks’ quiet defiance ignited a 381-day boycott of Montgomery’s bus system, forcing a national reckoning with segregation and leading to a Supreme Court ruling that ended bus segregation.

The Connection to The Mouse and the Garden: Maxine, like Rosa Parks, is one small individual facing what feels like an unbeatable force. The weeds in the garden, like segregation, spread silently and choke out fairness and opportunity. But when one voice refuses to accept the way things are, it can inspire others to fight back.

The Little Rock Nine & School Integration (1957)

The Small Action: Nine Black students enrolled in an all-white high school in Arkansas, knowing they’d face violent mobs and intense hostility. Their persistence forced President Eisenhower to send federal troops to enforce school desegregation, making history in the fight for civil rights.

The Connection to The Mouse and the Garden: Just like the Little Rock Nine, Maxine and her friends face resistance as they work to reclaim their garden. The weeds in the story represent systems designed to take over spaces where fairness should flourish. But those students, like Maxine, prove that standing your ground matters—even when the odds feel stacked against you.

The Stonewall Riots & LGBTQ+ Rights (1969)

The Small Action: A police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City, sparked a spontaneous rebellion from LGBTQ+ patrons who had endured harassment for too long. That uprising led to the first-ever Pride marches, and the modern fight for LGBTQ+ rights was born.

The Connection to The Mouse and the Garden: The characters in the book, like the people at Stonewall, realize that if they don’t push back, nothing will change. The weeds represent systems of control, but when a community stands up—whether in a garden or in the streets of New York—they make space for something better to grow.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989)

The Small Action: Before the wall fell, small groups of East Germans started organizing peaceful protests, demanding basic freedoms. Slowly, those small groups became large movements, and in November 1989, the Berlin Wall came down, symbolizing the end of Soviet control over Eastern Europe.

The Connection to The Mouse and the Garden: Just like the Berlin Wall, the weeds in Maxine’s garden seemed impossible to remove at first. But resistance grows. One push becomes another. And when people—or in this case, a mouse, a badger, and a rabbit—stand together, walls come down, and change becomes inevitable.

March for Our Lives & The Fight for Gun Reform (2018-Present)

The Small Action: After the Parkland school shooting, a group of high school students turned their grief into action, organizing the March for Our Lives, one of the largest youth-led protests in American history. Their activism reignited national debates on gun reform and continues to push for legislative change.

The Connection to The Mouse and the Garden: Maxine notices the danger creeping in before others do. She sees how easy it is to ignore a problem until it’s too late. The students of Parkland understood this too. They knew they couldn’t stay silent—and neither can Maxine. Some threats, when left unchecked, will take over everything. But when people stand together, real change happens.

Black Lives Matter & The Fight for Racial Justice (2013-Present)

The Small Action: What started as a hashtag in response to the killing of Trayvon Martin in 2013 became a global movement demanding justice, accountability, and systemic change. The Black Lives Matter movement has led to legislative reforms, corporate accountability, and a cultural shift in how racial injustice is addressed.

The Connection to The Mouse and the Garden: The weeds in the garden represent systems that grow unchecked when people look away. BLM, like Maxine and her friends, started with a few voices refusing to ignore the creeping injustices around them. And just like in the book, when people stand together—when they refuse to be silent—they make it impossible for injustice to thrive.

The lesson in The Mouse and the Garden isn’t just for kids—it’s for all of us. Big problems can feel impossible to tackle, but history proves that even the smallest pushbacks matter.

It starts with noticing.
It grows with speaking up.
And it wins when we stand together.

Because just like Maxine and her friends, we are never as small or powerless as we think.

The Mouse and the Garden is now available. Let’s keep planting seeds of change. 🌱🐭 Get your copy here.