For 11-year-old writer, tale of mouse, Sox has it all

“I’ve had hamsters since I was five and have two guinea pigs now, so I’ve been around rodents my whole life,’’ he said. “And I’ve always loved the Sox, and Fenway, so I kinda combined them.’’

His book did not arrive out of the blue: When Bradford was in the fourth grade, teacher Sally Romano - to whom he dedicated “The Mouse’’ - gave the class her usual “bare book’’ writing assignment, starting with a blank essay book and instructions to compose and illustrate a story. She called Bradford’s effort “one of the finest assignments’’ ever turned in, and told his mother, “I can see this in a window of a Cambridge bookstore.’’

Bradford actually had a jump on the project: His sister was in Romano’s class the year before, and he watched her work on her own book.

“They’re both very organized, and Bradford actually started on a rough draft of his book that year,’’ said their mother, Colleen. “I saved it and it went from a three-page draft to 16 pages.’’

Bradford’s parents took the book, which follows the tale of Ace, a mischievous but kind-hearted mouse who finds himself lost in Fenway Park, to a few Boston publishers, who said it showed promise but they couldn’t take on the project. Confident it could be worth it, the Nolans had the book self-published, with Boston illustrator James Connelly (a 1982 graduate of West Bridgewater High School) using sketches the boy had made to create the book’s artwork.

Bradford’s tale has Ace facing a number of adventures, and along the way he avoids Homer the Hawk and befriends a home-run baseball called Stitch, and the two become best friends and live atop the Green Monster.

A copy of the book was brought to the Red Sox, courtesy of a connection that Howard School principal Mark Bodwell has with the team, and signed by several members of the team, including manager Terry Francona and catcher Jason Varitek.

Bradford has donated copies to area schools and libraries, as well as to the Kevin Youkilis Batting for Books program. His next book-signing is scheduled for today at the annual West Bridgewater Park Day, in War Memorial Park on River Street from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The book, bearing his official pen name of Bradford James Nolan, is also available at Barnes & Nobles, online at Amazon.com, and can be ordered at local stores, as well as at www.themousewholivedinfenwaypark.com.

WHIMSY IN VERSE: The Duxbury Free Library throughout next month will celebrate what it calls the “beauty, whimsy and relevance of poetry.’’

Events lined up for the library’s “Poetry Pa-Looza’’ program include two sessions for children, “A Pocketful of Poetry’’ on Oct. 7 and “Slammin’ With Poetry’’ on Oct. 14, and a poetry-writing workshop for adults on Oct. 7.

There is also a potluck dinner Oct. 8 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the local Poetry Circle (which is holding its monthly meeting tonight at 7 in the Lanman Room at the library, 77 Alden St.).

Another highlight is a reading and presentation by novelist and poet Marge Piercy on Oct. 10.

For information on events, one and all, visit www.duxburyfreelibrary.org or call 781-934-2721, ext. 108.

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Four of the Ninety Nine Restaurant franchises in the area recently held fund-raisers for local charities. The Canton restaurant raised $3,525 for the school district’s libraries and and technology fund. Weymouth’s Ninety Nine raised $3,186 for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life program, and the Rockland site came up with $4,009 for its host community’s public schools. The Ninety Nine in Easton raised $13,340 for Homes for Our Troops.

The South Shore Women’s Business Network recently installed its new president and board of directors for the year during the group’s annual celebration breakfast. Stacey Shipman of Weymouth was named president of the board, and serving as directors will be George Boerger, Thomas Burke, Barbara Case, Adam Cupples, Patricia Funder, Jackie Hurstack, Janet LaBerge, Susan Peters, Judy Walsh-Rodrigues, and Brenda Wornum Moore. Also, the organization honored Kathy Jordan of Stoughton as its Entrepreneur of the Year, and Nadine Pfautz of Hanson as Business Person of the Year.

Patrick J. Gaughan has joined Mayflower Bank as assistant vice president and commercial loan officer in the institution’s Plymouth location.

Paul E. Kandarian can be reached at kandarian@ globe.com.