Anyone who works with kids surely knows the actress and singer Idina Menzel. Her Tony award-winning Broadway roles include Elphaba in Wicked and Maureen Johnson in Rent. Her blockbuster songs include “Let it Be” sung by the character Elsa in the Disney animated feature Frozen. Or maybe you know her from her many appearances as Shelby Corcoran in the television series Glee. But not many people know Idina’s sister, Cara Mentzel, an elementary school teacher in Boulder, Colorado. At least, they didn’t know the younger sister before now. (And her name really is spelled with the extra “T”.)
Cara earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, magna cum laude, from the University of Colorado in 1996. She earned her Master’s degree in Elementary Education with an emphasis on Children’s Literacy from the same university in 2008. In addition, she was designated a National Board certified reading teacher in 2011.
After earning her degrees, Cara taught elementary school, primarily second and third grades, for 13 years in classrooms in the Boulder Valley School District in Boulder, Colorado. For her work in the classroom, Cara has earned some prestigious recognition. She garnered the Barnes & Noble “My Favorite Teacher” award in the 2010-2011 academic year, and she was named to the Superintendent’s Honor Roll in 2011.
Former elementary teacher Cara Mentzel and her sister, singer and actress, Idina Menzel, have just published Loud Mouse, their first children’s book together. Photo Credit: Emejo Madrid
Cara and Idina have recently been interviewed on numerous daytime talk shows because the sisters have co-written a new book for young children. The volume, written for an audience aged 3-5 years, is entitled Loud Mouse. The book, illustrated by Jaclyn Sinquett, was published last month by Disney-Hyperion Press. The storyline revolves around the main character, a mouse named Dee, who was born to sing. Usually she performs just for herself, but when her teacher asks everyone to share something with their classmates, Dee decides to share a song. And as Dee sings la, la, la, la, LOUDly in front of her class for the first time, something extraordinary happens. . . .
Loud Mouse is not Cara’s first published book. Voice Lessons: A Sisters Story is a first-hand account of a younger sister growing up in the shadow of her larger-than-life older sister—looking up to her, wondering how they were alike and how they were different and, ultimately, learning how to live her own life and speak in her own voice. The book was published in 2017 by St. Martin’s Press.
Today, Cara devotes her considerable talent to writing, but on occasion she can still be found back in the classroom, speaking to kids about her favorite books. Idina and Cara are currently working on their second book together, a sequel to Loud Mouse entitled Proud Mouse.
