Although Mr. and Mrs. Frederick C. Little hoped for a normal child who might be much like themselves in every way, their second son looked very much like a mouse.

So goes the premise of E.B. White’s beloved children’s book “Stuart Little,” the famous story of a stand-up mouse named Stuart who gets adopted by a Manhattan family.

This holiday season, Whidbey Children’s Theater presents “Stuart Little,” the play, adapted from White’s book by Joseph Robinette.

The play is tailor-made for family entertainment as it follows the story of the surprised Little family whose second child turns out to be a small mouse.

Tyler O’Neill plays Stuart in the first role of his acting life.

The 11-year-old Langley Middle School student said he took the role because he loved the Stuart Little books and the movies.

“I thought, hey, maybe I should do the play,” Tyler said, with a casual shrug of his shoulders.

The young actor from Clinton said rehearsals are going well and the large cast is getting a lot done at the theater, but he takes his starring role seriously.

“I practice at home a lot, too,” he added.

Apparently familiar with the axiom of, “when in New York City, anything can happen,” the Littles accept young Stuart into their family unquestioningly — with the exception of Snowbell the cat, played by Keith Zimmerman, who is unable to overcome his instinctive dislike for the little mouse.

The Littles build Stuart a bed from a matchbox, and supply him with all of the accoutrements a young mouse could need.

Mrs. Little even fashions him a suit because baby clothes would obviously be unsuitable for such a sophisticated mouse. In return, Stuart helps his tall family with errant ping-pong balls that roll outside of their reach.

The play follows Stuart on a hero’s quest across the American countryside and through myriad adventures as he seeks his fortune and searches for his dearest friend, Margalo the bird.

This is a story of leaving home for the first time, of growing up and ultimately of discovering oneself.

Mrs. Little will be played by seasoned actor Sadie Greene, 13, also a student at Langley Middle School.

Sadie is looking forward to her foray onstage in her first “non-musical” production.

“I just adore it (acting), and I’m awesome with little kids, so that really makes it work,” said Sadie, referring to her turn in an adult role.

“I just love acting,” she added.

Children may relate to Stuart and his predicament of being the sole mouse in the family and ever the small one in a world surrounded by tall people. Coel Cable thinks so.

Coel, 13, is a veteran actor and a student at Whidbey Island Academy. He will play Stuart’s older brother, George. Having started on the Whidbey Children’s Theater stage at age 5 or 6 (he can’t quite remember the old days) Coel thought “Stuart Little” was a good bet for the audience.

“The story is really good,” he said.

The show is directed by Martha Murphy and features a talented cast of young actors including two sets of twins. Onstage at the Porter Building in Langley will be Tyler O’Neill, Bella Witherspoon, Joshua Torok, Sadie Greene, Coel Cable, Libby Hawkins, Elijah Torok, Carlos Bishi, Liam Henny, Austin Drake, Sean Drake, Megan Drake, Keith Zimmerman and Kyle Zimmerman.

The set is designed and painted by Jodi Cable and constructed by Mike Jovich. Costume, props and production design are by the team of Nicole O’Neill, Terri Hawkins and Martha Murphy.

The play runs weekends through Dec. 13 with Friday and Saturday shows at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.