KSTP-TV's Joe Schmit transforms Joe Mauer into children's book hero

Joe Schmit spent about a year writing each of his previous two books. His latest, "The Right Thing to Do: The Joe Mauer Story," took about 20 minutes.

That's largely because the veteran KSTP-TV sports anchor is quite familiar with the Twins legend, who stands a good chance of getting elected into the Hall of Fame on Tuesday. But it's also because this is a book for children, an audience that generally treats long sentences like they're creamed spinach.

"Because I write for 30-second or 40-second stories on TV for a living, this was easier for me," said Schmit, who has been with the local ABC affiliate since 1985. "I'm used to being concise."

The bulk of the tale — how Mauer went out of his way to befriend overlooked classmates while attending St. Paul's St. Columba elementary school — was not new to Schmit. He first wrote about how a young Mauer stood up for others in "Silent Impact: Stories of Influence Through Purpose, Persistence & Passion." In the subsequent nine years, he's shared that anecdote in 95% of his speaking engagements.

Wise Ink Media, which is based in Minneapolis, convinced him that it was fertile ground for a children's book, making Schmit the latest celebrity to contribute to the red-hot genre. He joins the likes of Kevin Hart, Dolly Parton, Jimmy Fallon, Cynthia Erivo and Meghan Markle.

"Lots of people want to use their platform to show kids good values," said Amy Quale, Wise Ink's co-founder and CEO. "There's a lot of fear about the world we're leaving our kids. They want to show them that it's not all vitriol and anger."

It took a little persuading for the relatively private Mauer to get on board. He was won over by the idea that all proceeds would go to local charities such as Thumbs Up, which helps break stigmas about mental health, and the Highland Friendship Club, which supports those with disabilities. He also liked that Schmit included a passage in which his father lends him valuable advice after he broke a neighbor's window.

Mauer's foreword also pays tribute to Jake Mauer Jr., who passed away last January.

"I credit who I am largely to my family, and more specifically, my dad, who was always there to make sure his three boys knew the importance of honesty, kindness and inclusion," the former All-Star catcher writes. "My hope is that this book will lead families into conversations on how we would all like to be treated, no matter the situation, and how choosing kindness is always the right thing to do."

Mauer didn't co-author the book — but he did have some notes.

At one point, Schmit described an elementary school teammate as having "butterfingers."

"Joe called me and said, 'I'm not really comfortable with that word. It's almost like name- calling,'" Schmit said. "I took it out."

The sports anchor also got some feedback from his daughter, Gaby Schmit, a grade-school teacher in the Twin Cities.

Schmit had originally included a flash-forward scene, but ended up scratching it.

"She said that second-graders won't understand it," he said. "I had some in-house editing."

He got an enormous assist from Kevin Cannon. The Minnesota cartoonist has illustrated more than 20 children's books, but said Mauer wasn't the easiest person to draw.

"He's so classically handsome and that's tough to caricature," said Cannon, who grew up in St. Louis Park. "You want to make faces that are simple enough that anyone reading can see themselves in the character. You don't want to be too realistic or too complicated."

Schmit will be doing lots of promotion for the book, including an appearance at Twinsfest on Jan. 26. But nothing would do more to move copies than Mauer getting into Cooperstown.

"What if he mentions the book during his induction speech?" Schmit said. "That would mean a lot of money for two small charities. We could really strike lightning with this thing."