Description
Ollie’s great grandma was very old. And very wise. When Ollie was young she visited him in hospital and whispered in a creaky, croaky voice, ‘Look out for the Hospital Hoppities.’
‘Hospital Hoppities?’ Ollie was scared, but his great grandma smiled … and her eyes twinkled.
Ollie spends a lot of time in hospital, and sometimes it’s very boring indeed. But one day he discovers the magical rabbits who live there and joins them as they do their good deeds around the wards. Ollie can be a hero too!
The Story Behind The Book
The Hospital Hoppities was written by Charlotte Hartley-Jones, who has first-hand experience of life in the ward as her own son has a chronic condition.
Charlotte wanted to write a story with a background setting that resonates with children and families for whom hospital is not a scary unknown place, but is rather a place where they spend a lot of time and have to carry on ‘normal’ life within its walls. For families with children with chronic conditions, the community of hospital is important. The story emphasises the different elements of hospital life, while empowering the main character with a helping role, rather than a dependent one.
Illustrator Anjalee Burrows threw her heart and soul into the project to interpret Charlotte’s words beautifully. The story itself does not go into detail about the paraphernalia of children’s health conditions, but Anjalee’s illustrations depict various pieces of medical equipment, such as central lines, drip stands, heart monitors etc. This normalises them and helps children for whom these things are part of daily life feel ‘seen’ within children’s literature.
The Kickstarter
The Hospital Hoppities was initially launched on Kickstarter. Here’s our original campaign video!
And here’s a video which shows the evolution of the beautiful illustrations created by Anjalee Burrows.
