My book review this month is something a little different for me. The Hospital Hoppities is a beautifully illustrated children’s story aimed at younger children that have to spend extended periods of time in hospital, the idea being to make their stay a little less scary and a lot more fun.

Ollie, a little boy waiting for his operation, is bored. His wise old grandmother tells him about the Hospital Hoppities: small, furry rabbits, with big eyes, shimmering fur and log floppy ears. They are, according to Ollie’s grandmother, magic rabbits that live in hospitals. “They look after the children and help the hospital be a happier place, but they don’t like to be seen”, so most of the time they make themselves invisible. They do this by thumping their back paw. However, one-day Ollie spots a Hospital Hoppity in the drawer of his hospital bedside cabinet. Somehow he has got his paw stuck. Ollie helps the Hoppity release his paw but when he taps it to make himself invisible, it doesn’t work. The Hospital Hoppity then asks Ollie for help, and between them they fly around the wards of the hospital carrying out good deeds.

Charlotte Hartley-Jones, the author of this delightful story, is a trained clinical psychologist and writer. She was inspired to write this story after her own first-hand experience of life on a hospital ward with a son with a chronic medical condition. She was keen to write something children could relate to, especially those that spend a lot of time in hospital, by taking some of the fear out of the experience. Therefore, although the story itself doesn’t focus on individual health conditions, the beautiful illustrations by Anjalee Burrows, a digital illustrator, do show medical equipment like heart monitors, drip stands and hospital staff wearing stethoscopes and scrubs, helping to ‘normalise’ such things. The storyline also empowers Ollie, the main character, by giving him a helping role, instead of a dependent one.

The Hospital Hoppities is a wonderfully magical, beautifully illustrated story that is both entertaining and comforting, especially for small children that have to spend time in hospital. It also makes the perfect companion for children visiting siblings and loved ones in hospital, helping to ‘normalise’ what can sometimes be a very daunting experience.

Hardcover: 32 pages

Publisher: Eyrie Press (30 Jun. 2019)