To celebrate the publication of The Hospital Dog written by Read for Good Patron, Julia Donaldson CBE, Macmillan Children’s Books gifted 10,000 new books from its award-winning list to children of all ages. The books will support Read for Good’s programme in all 30 of the UK’s major children’s hospitals, as well as other medical and educational settings.
Julia has been a patron of the charity since 2018. She said: “My association with Read for Good goes back many years, and it was while visiting the Evelina Children’s Hospital with them that I found out about a dog who visited the hospital to cheer children up. This inspired me to write The Hospital Dog, and I then did a ward round with the real-life hospital dog and her owner which helped me develop the story line. With visitor restrictions in hospitals still in place, and hospital dogs not able to do their rounds, children on the wards certainly need the distraction and comfort of brand new books even more than before.”