"He's just amazing and it's an amazing story," said Mayor of Douglas Councillor David Ashford when he met the star of a new children's book - a three year old dwarf lop rabbit named Bumble Big Ears on Saturday (3rd November).
The Mayor visited The Strand Shopping Centre where a children's book has been officially launched, the first for author Sandy Huyton of Douglas and illustrator Alex McPherson. of St John's.
"Bumble Big Ears and a Boy Called Eddie" is a 40 page children's book, printed on the Island by Bridson & Horrox, which tells a tale based on a true story where the real Bumble Big Ears taught a mute boy to speak for the first time.
The book was inspired by the events which took place at an Isle of Man primary school when Sandy’s voluntary organisation, Dolittle’s, was providing one of its regular free therapy sessions to a group of young children, with rabbits, guinea pigs and canaries.
One boy in the group, who had never spoken since birth, had taken a particular interest in Bumble Big Ears and had held him on his lap for several minutes, until it was time for the rabbit to leave. As the rabbit was being placed into his carrying box, the boy said the word “Bumble” - the first word he had ever spoken in school.
The meeting with the rabbit had unlocked the boy’s mutism and he now speaks normally. The boy’s identity and the name of the school will not be released, out of respect for the family and the school.
“Bumble Big Ears and a Boy Called Eddie” tells the story of a mute boy who is visited by a rabbit who becomes his friend. They meet regularly in Eddie’s garden and go off on a fantasy dream adventure. One day the rabbit jumps into Eddie’s schoolbag, unknown to the boy, and ends up running around the school classroom.
Eddie speaks for the first time when the rabbit is about to be taken away from the class.
Dolittle’s was founded in 2009 by Sandy Huyton and is unique in the Isle of Man. Small animals such as rabbits, guinea pigs, small birds and baby hedgehogs, are taken to various special needs units at schools, elderly people’s homes and to children with conditions such as autism and ADHD for therapy sessions.
A series of book-signing sessions will be held in the Island’s bookshops and other venues, to be announced in the coming weeks.
• “Bumble Big Ears and a Boy Called Eddie”. Published by Sandy Huyton. Illustrations by Alex McPherson. Other illustrations by children from all the Special Needs Units at the Isle of Man’s primary schools, which have been supplied in conjunction with the Department of Education and Children. Printed by Bridson & Horrox. ?6.99.
Available at all Isle of Man bookshops and via e-mail : dolittles@manx.net
All proceeds of the book will go to maintain the work of the voluntary organisation "Dolittle's" which provides free animal assisted therapy to various groups around the Isle of Man, including children with autism and ADHD and the elderly and infirmed.
