Puddlehoppers

Puppy Looks For A Friend

Cocoplums are sweet but friends are sweeter. Put them together and you have a treat! Puppy loves his Cocoplums, but he really needs company. There’s only thing for the little guy to do. Go on a ‘friend search.’ How hard can it be to find a friend? Puppy is about to find out.

Quackers – The Fiercest Lion of Them All

Once there was a duck who thought he was a lion. The lions thought he was Quackers, and that became his name. Sometimes Quackers was lonely. He dreamt of ponds while the lions went hunting. But when danger came, he did something no lion ever could. And Quackers learned that being a lion comes from your heart - not beak, webbed feet or wings.

Queensland Border

Puggles jumped on the back of his red motorbike and was off down the road heading for Queensland. One thousand kilometres of open road, the roaring wind in his ears and untold dangers. What adventure was in store? Who would have thought there might be gold, knights, and a ferocious dragon on the way?

Quirky Bird and Friends

"Model the muddle, be proud of the blooper, make a mistake and say ‘wow that was super!’

This darling catastrophe is a crazy delight, good golly, I’m glad that it didn’t go right.

It’s fantastically awful – an amazing disaster. 

Fetch her a sticker and maybe a plaster."

These wise words from Chomp Plodder have helped Quirky Bird and Friends be brave enough to share their stories.

Filled with colour and kindness, this collection of short stories is created to inspire children to be their most wonderful, brightest, creative selves.

Rabbit's First Day at Nursery

Rabbit lived with his parents in a city called Joyland. He was the only child in the family. He liked to play with his parents at home with his toys. Mummy Rabbit started to look for a nursery for Rabbit and can be happy when he plays with other children. On Rabbit’s first day at nursery, he did not want to leave his mummy as nursery was new for him. It was circle time and a story to follow. The rabbit was asked to hand out snacks to his class… It was time to go home and the first day was over.

Radish and Stubs

A rabbit named Radish befriends Stubs, a hedgehog hurt by a lawnmower. As they bond, they quickly become the best of friends, and soon there is no end to the adventures they can have together! But first, a picnic takes a turn when an unwanted guest drops in.

Raggedy and the Squirrel

Raggedy wasn't like the other blackbirds. He was a bit untidy and had a few feathers missing. When he gets into a spot of trouble, he finds an unlikely friend…

Rainbow Island

Lilly and Ryan Baker are ten-year old twins, who with their Mum and Dad, live on Rainbow Island, which is a lighthouse island off the coast of North Queensland. Come and spend some time on Rainbow Island and enjoy the beaches and marine animals that they get to play with almost every day.

Reálta – A New Star Is Born

Amid the sudden pain and anguish of losing a new baby, whether by miscarriage, still birth or new born death, the question ‘What happens next?’ inevitably arises.

On December 10^th, 2012 my partner and I were thrown into that abyss of hurt, anguish and pain that comes with the loss of a new baby or pregnancy. In our case, we were almost twelve weeks pregnant as we arrived to the early scan unit of the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin for a 2:30 pm appointment. Our world was turned upside down upon the news that there was no heartbeat. Our baby had died.

As devastating as that was, we sought some comfort in the fact that unlike years gone by, nowadays there is a service where families who experience this unimaginable loss can get to celebrate (ever so briefly) the life of their new baby or pregnancy with a very personal remembrance service. In the months and years since, I have longed to find ways to commemorate and pay respects to all families who have experienced new baby/pregnancy loss of this type.

Then comes the ‘What happens next?’ question.

What happens to our new babies who are lost by miscarriage, still-birth or new born deaths? Why has life failed them? Why has God failed them? There must be an understandable reason that these angels are chosen for something other than life. Then I looked up into the dark night sky with its millions of stars shining brightly down on us and...

Réalta – A New Star was born

Rebekah and the Pink Ballet Shoes

We all have dreams as a child of what we would like to be. From her very early days, Rebekah loved to dance. She longed to be a ballet dancer. So when she tried on her first pair of pink ballet shoes her dream came true ... but not quite as she imagined!

Rez

Upset, anxious and sad when their Mum dies, Rez learns the importance of being able to talk about how they are feeling during a bedtime conversation with their other parent, Mam.  Although she is also feeling very sad and distraught, Mam does her best to comfort Rez and together they realise the need to carry on with and make the most of life, despite experiencing such a devastating loss.