Harold's Hospital Hullabaloo
Theme: Mindfulness & Awareness
About the Book
In Harold's Hospital Hullabaloo, Harold learns an important lesson: Pay attention to your surroundings and consequences This engaging story shows children ages 7-13 how this value applies to their own lives through humor, relatable characters, and heartfelt moments of growth.
Sneak Peek
Meet Hazardous Harold
Harold is all arms and legs, elbows and knees—a 9-year-old with light brown hair who's taller than most kids his age and has a special talent for creating unintentional chaos wherever he goes. For Harold, every day is an unpredictable adventure. But behind each mishap is a valuable life lesson—mindfulness, awareness, thinking before you act, and taking responsibility—that helps him grow in the most heartwarming ways
Chapter 1: The Great Hospital Trek
It's a sunny Saturday morning in Bondi, and Harold is in his backyard throwing a tennis ball for Spike, his Jack Russell Terrier, when his dad calls from the kitchen door.
"Harold! Time to go visit Aunt Helen at the hospital!"
Harold's Favorite Aunt Helen had injured herself doing a Virtual Reality dance-off challenge (she swears she nailed that spin move, but the VR headset disagreed). She's been at Sydney General Hospital for a few days now, and Harold's been eager to visit her.
Spike drops the tennis ball at Harold's feet and barks hopefully.
"Sorry, buddy," Harold says, scratching behind Spike's ears. "No dogs allowed at hospitals. But I'll tell Aunt Helen all about your Sports Day adventure!"
Ever since Sports Day—when Spike had escaped and turned the three-legged race into total chaos—Harold had been extra careful about where Spike could and couldn't go.
"You'll stay home with Mum," Harold's dad says, appearing with Harold's backpack. "And speaking of which—Harold, why is this bag so heavy?"
Harold grabs the backpack, which is stuffed to bursting. "I brought things for Aunt Helen! My 'Galaxy Quest' comic, the fidget spinner she gave me, some gummy worms, my broken drone project in case she wants to help me fix it, two mismatched socks—"
"Harold," his dad sighs, the same way he did after the volcano disaster, the Pet Day incident, Murphy's cake catastrophe, and Sports Day. "That's very thoughtful, but maybe you don't need ALL of that?"
"But what if she gets bored?" Harold protests.
His dad looks like he wants to argue, then just shakes his head. "Fine. But please, PLEASE be careful with that bag in the hospital."
"Dad, I've learned my lesson!" Harold says confidently. "Remember? Science Fair taught me to plan ahead. Pet Day taught me to be honest. Murphy's birthday taught me patience. Sports Day taught me perseverance. I'm basically a model citizen now!"
His dad raises an eyebrow. "A model citizen who tripped across the finish line on his stomach two weeks ago?"
"I WON, didn't I?" Harold grins.
As they head out, Spike watches from the window, looking betrayed that he's being left behind.
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DChapter 2: The Button of Doom
Sydney General Hospital is massive. Harold and his dad navigate through the bustling main entrance, Harold's oversized backpack swinging behind him like a wrecking ball on his back.
As they shuffle through the sliding doors, Harold's bag clips a digital check-in kiosk. The screen flickers, briefly displaying "ERROR: SYSTEM ABORT?" before rebooting.
"Harold, please be more careful!" his dad sighs, steadying the kiosk.
"Just vibing!" Harold grins, doing a little dance move that nearly topples a hand sanitizer station.
They head for the elevator to the third floor where Aunt Helen's ward is. Harold hums a tune he heard on TikTok, bouncing on his toes with excitement. Aunt Helen always slips him a bag of her homemade butterscotch candies, which he LOVES.
When they reach the ward, Aunt Helen is sitting up in her bed, her leg in a cast, scrolling through her phone.
"HAROLD!" she exclaims, putting down her phone. "Come give your favorite aunt a hug! Carefully—the leg's still healing."
Harold carefully navigates around the medical equipment and gives her a gentle hug.
"I brought you stuff!" Harold announces, starting to rummage through his overstuffed backpack. "I have your favorite comic, and gummy worms, and my fidget spinner, and—"
He pulls out item after item: a yo-yo, a squished energy drink can, the broken drone, his mismatched socks.
"It's in here somewhere," he mutters, digging deeper.
His dad has wandered down the hall to get coffee from the vending machine, so he doesn't see what happens next.
Harold, focused entirely on finding the comic book, swings his backpack over his shoulder to get better access to the bottom.
The base of the bag swings wide, and—THWACK!
It smacks directly into a shiny red emergency button on the wall labeled "PRESS ONLY IN EMERGENCY."
BWOOOOOP!
The alarm blares. Double doors fly open like someone making a grand entrance in a dramatic movie scene.
"Oh no," Harold breathes, his eyes going wide.
Bonuses
When you buy this book, don't forget your extras!
· Harold's Circle of Friends (free bonus chapters & sneak peeks)
· Exclusive Coloring Pages
· Educator Notes Pack (lesson plans & guides)
