Hop Lola Hop – A Yummy Market Day Adventure by Kathy Urban

About the inspiration of Hop Lola Hop:

Hello, my name is Kathy and I am the author of ‘Hop Lola Hop’ – a series of childrens books about a young and curious toy bunny who likes to go on fun adventures.

The book was inspired by my eldest daughter’s favourite stuffy 🐰, also called Lola.

Lola used to come with us everywhere – on trips to the supermarket, weekend walks, to the airport (of all places!!). And – like many stuffy toys do – she’d go missing.

I often act intuitively, so when I saw my young daughter despair, I decided to add a bit of magic to the version of events: What if Lola wasn’t lost? What if she had just decided on a little adventure? Just think of all the fun things she could do, see and learn …

Imagining Lola’s adventures soon became our family’s unique way of coping. Luckily, to this day, the 🐰 has always made it back.

I initially set out to write a sweet bedtime story based on some of our made-up adventures. But Hop Lola Hop has become a lot more than what it set out to be.

It’s a tale about friendship, reminding us to value and preserve the things we hold dear. It’s also a celebration of childhood!

Writing the book meant – for a wee while – I was allowed to be a KID AGAIN and relive all the little MIRACLES that with the adult glasses on, one often fails to spot.
Being a child means that you’re allowed to PAUSE and ENJOY the very moment, to take delight in the small everyday things – those tiny ADVENTURES, which make being a child so desirable.

Many of the scenes you will find in this series were inspired by some of my kids’ favourite activities.

I am very lucky to have a family that has supported me throughout this publishing journey, and to have found a team to help me turn my vision into a proper book – with pages (!) that can be read, touched and hopefully turned many times over.

Education Applicability
• Hop Lola Hop a delightful series about a much-loved toy bunny. who likes to go on fun adventures. Sometimes the bunny gets lost. Most children have a comforting toy so this story has universal appeal.
• Key themes of imagination, friendship and comfort run throughout the series and the stories highlight the emotions brought about when losing something special.
• Each story takes the reader on a new adventure, a situation and environment children will be familiar with from going out on walks or to the market.
• Sound words throughout the book help build little readers’ vocabulary, making these stories the ideal read-aloud companion for toddlers and pre-schoolers to read at bedtime.
• There are secret bunnies to spot and find throughout the book, encouraging emerging readers to revisit the story independently

Kathy Urban is a multilingual journalist and the author of the Hop Lola Hop series about the adventures of a beloved bunny named Lola. She freelanced for British and international news networks, including Thomson Reuters, ITN, BBC Current Affairs and completed news assignments for German TV including ZDF, RTL and the Austrian Broadcasting Cooperation (ORF). Her books are inspired by her experiences as a parent and her daughter’s favourite comfort toy. Hop Lola Hop first published in June 2022. The second book in the series – Hop Lola Hop – A Yummy Market Day Adventure – released in April 2023. A third book is due out later this year. Kathy grew up admiring the works of great storytellers and the imaginary worlds they created. But it was the stories her dad told her that prompted Kathy to make up tales for her own children. An advocate of reading, Kathy is passionate about promoting a life-long love of literature in the very young. Kathy has lived in the UK, the US, Denmark and Germany, and these days, calls Dubai her home.