Emmie’s Books charity celebrates power of reading for Childhood Cancer Day

The campaign, created by Ogilvy Health UK, highlights how inspiring imagination helps children in hospital

By creative salon

15 February 2024

Emmie’s Books, a charity to support sick children in hospital, has launched 'Better With Books' for Childhood Cancer Day. The charity works closely with hospitals including Great Ormond Street, The Queen Elizabeth and Royal Marsden, to donate books to seriously ill children. The campaign creative, which features hand drawn animations and illustrations, drives awareness of the escapism that reading provides for children recuperating in alien surroundings often far away from home.

A study by the National Academy of Sciences has revealed that reading boosts positive emotions and decreases pain in hospitalised children. Better With Books created the poignant animation with top production company Savage Films and Ritmika Audio Arts, one of the most awarded music companies in the world, to illustrate the new worlds children can explore through reading. The film shows children feeling overwhelmed in cancer wards being transported to an imaginative island filled with animals and mythical creatures and having adventures, capturing their strong sense of adventure.

The campaign – launching across VOD, social and DOOH on 15 February - asks for donations to help provide more books for children who need them most.

John McPartland, Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy Health UK said: “This film acts as a stark reminder of the power that creativity and stories can have for children, society’s most vulnerable. The ordeal of battling cancer at such a young age can take its toll, but through the power of their imagination they can escape, if only for a few short moments.”

Lyndsay M, mother of cancer survivor Emmie and founder of Emmie’s Books added: “Reading provided us with a much needed sense of normality when Emmie was going through treatment. Reading stories before bedtime as a family, transported us to a world where (for that small moment in time) everything felt normal again.”

Alex Black, Director, Savage Films commented: “I became a father not too long ago and I can't imagine how hard it must be to tackle a serious illness with a small child. I was keen to help expand Emmie's story further and together with animator Daniel Prothero, we wanted to show both sides: how intimidating a hospital can be to a child, and how a book can offer escapism into a world of wonders. We hope our work can help more kids get through tough times.”