Brudders' Books Donates to St. Joseph's Children's Hospital

When we first conceptualized Brudders, and our mission and purpose behind creating this series, our goal was clear. We wanted to give kids a forever friend they could relate to and lean on, especially at a time when they needed one the most.

So we set out to do just that. We called up St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital and asked them how many little ones were currently in-patients at the hospital. Anywhere from 40 - 50, we learned.

These ranged from kids recovering from an acute trauma to those who have spent a painfully long time living in the hospital while being treated for a more chronic illness.

We wanted to give these kids a new, special friend with Brudders, and the loving guardianship of Zeke.

And so 50 books it was! We packaged them all up with a bow and hand-delivered them to the Children’s Hospital’s foundation office. While we would’ve LOVED to see the smiles on the kids faces as they met their new special friends, COVID unfortunately limited us from going into the hospital.

But that’s ok. We’ve checked in and are so happy to hear many of the books have already been delivered to the kids.

You know, it’s interesting. Someone asked us once why Brudders woke up in a treehouse all alone, and if we were ever going to expand on that. And we politely smiled back to the gentleman and said that it was a great question, but we’ve intentionally chosen not to.

Many kids find themselves in situations where they don’t have parents, or they’re stuck in a situation they just couldn’t control, like a hospital. The beautiful thing about kids is, that they just want to live! And they want to live in the moment. That is the bravest thing a human being could ever do, and we don’t ever want to draw their attention away from that. And we certainly don’t want a child to feel any less than what God made them to be, just because of factors they can’t control.

So to these kids, whatever their situation is, it is. Just like the opening scene of our Brudders series. We don’t make them feel any differently, we don’t focus on peculiarities. We just simply pick up where we are, and we live, learn, and have fun in the best way that we possibly can.

More information can be found about St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital here or at their Foundation page.

Have a blessed New Year everyone, and if you’d like to reach out to us about any kids in need who could really use Brudders as their special new friend, send us an email, we’d love to hear from you.

Thanks so much,

K.A. & Derek, Author & Illustrator of Brudders’ Books