Books

Spread a Smile is delighted to introduce our new Intensive Care Library Project which will see us set up a Spread a Smile book library in six of our NHS hospital partners for families with children on intensive care and high dependency units. 

When a child is diagnosed with a serious illness, life can become very unsettled, scary and unfamiliar, controlled by schedules, treatment plans and prolonged hospital stays away from family and friends. Through our book libraries Spread a Smile will provide a way for children and their families to find comfort and calm through the familiar activity of reading together. 

The project follows on from the success of Spread a Smile’s pre-recorded soothing nursery rhyme and song collection which are available for children to watch and enjoy on our Smile TV digital viewing platform. The libraries will contain a range of story books which families can borrow to read with their children, enjoying special moments of connection.

Online bookstore, Pickled Pepper Books is generously supporting this new initiative, providing an online book list of sensitive and age-appropriate books for children of all ages and stages. Supporters can purchase books from the online store at a discounted rate to be sent to Spread a Smile and distributed to the libraries, providing a wonderful gift for families with children in hospital.

Alongside the onsite libraries, one of Spread a Smile’s talented storyteller, Posey will be recording a series of stories for families to access via Smile TV whenever they need them.  

If you would like to purchase a book for our libraries, you can do so here.

Thank you to so much for helping to spread smiles during some of the darkest times for the families we support.