Sara And Hoppity - The Books At least six separate Sara And Hoppity books were published between 1960 and 1962. The first of these, Sara And Hoppity and Sara And Hoppity Make New Friends, provide the basis for the television series and at least five of the episodes. A further two, Sara And Hoppity Get Lost and Sara And Hoppity Find A Cat, appeared the following year and presented two more complete stories, whereas the earlier ones were reasonably episodic in presentation. Another title, a DM (Daily Mirror) mini-book entitled Meet Sara and Hoppity, also appeared in 1961. This presented five further adventures which, like the first two books, featured stories with themes that reappeared in the television series. A final (as far as is known) book called The Big Book Of Sara and Hoppity, also by Daily Mirror Books, was published in 1962. It is thought to be a complilation of the four main books but no details are known at this time. All the books were illustrated by Marion Wilson in a wonderfully child-like style, complimenting the straight-forward prose that came as close to capturing how a young girl like Sara would view the world as was possible. These must have made the books quite appealing to the young readers. The most literal example of this is in Sara and Hoppity Make New Friends, where Sara's experience of shopping is wonderful with Daddy as he carries her so she can see on the shelves. But when with Mummy, obviously too weighed down with the shopping, all she sees is legs! Where the books score more admirably over the televised episodes (admittedly only one example of which has been seen) is that it is never clear whether it is Hoppity who is misleading Sara, or if Sara is actually naughty and simply blaming Hoppity. In Sara and Hoppity Make New Friends, it even does go so far as to ask the reader "Do you believe Hoppity told Sara what to do, or do you think Sara was only pretending?" In the series, it would appear this distinction is lost as it is more difficult to attribute character to the doll visually than it is in prose. The discriptive line of his eyes "gleaming greener than grass, shinier than water" say more of the possible nature of the 'goblin toy', than the winding up and 'tiddlee-tum, tiddlee-tee' speech ever could. Sara and Hoppity Find A Cat also shows a departure from the format of the series, by introducing Toffee the kitten, who becomes Sara's pet. In the series the pet is Shaggy the dog, who is likewise found and adopted by the Brown family. Whether this was due to it being easier to have a puppet dog with some element of realism (unlike Footso in The Adventures of Twizzle) isn't known but Toffee continues to appear in Meet Sara and Hoppity, being almost as adept at unwitting mayhem as the mischievous Hoppity himself! In all, the Sara and Hoppity books highlight Roberta Leigh's ability to get at the heart and mind of childhood, and submit it to prose. Everything is so true to life, even after forty years, and as someone who also grew up in the 1960s, they strike a chord. Standing alone from the toy-centric worlds of Twizzle or Torchy, or the futurism of Space Patrol, they remain her most human and accessible of stories to children. On to the first Sara and Hoppity book With thanks to the British Library. Back to the Sara and Hoppity homepage Sara And Hoppity would welcome any comments or reviews on any of the Sara and Hoppity books for future updates.