HARTFORD, Conn. — Helping children tackle the experience of surgery is just one of the goals of Small Tales, a new video series that uses puppets to explain basic pre-op procedures. Produced by Little Engine Media and supported by Care.com, Small Tales was recently filmed at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and will soon be available to hospitals across the country.
According to Producer Melissa Roja Lawlor of Little Engine Media, the 15-minute video uses loveable, friendly characters to address real-life pre-op situations. The video aims to dispel children’s fears about preparing for surgery by empowering them with knowledge and information that is helpful to understanding complex procedures from a child’s perspective. The video had its world premiere at Connecticut Children’s on May 24.
“There’s an accessibility unique to puppets that children—especially those in the hospital—can relate to,” said Lawlor, a resident of Farmington whose credits include the PBS KIDS show Between the Lions where she serves as associate producer, roadshow producer and a background puppeteer. “The puppets, in a different way than humans can, help teach the children about how wonderful a place a children’s hospital really is and about the very special people who work there.”
Small Tales features four puppet characters, including Bailey, a 5-year-old who has a lot of questions about what happens when he has to go to the hospital for surgery. Also included in the cast are Bailey’s imaginary friend Jojo, his 7-year-old sister Piper, and Granny Treetop. Declaring themselves detectives, Jojo, Piper, Granny Treetop , and Bailey travel through the pre-operative area of a children’s hospital, on a mission to solve the mysteries of check-ups, blood tests, and anesthesia. Along the way, they meet real-life caregivers from Connecticut Children’s, including staff from Child Life, Nursing and Anesthesia.
“There are a very limited number of videos like this out there for children,” said Child Life Specialist Mary Welker, CCLS, of Connecticut Children’s. “This video will not only benefit patients at Connecticut Children’s but children in hospitals across the country as well.”
Welker added that when a child undergoes surgery, he or she may feel that the entire process is something that they have no control over. But a video like Small Tales gives them some of that control back by explaining to them—in a very child-friendly manner—everyone’s role in the pre-op and surgical areas.
For Small Tales, Lawlor recruited a top-notch team of seasoned professionals, including:
Director Tim Lagasse who also plays Bailey and has worked on Sesame Street, Between the Lions and Oobi
Puppet Builder and Character Designer Michael Schupbach of the Puppet Kitchen which is based in Manhattan. Schupbach is an alumnus of Jim Henson’s Muppet Workshop and has worked on Bear in the Big Blue House, the Travel Channel’s Puppet Planet, and Noggin’s interactive services Play with Me Sesame
Leslie Carrara-Rudolph plays Piper and has performed on Sesame Street as Abby Cadabby. She also performs as Ginger the Sprite on the Disney Channel’s Johnny and the Sprites
Peter Linz plays Jojo and has been a puppeteer with the Jim Henson Company. He has had puppet characters featured on Sesame Street, Bear in the Big Blue House, Blue’s Room and the Book of Pooh
DVD copies of Small Tales are available for $50 each and can be purchased by visiting www.smalltalespuppets.com.
