Sights for Hope Launches New C. Well Bunny Book Promoting Healthy Eyesight
Sights for Hope has launched a new children’s book starring its beloved C. Well Bunny character – one that tells the origin story of how he got his distinctive orange glasses and helps young children understand why it is important to take care of their eyes.
The book, titled C. Well Sees Clearly, is the latest addition to Sights for Hope’s C. Well Bunny Goes to School community education program and its first storybook. Sights for Hope shares the program with its fellow Pennsylvania Association for the Blind (PAB) member agencies as part of its efforts to prevent vision loss. PAB provided funding for the storybook’s production and publishing. The book is also being released through Amazon starting today.
Despite his name, C. Well Bunny encounters difficulty seeing clearly in the story until he has a vision screening at his preschool, receives an eye exam from a kind optometrist, and chooses orange eyeglass frames because they remind him of sunshine. When he returns to school, C. Well’s classmates love his glasses and he enjoys his activities again with newfound confidence.
C. Well Sees Clearly was written by Sights for Hope Prevention Specialist Colleen Rountree and edited by children’s book author Mary Beth Numbers. It was illustrated by artist and designer Christine Eardley, who has helped shape the C. Well Bunny character for more than a decade.
The C. Well Bunny Goes to School program was introduced in 2009 by the former Visual Impairment and Blindness Services (VIABL), which later became part of what is now known as Sights for Hope. The program is delivered to children ages 0-6 in preschools, daycare centers, and other community locations. Sights for Hope typically presents it along with its free pre-kindergarten vision screenings. It is part of Sights for Hope’s broader commitment to preventing vision loss and preparing children to read in kindergarten through education, early detection, and access to eye care.
In addition to the new book, Sights for Hope has enhanced the C. Well Bunny program with updated posters and a newly crafted C. Well Bunny puppet, produced by Emmy Award-nominated artist Dallin Blankenship.
“C. Well Bunny has been introducing important lessons to young children for nearly a generation, and this new story continues that legacy with an engaging adventure that today’s preschoolers will enjoy,” said Dennis Zehner, Executive Director and CEO of Sights for Hope. “By helping children understand the importance of healthy eyesight at an early age, we are investing in a future in which their potential and quality of life are not limited by their eyesight.”
Sights for Hope is a nonprofit organization that empowers people to maximize their potential however they see the world. Its programs and services build capabilities and confidence in people who are blind or have visual impairments, equip children to read in kindergarten, and enrich people’s lives with habits that protect their eyesight.
Sights for Hope has proudly served Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley since 1928 and Monroe County since 2003. Sights for Hope is an independent member of the Pennsylvania Association for the Blind (PAB) and the multi-national VisionServe Alliance.
Image: Promotional image of the C. Well Sees Clearly storybook displayed in a preschool classroom with books, crayons, alphabet blocks, and orange eyeglasses.