Inspired by three very special real-life animals, Stevie Hill’s H.A.K. Heroes Series uses adventures to help young readers better understand ADHD, autism and anxiety. Featuring Hercules the mini pig, King the Dalmatian and Archi the French Bulldog, the series celebrates the powerful bond between children and animals while emphasizing empathy, acceptance and the strengths that can come with experiencing the world differently. In this Q&A, Hill shares how her beloved animals became literary heroes, why authentic representation matters and how she hopes the H.A.K. Heroes will help children feel supported and empowered to embrace exactly who they are.
The H.A.K. Heroes were inspired by your real-life mini pig Hercules, Dalmatian King and French Bulldog Archi. What was it about their personalities that made you realize they could become characters who help children navigate important challenges?
What made me realize Hercules, King, and Archi could become more than just the animals who inspired the stories was who they already were in real life. They each have such distinct personalities. Archi, my French Bulldog, has this sweet, expressive, slightly scattered energy that made him perfect for Focus With a Frenchie. King, my Dalmatian, is incredibly sensitive and gentle. And Hercules, my mini pig, has this calm, grounding presence about him, while at the same time most definitely living up to his “Hercules” name—he is nearly fearless and incredibly powerful in his obstinacy. There is a strength and determination to him that is impossible to miss.
I didn’t want to simply put animals into children’s books. I wanted their real personalities to become part of how each child in the stories feels understood, supported, and ultimately empowered.
Each book explores a different topic — ADHD in Focus With a Frenchie, autism in To Dream With a Dalmatian and anxiety in The Helping Hoof. How did you decide which H.A.K. Hero was the right match for each story?
The matches actually came very naturally because I thought about what each animal could give that particular child. Archi’s energy and personality made sense alongside Alvin and his ADHD in Focus With a Frenchie. King has a gentleness and sensitivity that felt right for Kally’s journey with autism in To Dream With a Dalmatian. And Hercules is such an unexpected animal to find comfort in, but he has this incredibly grounding presence, which made him the perfect companion for Hope as she navigates anxiety in The Helping Hoof.
Each Hero isn’t there to “fix” the child. They are there to help the child recognize the strength that was already within them.
What inspired you to use animal adventures to introduce young readers to autism, ADHD and anxiety?
I wanted children and parents to experience these things rather than simply be told about them. Autism, ADHD, and anxiety are so often explained from the outside—what an adult, teacher, parent, or observer sees. I wanted to bring readers inside the child’s world: their thoughts, emotions, frustrations, fears, breakthroughs, and triumphs.
The animal adventures gave me a way to do that without making the books feel clinical or instructional. A child can simply enjoy the story while also recognizing themselves in it, and a parent may finish that same story understanding their child a little differently. Just as importantly, I wanted to show the significance of the animal-human bond and the unconditional acceptance animals can offer—a relationship without expectations or pressure to be, behave, or experience the world as anything other than exactly who you are.
When writing To Dream With a Dalmatian, how did you approach portraying autism in a way that would help children feel understood while also encouraging empathy from other readers?
With To Dream With a Dalmatian, it was extremely important to me that autism wasn’t portrayed as something that needed to be corrected. I wanted readers to experience Kally’s world from her perspective rather than only seeing how her behavior might appear to someone else. There can be an enormous difference between what people see on the outside and what a child is actually experiencing internally.
My hope was that an autistic child could read Kally’s story and think, “Someone understands me,” while another child, parent, teacher, or caregiver might come away thinking, “Now I understand a little better.” That difference in perspective can create real empathy.
In Focus With a Frenchie, what did you most want children with ADHD — as well as their parents, teachers and friends — to understand about the way their minds work?
The biggest thing I wanted people to understand through Focus With a Frenchie is that a child with ADHD isn’t simply choosing not to listen, focus, sit still, or try harder. Their mind may be working incredibly hard—just differently. Alvin’s story allows readers to experience some of that from inside his world instead of judging it from the outside.
I especially wanted children with ADHD to recognize that the very things that sometimes make life more difficult can exist alongside tremendous creativity, determination, curiosity, and ability. Different doesn’t mean incapable.
Anxiety can be difficult for children to recognize and explain. How does The Helping Hoof help give young readers a way to understand and talk about those feelings?
Anxiety is particularly difficult for children because sometimes they don’t even have the words to explain what is happening to them. They may only know that something feels wrong, frightening, or overwhelming. In The Helping Hoof, Hope’s experience gives those feelings a story and a language.
Hercules becomes this steady presence beside her as she learns to move through those feelings rather than being defined by them. I wanted children to understand that courage isn’t the absence of fear. Sometimes courage is being afraid and discovering that you can still take the next step.
Friendship and compassion connect all three books. What do you ultimately hope children take away from spending time with the H.A.K. Heroes, and are there other topics you hope to explore in future adventures?
More than anything, I hope children and their parents or family members walk away from the H.A.K. Heroes with a greater understanding of what it means to experience the world differently—and how profoundly kindness, patience, and acceptance can change someone’s experience. I want children who identify with Alvin, Kally, or Hope to feel seen, while giving the people who love them another way to understand what may be happening beneath the surface.
My own experience with my child is really what grew my passion for finding different techniques, approaches, and even the connection with animals that worked for us. It taught me that sometimes bringing out the best in a child isn’t about asking them to adapt to everyone else’s expectations, but finding what helps them manage, build confidence, develop skills, and ultimately thrive as exactly who they are.
And yes, I absolutely see the H.A.K. Heroes growing beyond these first three stories. There are so many experiences children face that they may not know how to explain, and so many opportunities to use these characters to open those conversations.
What makes that especially meaningful to me is that Hercules, Archi, and King are real. Children and families can know them beyond the pages, follow their lives, and eventually have opportunities through readings, educational programs, appearances, and events to actually meet the Heroes who helped tell these stories. I want H.A.K. Heroes to become something families can experience, not simply something they read—and to continue celebrating the extraordinary animal-human bond and the unconditional acceptance that can come from being loved without ever being asked to be anything other than yourself.
