Ollie loves to make up stories. When he was small, he read a lot of books, and noticed that all of them were written by someone. That sounded like fun, so he decided he wanted to do that.
Is Ollie an Actual Hoopoe?
A hoopoe is a kind of bird. Ollie is not a bird. Birds don’t write books. But Ollie likes hoopoes, and likes the word hoopoe, which is fun to say. There are poems about them, some serious, some silly.
The bird’s Latin name, Upopa Epops, also is fun to say. Say it a few times and you will see.
Is Ollie a Hoopa?
The Hoopa Valley Tribe (or Hupa) are an indigenous people who live in northern California. Ollie likes the Hoopa, but is not one of them. They are tough cookies. The U.S. government tried to kick them off their land, but could not.
The name Hoopa is fun to say. People look strangely at Ollie when he wanders around repeating words. But it’s fine. He just likes the sound of them.
Can Ollie Hop, Oh?
Ollie can hop. Ollie is not among the best hoppers on the planet. According to the website Animal Fun Facts, the highest jumpers are dolphins, who can jump 7 meters. That doesn’t count because that’s not exactly hopping, is it? But cougars can jump up 6 meters, which is higher than three people standing on each other’s heads. If you are ever trying to escape a cougar by climbing a tree, choose a really tall tree. Ollie can’t hop as high as a cougar. However, he can hop higher than an elephant. Elephants are so big and heavy they can’t hop at all.