Last year, Bobbie-Angela Wong was being treated in a California facility for anorexia. Now, she has returned to Binghamton University and is the author of “Holly the Hippo,” a children’s book that teaches how appearance is not everything.

Wong, a senior majoring in biochemistry, wrote a poem that inspired her book while in treatment. She said that advice she received from a former teacher inspired her to begin writing.

“Being in treatment is definitely difficult, so I reached out to one of my teachers and he goes, ‘you’re creative. Write a poem, write a book, a journal,’” Wong said. “So I wrote a poem about a hippo, and it became almost cathartic in a way. It let me release a message that I needed to send to myself.”

The book is about Holly, a hippo who learns that her personality, not her appearance, is what her friends value. With help from her therapist and high school teacher, Wong took her book to publishers, but not without trepidation.

“There was definitely some hesitation,” Wong said. “I couldn’t imagine in a million years that I would have a book published. Especially a children’s book on body image — it’s not something that you see every day.”

After searching online, Wong found Staten Island-based company Page Publishing. For a monthly fee, Page Publishing provided Wong with resources to produce the book, including an illustrator, editor and personal assistant.

Wong said the most difficult part of the process was working with her illustrator to visualize the story. Collaborating online for about two hours a day for six months, Wong meticulously explained her vision to the illustrator.

“It was so hard to imagine every little detail that I wanted for every image,” Wong said. “I had thought that the illustrator was going to do that work for me. I was wrong. I had to do all of the work. Not only approving images, but telling them the color, size — everything for every page.”

Janine Bautista, Wong’s sister and the assistant director of career services for the School of Management at BU, said writing “Holly the Hippo” helped Wong reach a turning point in her recovery. She said that by sharing her experience and forming it into a positive message, it allowed her sister to open up.

“I haven’t read anything like it,” Bautista said. “It’s a message that needs to be heard by children — love and be kind to yourself. It was a glimpse into her world that I’ve been trying to understand.”

Tyler Lenga, the Emerging Leaders Program coordinator and an on-campus mentor who worked with Wong, said that it was important to begin speaking about body image issues at a young age.

“Everything that Bobbie-Angela has dealt with and overcome with her battle through anorexia is truly inspiring,” Lenga said. “I am proud to see that through ‘Holly the Hippo,’ Bobbie-Angela is spreading awareness to young children about something that is so important for children in today’s society, body image and being truly happy with who you are on the inside.”

Wong will be graduating a semester late, but she said that her experience showed that life can follow a nontraditional path. She said she is hoping that more people will realize there is more to life than just physical appearances.

“It’s really your soul that shines through,” Wong said. “And your personality that shines through and tells your story.”