Over the past year, we’ve seen the devastating effects that COVID-19 has had on the world. Almost every facet of our lives has changed as a result of the devastating virus.
As hard as adapting to the “new normal” has been for adults, children are also affected and are suffering from the sudden changes to society. As adults, we tend to forget those easily graspable concepts such as germs, viruses, and washing our hands may be difficult for a two-year-old to understand. Furthermore, some have found it difficult to explain to children why we’ve had them attend school online, not play with their friends and wear false masks when in public.
These are the problems I set out to tackle when writing my children’s book, Go Away COVID!
Go Away COVID!
Go Away COVID! Is a children’s book that follows the stories of six children from around the globe learning what the coronavirus is and the best way to combat it. The children learn that they don’t need to be wearing tights and capes to be superheroes in defeating the virus. Rather they can wear facemasks, wash their hands, socially distance, get enough sleep, etc. to remain protected against COVID-19.
Because COVID-19 is a global catastrophe, I thought it was important to incorporate children from different countries into the story. In the end, the children learn that only by coming together as the human race can we fight off COVID-19.
Most children are very visual learners, which is why I decided to incorporate a COVID (monster) character into the book. This gives children the opportunity to connect a face to the virus rather than it being an invisible, mysterious entity that adults keep warning them of.
I thought it was important to deliver the Go Away COVID! Story with the help of a puppet. I designed the book to be interactive and the puppet helps with that interactivity.
Kickstarter
I decided to launch the Go Away COVID! Children’s book and puppet on Kickstarter. I launched the project on March 16th with the funding goal of $5000. Within 20 minutes of launching, we met our funding goal for the project.
The Go Away COVID! Project popularity has come at no surprise to me as there is a great need for educationational material relating to COVID.
The Go Away COVID! Project campaign running through April 15th and is being offered at a discounted rate, exclusive to Kickstarter backers.
