“A Kids Book About COVID-19” by Malia Jones

Credit: fatherly.com

“A Kids Book About COVID-19” is a free e-book to help adults talk to children about the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). As we all process the global pandemic in real time,  parents may find themselves struggling to provide comfort and answer their children’s questions. Tech entrepreneur and father of six Jelani Memory was one such parent. Memory is the CEO and co-founder of A Kids Book About, a Portland-based publishing company dedicated to publishing books for children ages 5–9 that tackle big topics like belonging, feminism, gratitude, cancer and more.

“Knowing the right thing to say became really difficult,” Memory said of his struggle to explain COVID-19 to his children. So, Memory enlisted Malia Jones, a social epidemiologist and assistant scientist in the Applied Population Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to write “A Kids Book About COVID-19.” Jones was suggested to Memory after she published an article that went viral in USA Today called “I’m an epidemiologist. Here’s what I told my family and friends about the coronavirus and COVID-19.” Memory and Jones wrote the book over the course of three days and released it in early March. It is now available as a free PDF or e-book on the startup’s website.

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Children, too, are facing enormous upheaval in the current reality as they face school closures, limited visits with older relatives, and the general anxiety of the adults in their lives. “Our hope,” Memory says, “is that this does what our other books do and helps kids get the grounded truth and gives them a place to ask parents questions and feel their feelings.”

Because the book is digital, it can be updated as more information is learned about the virus. The book is primarily focused on things that won’t change, however, such as the importance of maintaining social distancing (or what Jones calls “cocooning”), the importance of soap and water, and not touching your face. The book’s aim is to give readers honest information, to answer some basic questions, and to start a discussion about what each of us can do to help keep our communities safe during the outbreak.

In the introduction to “A Kids Book About COVID-19,” Malia Jones addresses parents: “You might not be an epidemiologist, but you are definitely the expert your kids need to lead a conversation.” Her book empowers parents so they can be the guides their children need them to be during this public health crisis.