Year-ender: Books on COVID-19 that offered relief to young readers

As the COVID-19 outbreak hit the world hard this year, children, who may not have had high infection rates compared to other age groups, were victims of more emotional and psychological pain. Some had to say goodbye to their parents, who were medical workers, without knowing when they will return. As the country went through a national lockdown, most kids were confined indoors, not knowing what was outside and how it might seriously harm them.

Thankfully, the country saw a number of picture books on the pandemic targeted for young readers, not only to answer to their questions on the science behind the virus, but also to ease their worries and offer some emotional relief.

Here is a recap of some of these picture books.

My Mommy: The Virus Warrior

Author: Wu Shengwen

Publisher: Beijing Science and Technology Press

My Mommy: The Virus Warrior is a heartwarming letter to the thousands of children whose parents in the medical profession were in Hubei, supporting the fight against the epidemic. The book was inspired by a tear-jerking scene of a nurse hugging and bidding farewell to her 6-year-old daughter before boarding the outbound bus to the epicenter of the outbreak.

The story unfolds with a conversation between a girl and her mother.

Girl: "Mommy, are you leaving home again?"

Mother: "Yes honey, mommy is going to fight a monster-a horrible virus has invaded a city that many people love dearly, and countless grandparents, aunts, uncles and children have become sick."

In plain language, the questions and answers go on, explaining the symptoms of the illness, and telling the stories of the people, doctors and nurses, couriers and cleaners, workers and scientists, fighting the virus on all fronts.

Besides providing "knowledge" and praising the heroes, the book intends to help children accept their emotions and cultivate a sense of responsibility for society.