Now, Milton & friends explain COVID-19 intricacies to 5-8-year-olds in new book
New Delhi, June 10 (IANS) Recognising the complexities that come with understanding the coronavirus disease to the younger generation, a Danish publisher and the Indian arm of an MNC have come together to develop an illustrated childrens book to help shed light on what the pandemic is all about, and how we can play our part in fighting it.
Developed with children aged 5-8 years in mind, “Milton and the Invisible Coronavirus” follows the rabbit Milton, and his two friends, Amanda the butterfly and Conrad the hedgehog, as they navigate the various challenges in their daily lives as a result of the pandemic – from social distancing to ensuring personal hygiene.This book aims to reduce the fear and uncertainty children may be experiencing about the COVID-19 pandemic that is difficult to understand.
Sample these takeaways:
“Hi! My name is Milton and I’m a curious forest rabbit who loves to go on adventures around the world. I’ve visited lots of lovely children in different countries. I have a magical world map. When I dive head-first into the map, I can go wherever I want. I live in a cave in the enchanted forest with my two best friends, Amanda and Conrad….
“I’m happy that my cave is so nice and cosy, because these days, we actually have to stay at home most of the time. You see, there is a contagious virus that is making a lot of people around the world very sick…
“Thankfully, most of the people who become sick with coronavirus will get well again. All around the world, clever people are working hard to create medicines that will help the sick to recover quickly. They are also working to find a vaccine against the coronavirus that can make sure you don’t get infected at all….
Knowing that the coronavirus won’t always be here in the enchanted forest, in our country or in the world makes me really happy.
Fortunately, we can all help to stop the coronavirus. Conrad told me about it. We just need to help each other and follow some simple advice….
“One day when we were out walking, we met one of Amanda’s good friends. Normally, Amanda would have given him a big hug. But because we have to keep our distance right now, they invented a new game. They imitated each other’s movements, just like in a mirror. It looked like fun, so Conrad and I started playing too. We’ve been playing it ever since because it was so much fun! Every time we meet our friends in the forest, we play the Stop-Corona-Mirror-Game….
“Conrad told us how it is very important to wash your hands very thoroughly. In fact, you need to wash your hands for 20 seconds.
Amanda and I didn’t know how long 20 seconds was. So all three of us tried to wash our hands while we counted: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-20.
“Twenty seconds sure is a long time! I don’t think I usually wash my hands for that long.
“We found out that if we sang a song rather than counted, it was much more fun. We wrote our own wash-your-hands song. The song went like this:
“Wash your hands clean, wash your hands clean/Rub and scrub, rub and scrub/ Do it nice and slowly, do it nice and slowly/One more time, one more time/Wash your hands clean, wash your hands clean/Rub and scrub, rub and scrub/Do it nice and slowly, do it nice and slowly/Wash and dry, wash and dry…
“The coronavirus will go away, and everyday life will go back to normal. Until then, we must remember to follow the good advice and take care of each other…
“I looked at Conrad and Amanda and nodded, and I felt a nice feeling of security and warmth spread through my body.”
Let alone children, adults too have much to learn from this.
In Denmark, the book is already being used in primary schools to alleviate concerns and explain the COVID-19 situation to these young children, offering a way for teachers and students to discuss some of the questions the pandemic has raised.
As a sponsor of the publication, Grundfos is currently looking into initiatives to further disseminate it across its Asia Pacific markets, with first steps including sharing the digital version with local schools and educational NGOs.
Written by M. D. Stromfeldt & Rikke Falkenberg and illustrated Lykke B. Jørgin, the book is available as a free download at www.grundfos.in
–IANS
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