As children and families around the world struggle to stop the spread of COVID-19, one non-profit is using the power of storytelling in the development of a new collection of diverse storybooks to share vital information that could save lives. The Virus-Stopping Champion is one of two free stories distributed by global non-profit literacy organization NABU, featuring a child superhero who learns how to prevent the spread of the virus. I Love You helps children cope with the emotional impact of not being able to visit their elderly relatives during the lockdown.
“We are seeing a lot of misinformation and confusion about the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in communities of color1,” said NABU Executive Director Tanyella Evans. “Crafted by health experts and illustrated by Rwandan artists, these stories provide valuable information for a global audience. In the US, we hope that they can particularly help African American families who are facing higher rates of infection by providing stories with images of kids that look like them fighting the coronavirus.”
In a world where many children still do not see themselves reflected in the pages of their books, NABU addresses the diversity gap in children’s publishing that impacts children’s health and cognitive development in myriad ways. Only 11% of children’s books in the past 25 years have featured any kind of multicultural content, even though over 50% of children in the US identify as non-white2.
NABU’s COVID-19 Health Collection is available to download for free on NABU’s website www.nabu.org/covid19. Print editions will be available soon for purchase on all major online book retailers, with proceeds going to support NABU’s efforts distributing these stories globally. NABU is encouraging anyone to submit a translation through their website, with translated versions being released within 7 days. More information about the organization can be found at www.nabu.org.
1 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/07/us/coronavirus-race.html
2 https://blog.leeandlow.com/2013/06/17/why-hasnt-the-number-of-multicultural-books-increased-in-eighteen-years/
