Axel
Scheffler has illustrated a digital book for primary school age
children, free for anyone to read on screen or print out, about the
coronavirus and the measures taken to control it. Published by Nosy
Crow, and written by staff within the company, the book has had expert
input: Professor Graham Medley of the London School of Hygiene &
Tropical Medicine acted as a consultant, and the company also had advice
from two head teachers and a child psychologist.

The book answers key questions in simple language appropriate for 5 to 9 year olds:

• What is the coronavirus?
• How do you catch the coronavirus?
• What happens if you catch the coronavirus?
• Why are people worried about catching the coronavirus?
• Is there a cure for the coronavirus?
• Why are some places we normally go to closed?
• What can I do to help?
• What’s going to happen next?

We want to make sure that this book is accessible to every child and
family and so the book is offered totally free of charge to anyone who
wants to read it. However, we have suggested, at the back of the book,
that families might make a donation to help our health service if they
find the book useful: https://www.nhscharitiestogether.co.uk/.

Kate Wilson, Managing Director of Nosy Crow, said:

“We were very aware that many parents and carers are struggling to
explain the current extraordinary situation to children, many of whom
are frightened and confused. We thought that the best thing we could do
would be to use our skills to produce a free book to explain and, where
possible, reassure children. We asked Axel, whose work is so familiar
and so loved, to illustrate it. He was happy to do it, and did it
extraordinarily quickly. Meanwhile, having heard Professor Medley
interviewed by the BBC, we looked him up and wrote to him, and despite
his huge workload, he reviewed the book over a weekend, and we were able
to incorporate his suggestions, together with those of two head
teachers and a child psychologist, into the final version of the book.
We hope it helps answer difficult questions in difficult times.”

Axel Scheffler, illustrator of The Gruffalo, said:

“I asked myself what I could do as an children’s illustrator to
inform, as well as entertain, my readers here and abroad. So I was glad
when my publisher, Nosy Crow, asked me to illustrate this
question-and-answer book about the coronavirus. I think it is extremely
important for children and families to have access to good and reliable
information in this unprecedented crisis, and I hope that the popularity
of the books I’ve done with Julia Donaldson will ensure that this
digital book will reach many children who are now slightly older, but
might still remember our picture books.”

Professor Graham Medley, Professor of Infectious Disease Modelling at
the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said:

“This pandemic is changing children’s lives across the globe and will
have a lasting impact on us all. Helping children understand what is
going on is an important step in helping them cope and making them part
of the story – this is something that we are all going through, not
something being done to them. This book puts children IN the picture
rather just watching it happen, and in a way that makes the scary parts
easier to cope with.”

You can download a copy of the book here (or, if you have trouble with that link, here) – and also read it below: