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Home > Global Health Matters Mar/Apr 2020 > Picture book launched to help world’s children deal with COVID-19 Print

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Picture book launched to help world’s children deal with COVID-19

March / April 2020 | Volume 19, Number 2

A new picture book uses a fantasy creature to help children learn to protect themselves from COVID-19 and manage the difficult emotions the pandemic can cause.

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By Helen Patuc for IASC, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO

The book, “My Hero is You, How kids can fight COVID-19!,” is available in nine languages with more translations in the pipeline. It was produced by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings, a collaboration of more than 50 organizations working in the humanitarian sector, including the WHO, UN, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and Save the Children.

Cover of the book My Hero is You, How kids can fight COVID-19!
By Helen Patuc for IASC, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO

More than 1,700 children, parents, caregivers and teachers from around the world shared how they were coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. That input helped script writer and illustrator Helen Patuck and the project team ensure the story and its messages resonated with children from different backgrounds and continents.

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