But Why? Understanding COVID-19

COVID-19 and all over the world
COVID-19 and the world at its mercy
Mom explaining the dangers of crowds
Virus is too tiny to be seen by the human eye
Physically distancing ourselves
Staying in Touch
Dad working from home
Mom headed to work
Mom being a hero!
Steps to keep us safe
Dad's turn to answer some questions

The book was inspired by being quarantined with a 3-year-old who could no longer explore the world as he had previously; who was confined to four walls and his backyard, when his social calendar could outmatch any adult's. I have spent the last 5 weeks answering "But why?" questions. The illustrations are the product of two of my 5th grade students directly impacted by COVID-19. School is so much more than academic instruction. They could no longer interact with friends at lunch and recess or during collaborative assignments. And... they miss their teacher!!!

The book answers the many questions that young children may have about COVID-19; something that cannot be seen but is impacting the world, their worlds, specifically.

I used the platform I felt most comfortable with, PowerPoint. It was easy to use and import graphics. The two young illustrators and I discussed the story and generated ideas for their art, and they set off to complete the mission. We held Zoom conference calls to allow them to collaborate and see the other's work in order to maintain consistency from picture to picture. They AMAZED me! After their illustrations were completed, I "hypersnapped" their images into the document accordingly. Then, I read it to the 3-year-old to make sure he approved. He did!!!

The biggest challenge I faced was the lack of technology from one of the illustrators, but that only provided a minor inconvenience of physically going to pick the illustrations up from the student's home. However, it was so rewarding because I had great conversations with the family, including the dad, whom I'd never met... all while practicing physical distancing, of course.

I am most proud of the two illustrators and their ability to capture the essence of the story, their commitment to the project and each other to meet daily to check on the other's progress, and meet established deadlines.

I learned that I have to draw on the creativity of others because certain elements were not evident to me, such differentiating between the two voices in the text for young readers.

In the near future, I would like to turn But Why? Understanding COVID-19 into a coloring book and possibly a short educational cartoon.