Lucie's Guide to Coronavirus and Birthdays

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  Title Page

Inspiration

Luis and I are seniors in high school and have been affected by the current pandemic. Our senior year was cut short, and how our first semester in college will proceed is up in the air. Throughout this pandemic, we both have felt anxiety and fear, just like the children this book targets. We have felt upset and hopeless. But, we had support systems and the knowledge to become proactive against COVID-19. We wanted to continue to make a difference so we chose to write and illustrate a book to help kids feel more at ease during the pandemic.

We may not be professional writers or artists, but with my goal of becoming a veterinarian working in infectious diseases, and with Luis going to art school, we are excited about this opportunity.

What it does

This book introduces Lucie, a girl who doesn’t understand why she can’t go play with her best friend Jonah on his birthday. With the help of her three action figures who come to life, Lucie explores why social distancing is important, what COVID-19 is, and who is making a difference. This is a narrative story where Lucie is encouraged to ask questions much like kids are doing right now.

How I built it

We used Google Documents as a place to brainstorm and write our finished product. We then used procreate for the artwork and indesign to put the book together.

Challenges I ran into

It was challenging to write what I wanted while balancing what Luis wanted to draw. It was also a challenge to edit this numerous times and to change the writing to a more childlike style that differed from how I am used to writing. It very fun for us to try to accomplish something new.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

I am proud that as seniors in high school, we are stepping forward to make an impact in our community and to help others during the pandemic.

I’m proud that Luis and I were able to work together as a team and communicate to create our finished product. For our first-ever book, I am very happy with what we have created.

What I learned

I have learned more about what it takes to actually write children's books, something I did not have experience with before. I love writing, and this broadened my skills. In addition, I learned more about COVID-19 and how to communicate with children effectively in difficult circumstances. Luis gained experience in drawing illustrations for children's books as well.

What's next for Lucie's Guide to Coronavirus and Birthdays

Hopefully, Lucie and her story will be used to help children everywhere cope with the changes COVID-19 has brought into their lives. We are considering passing it along to our Dramatic Writing teacher, who has children. We want our story to help as many people as we can.

Built With

• indesign
• procreate