The Inside Book

The Inside Book

Inspiration

As a content creator, almost all my work ground to a halt with the outbreak of COVID-19. Historically, this work has included content for the health sector, a number of NGO's and recently I created a children's book with Book Dash. As adults we are bombarded with COVID-19 news and data, but what about children? How were they to understand all these big changes to their lives and routines? This is also a time for solidarity, and I had the desire to do something meaningful with my skills.

What it does

The Inside Book aims to facilitate children's understanding of the COVID-19 virus, how we can fight it, and what to do while we're stuck inside. It is colourful and fun, with a child-friendly font, and addresses issues such as boredom with suggestions of imaginary play, an important developmental skill that aids in problem solving and especially useful in low-resourced home environments.

How I built it

I started off with a host of ideas and information, and while interrogating these the content took shape, a bit like puzzle pieces (considering a child-like-me who may be confused by this time). The book was created using Adobe Illustrator and InDesign. The content was checked by my partner who works at our Department of Health.

Challenges I ran into

Making sure the book was fun to read, relatable, easy to understand and able to 'reach' children required some thought and consultation. On the technical side, organising multiple language documents and reviews. Distributing and marketing the book on my own has also been a challenge.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

The book has already reached thousands of people, it is being WhatsApp'd to school classes by principles, shared by education boards, passed between parents. I've had offers from all over to translate it and managed to reach those who may not have a book for themselves. The book is digital and free which means it's accessible for everyone.

What I learned

Firstly, there's always space for something new. At the time not many resources existed, and schools were beginning to think how they could reach their students online. This is a challenge in the South African context where connectivity, access, and resources are constrained, particularly in more vulnerable and lower socio-economic communities. I think this is the perfect space for considered creativity. Having the book distributed over Whatsapp, and online was important. Secondly, I learnt a great deal about distribution, marketing and strategy. It is a lot of work, and can be challenging reaching outside of one's immediate networks. However when something is done with generosity then others are eager to add their generosity, people have really appreciated that I created this for free and have found it very useful. I would never have had this amazing response if I had wanted to make money off the distribution of the book.

What's next for The Inside Book

I am hoping that the book will continue to reach an even wider audience, especially those who don't have books for their children, or are struggling to explain the continued situation we are facing. I have many other children's books I'd like to create and the need to feed my passion for meaningful storytelling continues.