We did it together!

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  Cover page

“We did it together” is a picture book which talks about the current global pandemic and how to teach them about the situation without panicking them. There are two main inspirations for this project. Firstly, a huge amount of respect to frontline health workers who risks their life saving people and all the others who are working outside the comfort of their home for functioning of our society. The story revolves around a kid whose both parents are Doctors and how she deals with the lockdown and encourage all other kids to do the same. Secondly, global solidarity. I could not quote anyone better than Yuvan Noah Harini when he said “ if we react to the pandemic with global solidarity and generosity, we can not only defeat it more easily, but come out of this crisis more strongly than ever before.” This teaches kids how they can deal with the situation together and an assurance that this will be okay in near future. The story revolves around a girl who is absolutely fond of nature and plants. It start with how she is sad about being unable to go outside, but when her friend Plant Pru, explains about the situation she decides to follow her advice for defeating the coronavirus together. The story mainly has three stages: 1)addressing the problem 2)what can be done to solve the problem 3)what does the near future look like?

Challenges I faced 1) sensitivity of the issue Topics like pandemic, terrorism, disasters and calamities are really sensitive for kids. It was challenging to craft the story without creating a sense of fear, but rather curiosity among kids to overcome the situation bravely. Also choosing how much information is necessary and can be taken for young minds without burdening them . 2) Design of the Coronavirus They might be really familiar with the term “coronavirus”, but they weren’t able to visualise what it actually is. So I didn’t want to create a deadly monster virus, but a rather cute one which kids can feel are less harmful and a sense of assurance that they can defeat the virus. 3)Time was one of the big challenge for me. From crafting a story to creating illustrations to having the final product in a such a short time had pushed boundaries that i never imagined was possible for me.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of 1)I am proud that i am able to create a book which could potentially reach thousands of kids across the globe and help them deal with the situation. 2)I’m proud that i was able to do justice to the frontline health workers, because it’s high time we acknowledge their importance in our society. 3)As you can see the book has a rich natural elements intertwined into the story. That was a conscious decision to highlight on the importance of nature and how it is blooming beautifully. It is for adults to see optimism even in the worst case scenario.

What I learned 1)Kids under the 10 years old will take things literally. I have tried my best in this book to bring a positive outlook of the subject without talking about death, but still bringing the seriousness of the issue.

What's next for We did it together! Ssshhhh! I genuinely don’t know!