We Fight Together

What is coronavirus? Why can’t I play with my friends? What should I do? This informative picture book explains the coronavirus in simple terms and urges children to do their part to help fight it!

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Inspiration

Helen has been following news about the coronavirus outbreak since January and when the virus spread to more and more countries and more and more people were quarantined and schools were closed, Helen felt the strong urge to write a picture book about it. In the middle of such an unprecedented situation, kids and parents need information about COVID-19 and understand the situation so they might feel less confused and anxious. Books are a fabulous way to help kids learn about stuff.

What it does

With vivid illustrations, this informative picture book explains the coronavirus in simple terms and urges children to do their part to help fight it.

How we built it

The biggest challenge was to produce a book in such a short time. So Helen decided to collaborate with another author. Helen knew Songju a few years ago as she was one of the very few Chinese American authors in the U.S. For the coronavirus picture book, Helen wrote a very general outline in Chinese and contacted Songju if she would be interested in collaborating with her on writing the book in English. Songju was truly amazing and she immediately agreed and started working on the project. After Songju finished the draft, Helen illustrated and designed the whole book in about a week. Helen drew characters with different skin tones, hairstyles, and hair colors to reflect people of various ethnic groups all around the world. It has been a very pleasant and successful collaboration and we're really proud of the book.

Challenges we ran into

This is a very timely and meaningful project, but the time is tight and the responsibility is huge. Any information we give must be completely scientifically based, and should not be misleading. Before and during the writing, Songju searched and read a lot of relevant material. Songju truly learned every aspect of the virus, including origin, symptoms, treatments, the vaccine development process, hand washing techniques, and ways to boost one’s immune system. We opted to use the (CDC's) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommended practices as the baseline for this ebook.

The creative process was challenging as the epidemic situation and information have been constantly changing. Government policies and directives are constantly changing too. In the beginning, the schools were still in session. Songju wrote that "When we say hello, we could wave or do an elbow bump instead of hugging or shaking hands. When eating in the school cafeteria, we should not share water glasses or eating utensils." Then, very soon, the schools closed. The focus immediately changed into what the children could do at home.

In the beginning, Songju named this picture book: What is the coronavirus and how to defeat it? Helen said that name was a bit too long and she thought of a shorter name, “We are together.” Songju felt this was a little too general. Finally, Songju came up with the name “We Fight Together.” It reflects the spirit of not giving up, forging ahead, and helping to conquer the virus. This is what the world needs now. Fighting together, including young virus fighters, we will prevail!

Accomplishments that we're proud of

This is our first collaboration. It has been a very pleasant and successful collaboration. We especially like the ending: … “and share this beautiful world together with all people, near and far.” It indicates a global message, one shared by the entire world.

What we learned

Picture books are great ways to provide guidance for kids during this difficult time. As children’s book author and illustrator, though we cannot do school visits, we can still make our contribution and help fight the virus in our way. Fighting together, including young virus fighters, we will prevail!

What's next for We Fight Together

We plan to release it to the public for free download and develop lesson plans for teachers and parents to use.

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