Summary

The WHO has released a storybook titled "My Hero is You" to help children understand and cope with the COVID-19 pandemic through a narrative of friendship, hope, and kindness.

Abstract

In response to the global pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) has taken an innovative approach to educate and comfort children by releasing a storybook named "My Hero is You." Written by Helen Patuck, the book follows the journey of Sara and Ario as they learn about the coronavirus and how to stay safe. Through their adventures, they meet other children like Salem and Sasha, who teach them about social distancing, handwashing, and coping with anxiety. The story emphasizes the importance of being a hero by staying home, maintaining hygiene, and protecting others, especially the elderly. It also addresses the emotional aspects of the pandemic, such as missing loved ones and dealing with the fear of illness. The book is available for download in multiple languages, aiming to reach a global audience and provide a tool for parents and educators to discuss COVID-19 with children in a reassuring way.

Opinions

The storybook is praised as an "amazing initiative" by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), highlighting its significance in supporting children's mental health during the pandemic.
The narrative conveys that every child has the power to be a hero by adhering to safety measures, thus empowering them with a sense of agency during a time of uncertainty.
The story normalizes feelings of sadness and anxiety, encouraging children to express their emotions and seek comfort in imagined safe places.
The character Sasha demonstrates that staying at home and finding joy in indoor activities with family is a form of heroism.
The book acknowledges the reality of the pandemic, including the possibility of death, while also providing strategies for children to cope with their fears and worries.
The author, Helen Patuck, is credited with inspiring others to use storytelling as a means to protect children against the emotional impact of COVID-19.

Positive Power of Stories to Help Children Against COVID-19

WHO released the storybook to help children and young people

Children are dumbfounded by what is happening around them these days. They have to understand how to stay protected during the pandemic. They often love to learn new ideas with a good story. This storybook is an amazing initiative of IASC. The name of the story is “My Hero is You” and it is written by Helen Patuck. This story is about friendship, hope, and kindness.

The story starts with Sara and Ario. Sara helps the children to learn what they can do to keep their families safe from the traveling coronavirus, and how to manage the sadness and anxiety. Here is a short version of the story:

Sara’s mom is the best scientist in the world. But even she cannot find a cure for the virus. She tells her that the COVID-19 virus is very tiny and it spreads through coughs, sneezes and it can live for hours on objects and surfaces. Her mom tells her that she can fight the virus.

“I need you to be my hero,” Sara’s mom says.

In her bed, Sara worries that she does not have any superpowers. She hears a mysterious voice and then Ario appears. Ario can fly and has a big voice. He says that he lives in her heart. Sara is excited and wants to tell every child in the world about the coronavirus. Ario says that she can safely fly with him and coronavirus will not harm her. She jumps on his back and they fly towards the stars, saying hello to the moon.

Sara goes to the pyramids and meets Salem, a young boy. They instantly become good friends. Sara and Salem hop onto Ario’s wings and fly over the city. Salem shouts, telling children to go home, wash their hands with soap and water and stay at least one meter apart from one another.

Ario flies near an airplane and people wave at Sara and Salem. Ario breathes out a fireball to relax. Salem tells her that he gets relaxed by thinking about his grandparents. He says that he cannot hug them anymore. He tells her that he calls his grandparents because he misses them. Ario says that missing the people you love, but cannot meet, is normal.

Ario takes them to meet with Sasha, who has a very special superpower. Sasha throws them a big hug from one-meter distance.

They maintain a distance of one meter while talking with each other at all times.

Sasha’s dad had coronavirus and he was staying in his room. She had not left the house since that day.

Ario tells her that it is her superpower that she stays at home. She plays with her brothers, dances with them and they enjoy their time inside the house. They fight with each other but they say sorry quickly when they fight and they are more understanding.

After that Ario flies Sara and Salem to the children who do not have a home. It is a small island where they meet Leila, in a camp. Leila always stays one-meter away and welcomes Ario and his friends. Salem tells her how to cough into his elbow. Leila had heard that some people died from coronavirus. She wants to know more.

Ario becomes sad and tells the young heroes that it is true that people can die from the coronavirus disease. That is the reason that they ought to be extra careful around older people.

Then Ario tells them to sit and close their eyes and imagine that they are in a safe place. Ario tells them to visit this safe place whenever they are sad or worried. He says that it is their superpower.

Leila says that we must take care of each other and defeat the coronavirus. Ario invites her to go with them for the last adventure.

Salem, Sara, and Leila sat on Ario’s wings, one meter apart

Ario lands in a small town near the snowy mountains. Here they meet Kim, a young boy, playing by a stream. Kim says hello to them all from a one-meter distance. Ario says that his friend Kim was attacked by the coronavirus. Kim says he had had a cough and he felt very hot when he had coronavirus. He slept a lot. He did not want to play any games. He felt tired all the time. His parents took care of him and after a few days he was alright again.

Some of the parents and grandparents in Kim’s small town had to go to the hospital. The kind nurses and doctors helped them to be healthy again in a few weeks.

A friend of Kim told Sara that he could not meet Kim when he had coronavirus. Though he could not see Kim for some time but they did not stop being friends. Sometimes it is best to stay away for a while, to protect our friends.

Ario drops all of them back to their homes and brings Sara to her bed. He tells her to be with her family, wash her hands with soap, and stay at home. He waits until she falls asleep.

The next day when Sara wakes up, Ario is gone. But Sara draws the images of all her adventures on pieces of paper and colors them. She runs to her mom to show her the drawings of her adventures. Her mom is very happy. She says that there are many heroes, all the nurses and doctors who are fighting the COVID-19, but Sara is her biggest hero. All boys and girls who stay at home and wash their hands with soap and water are our heroes.

You can download the full version of the storybook for your kids here: Download PDF

For downloading translations into other languages, visit this page.

Summarizing this story helped me to discover that I have a superpower too. It is my gift of storytelling. I am thankful to Helen Patuck who inspired me to write stories for children to stay protected in the time of COVID-19, the traveling virus.