The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has taken a social, emotional, and academic toll on children. With this, a new storybook aims to help kids stay hopeful amid these difficult times.
A collaboration of 60 humanitarian organizations, including the World Health Organization, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the International Federation of Red Cross released "My Hero is You 2021: How kids can hope with COVID-19."
The book -- aimed primarily at children aged 6 to 11 years -- sees the return of Ario, a fantasy creature who travels the world helping kids find hope in the future and joy in simple pleasures.
Together with old and new friends, Ario addresses the fears, frustrations, and concerns faced by children during the pandemic and explores the various coping mechanisms that they can use when faced with difficult emotions like fear, grief, anger, and sadness.
The new story drew from survey responses from over 5,000 children, parents, caregivers, and teachers from around the world on the challenges they continue to face in the second year of the pandemic.
"My Hero is You 2021: How kids can hope with COVID-19" is currently available in Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swahili.