A new children’s book about Wuhan’s coronavirus whistleblower learns bravery

A new children’s book about Wuhan’s coronavirus whistleblower learns bravery

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Police tried to silence Li, but he continued to speak. In the book, a 7-year-old, May, learns about Dr. Li’s courage and takes action to cultivate hope.

The illustrated book was written by New York Times bestselling author Francesca Cavallo. It was first made available free of charge as a short, downloadable book. The online version was downloaded more than 60,000 times within a few weeks and later translated into 38 languages ​​by volunteers.

Cavallo told CNN she believes she has received so many requests from parents and educators for the print version of this book because they wanted to give children a better account of deeper events during the pandemic. Therefore, she chose not to wait to write a longer version of the book.

Dr. Li passed away on February 7, 2020 from the coronavirus. Cavallo said that “he became a symbol of freedom, of the importance of science, so the fact that he appeared in a children’s book was an extremely important way of preserving his memory.”

Cavallo was also concerned about the increase in racism against Asian Americans and thought that many children would associate the virus with China and Chinese people forever.

“I did not want the children to associate an Asian face with the virus,” Cavallo told CNN. “This is the kind of racism that is very difficult to eradicate when you grow up. I wanted them to connect Dr. Li’s face with the face of the first hero of this pandemic.”

After Cavallo and her team launched a crowdfunding campaign, they were able to raise more than $ 52,000 in Kickstarter in less than a month, publishing the book in November. It has sold more than 15,000 worldwide with copies in English, Italian, Simplified Chinese and Pilipino.

Cavallo said the book inspires children to be brave in spite of adversity, adding that it also celebrates empathy by showing children what this crisis means for everyone and will provide for you and your children. [It provides] a space to explore their feelings about the pandemic and an opportunity to be inspired and get a sense of what happened together. ‘

The book is sold directly online and some publishers around the world distribute it in the Philippines, Italy and Singapore.

Cavallo also recently signed a distribution agreement. From July 2021, Undercats’ books will be distributed in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, enabling ‘Doctor Li and The Crown-Wearing Virus’ to reach millions worldwide.

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