West Sussex mum pens book to help children understand Covid

Queenie Corona and the Ten Little Prints has been released by Grosvenor House Publishing at £6.99, available from Amazon.

Tara Aryan, aged 33, said: “When the coronavirus first hit the UK, I found it extremely difficult trying to explain it to my four-year-old son. I tried to look for a book that would help him understand it. However I soon realised that there weren’t any books on the market for smaller children that did this. Therefore Queenie Corona and the Ten Little Prints was born during lockdown!

“It started off as a bit of fun and a few ideas scribbled on scrap paper. I am lucky enough to live next door to a very talented young artist called Keira Arnold (aged 15). The idea really took off when she agreed to collaborate with me. This year has really inspired us both to come out of our comfort zones and create something positive out of such uncertainty.

“I had been furloughed from my job in the travel industry and have always written as a hobby on the side. I wanted to do something to help children understand the concept of the words ‘virus’ and ‘germs.’ I also wanted to instil in children’s minds how something as basic as washing their hands helps to avoid the spread of germs but in a fun and simplistic way.

“The story is targeted towards one to eight-year-olds. Its concept is based around ten comic-style superhero fingerprints who all have a role to help tackle the virus, and this is written in rhyme.

“It is different to other books currently on sale as the illustrations have been completely hand drawn and coloured. It is a self-published project and a standalone publication.

“We have both really enjoyed working on this project and seeing our works in fruition. Our aim is to get the book established in all nurseries, pre-schools and primary schools in the UK.”

Tara added: “I have written two other books which were self-published called Deepest Tears of Blue and Sworn to Surrogacy. These books are adult fictional novels which have since been revisited. Sworn to Surrogacy has now become a sequel which will be re-released next year and Deepest Tears of Blue will be re-released the year after.”