WAUKESHA — A Waukesha native along with her co-author have written a children's book that tries to make the coronavirus approachable for children.
"An overview of a kid waking up one day and realizing wow things are so different than they were yesterday, and asking his mom what's going on, and moms explaining this is what coronavirus is, and this is what it means for our usual daily routine," Greta Davis, a Waukesha native and third year medical student at University California, San Diego, said.
Davis along with her co-creator, Makenzi Jordan, came up with the idea because they realized kids needed an easy way to understand what this global pandemic was and why it's such a big deal. Davis works at a pediatric hospital and Jordan has extensive nanny experience which gave them both an insight into how children might be handling it all.
The book is called 'SoOoOoOo Much Toilet Paper!: A Kid's Guide to Surviving a Pandemic.' It is available on Amazon. The title was inspired by all the people who rushed to purchase large amounts of toilet paper in the beginning of march. The authors saw it as a symbol for when the pandemic became much more real for many people.
"That was the first actual tactile thing that everybody knew was out of stock," Jordan said.
One of the integral messages of the book, Davis said, is that we all have a stake in what is going on; rather than acting out of fear, we should be supportive of those who need help while staying healthy.
"I really hope that people realize how important it is that we all take action, and that we all take responsibility for what's going on," Davis said.
The two plan on donating all the proceeds of the book to charity once they recoup costs associated with licensing and production of the book.
Those charities include the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County and INMED Partnerships for Children. The co-authors also bought some of their books to be donated to the pediatric hospital Davis is working at.