SOCIALLY DISTANCED

In this picture book, a poem about the Covid-19 world invites readers to answer questions about their own experiences.

Beginning a poem with a familiar Valentine refrain about roses and violets, Stern’s narrator claims to have crafted the piece due to having “nothing to do / … / You can blame all of this / on the Corona flu!” The narrator chronicles the start of the Covid-19 pandemic through the stockpiling of toilet paper and lockdowns. The poem briefly mentions political divides but focuses more on the emotions and doubts experienced by families during the ordeal. Beneath several illustrations, the author leaves blank lines for readers to answer questions about their own thoughts and feelings as well as including lined pages at the end of the book for more elaborate memories to be recorded. Though Stern mixes up two viruses (coronavirus and the flu) for the sake of the rhyme in his opening, the stanzas scan well and the vocabulary is accessible. The questions seem designed to be used in conversations between parents and their elementary or middle school children. Hill is a political cartoonist. It makes sense that the humorous illustrations here feel like newspaper political cartoons. Along with offering some satirical images (the line for toilet paper stretches down a city block), Hill captures the uncertainty faced by one (pale-skinned) family with sensitivity. Other illustrations of larger groups feature a more diverse population.

For families wishing to discuss the pandemic, this timely tale works as a conversation starter.