A new children’s book about Wuhan’s coronavirus whistleblower teaches courage

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

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

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

Dr. Li died of the coronavirus on February 7, 2020. Cavallo said that “he became a symbol of freedom, of the importance of science, so being in a children’s book was a hugely important way to preserve his memory.”

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

“I didn’t want those kids to associate an Asian face with the virus,” Cavallo told CNN. “That kind of racism is extremely difficult to eradicate growing up. I wanted them to associate Dr. Li’s face with the face of the first hero of this pandemic.”

After launching a crowdfunding campaign, Cavallo and her team were able to raise more than $ 52,000 in funds through Kickstarter in less than a month and published the book in November. More than 15,000 copies have been sold worldwide with copies in English, Italian, Simplified Chinese and Pilipino.

Cavallo said the book inspires children to be brave in the face of adversity, adding that “it also celebrates empathy by showing children what this crisis means to everyone, you and your children. [It provides] a space to explore their feelings about the pandemic and a chance to be inspired and understand 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 closed a distribution deal. From July 2021, Undercats’ books will be distributed in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, which could allow “Doctor Li and The Crown-Wearing Virus” to reach millions around the world.

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