Eric Walters is one of the hardest working authors I know.
He has written over a hundred books, gives presentations in schools day after day. He tirelessly helps and supports other writers. He spearheaded the #IReadCanadian campaign and has taken many other initiatives to help put Canadian books in the hands of children.
Now he has written a book in record time: 7 weeks. Don’t Stand So Close To Me is the story of the current pandemic. It shows Quinn, Isaac and friends and how they are all effected by the sudden school closure. Their family lives are changed as their parents’ work demands and hours change (one is a police officer, another is a medical doctor, etc). Suddenly they only see each other and their teacher via Zoom meetings. But the story also shows how kids can take initiatives and make the best of a difficult situation, how they can even help others.
The story brings the Covid-19 situation to an understandable level for kids. It’s nice that this is a fictional novel, not an information books with facts about Covid-19 but a story in which many kids can recognize themselves. This book is aimed at 9 – 12 year olds. It’s an easy read at about 120 pages and available as e-book only until the print version comes out in September. I can see this story making a great class read to discuss (on Zoom?) and to help children see that they are not the only ones whose lives are effected.
ISBN: 9781459827899
Price: $7.99
https://www.orcabook.com/Search.aspx?k=don%27t+stand+so+close+to+me