TORONTO -- Alex Avendano says she was inspired to write a children’s book explaining physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, while she was out walking her dog one evening in late March.
Avendano, a 30-year-old communications strategist from Toronto, said she was overwhelmed at the time by stories from her friends who were struggling to work from home and manage child-care needs.
“It was eye-opening to see their journey with their kids,” Avendano said in a phone interview with CTVNews.ca.
“After the initial excitement of being at home wore off, the excitement kind of turned into fear or anxiety. Some of my friends’ kids started asking questions, like: ‘When can I see my friends?’ or ‘How long do I have to stay home?’”
And that’s when the idea for The Big Alone took root.
Avendano called up her sister Jan, a 34-year-old graphic design director who also lives in Toronto, to help bring her story ideas to life.
The pair had been talking about making a children’s book together for years, but the pandemic propelled them to act quickly.
The 25-page book, described online as “a book for kids everywhere in the age of social distancing,” uses large black and white lettering with creative illustrations.
In addition to English, the story is available in seven other languages - French, Italian, Chinese, Spanish, German, Russian and Tagalog – all thanks to translation help they received from friends and family.
Avendano said the book came together in a week, largely through countless emails, text messages and shared Google documents.
“We wanted to keep a few things in mind – we wanted to get it out quickly; we wanted to make sure the illustrations were universal so any kid from anywhere could understand it; we wanted to make it available in multiple languages and we wanted to make it free,” said Avendano.
Since publishing the book, Avendano said they’ve received plenty of positive feedback from parents, and at least $2,000 in donations that she said mainly came from supportive family members.
Avendano also said she’s happy to see the book reaching readers all over the world.
She said it’s already been downloaded in countries as far away as Nepal, Hungary, Turkey and Malaysia.
One day, the sisters hope to make “The Big Alone” available in a hardcopy version.
“Kids love holding a book, it’s a huge part of the reading experience,” said Avendano.“ But in this moment, we realize that production is a challenge.”
Avendano hopes the story helps drive home one important message to the young children reading it.
“You might feel alone right now, but we promise that you’re not,” Avendano said.
The book is available to download for free at www.thebigalone.com.
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