South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Turning the page: New book makes wearing a mask fun for children
For Delray Beach’s ShannonQ. McDonald, one emotional aspect of theCOVID-19 pandemic is its effect on children as they have endured school closures, the inability to play outside with their friends, or attend parties and other activities.
“Imagine you are 3, 4, 5 years old and yourworld suddenly changes around you,” saidMcDonald, whose new children’s book “Remember to Smile” about the importance of wearing a mask has already received glowing reviews.
Justweeks after the attorney turned author’s book became available online at Amazon and Barnes& Noble, the mother of 5-year-old Sloane and 3-year-old Sean wasmaking appearances on local television stations.
One of the biggest challenges forMcDonald and her husband Chris at the outset of the pandemicwas explaining to their children why they suddenly had to wear a mask everywhere outside of their home.
With so many books around her house, McDonald thoughtwhy not write one herself about children wearing masks and include child-friendly illustrations but also provide an important message.
“Iwanted to make it fun and lighthearted, yet informative enough to help the kids deal with what is, unfortunately, the ‘new normal’ for them,” said McDonald, whose book has grabbed the attention of parents, preschool teachers and school administrators.
“I can’t speak for others, but forme seeing the initial fear and concern in the eyes ofmy son and daughter at having towear a maskwas hard to deal with because this isn’t theway their lives should be,” McDonald said. “They should be having fun and be happy and thiswas a very scary thing.”
Her paperback glossy picture book consists of nearly 25 pages of colorful characters and artwork designed to address maskwearing in away that is positive for children.
Her book describes and illustrates, from a child’s point of view, the different styles of masks, characters whowear them, when they can beworn and interestingways to use them through rhythmic text that McDonald said makes reading the book exciting.
“Since the book has come out, parents I have talked to are already telling me great stories about how their children are creating their own unique masks and having fun doing it,” saidMcDonald, who is originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, and a self-described “Midwest girl at heart.”
Pages in the book run the gamut of things kids enjoy fromastronauts and superheroes to ice cream and marshmallows, to football and swimming. There are mermaids, dragons and unicorns to captivate the young ones.
“(A child) canwear a mask just like this mermaid or just like this astronaut,” she said. “They can wear one while enjoying an activity; pretty much anything a kid can relate to I’ve tried to cover in the book and showthat there is amask for every occasion.”
McDonald also covers in the book a child’s natural desire towear something that makes them feel spe
cial She drives home the point that masks can have “flare” and can be fashioned into whatever the wearerwants.
“Of course, kids will always focus on the funny parts (of the book),” said McDonald, who scoured variouswebsites to find just the right colorful pictures, characters and things they can relate to and giggle over. “I even included a page about fire-breathing dragons, of course, not wearing masks because that answers what a child is bound to ask.”
And then there’s Rudy, theMcDonald family’s dachshund whose character plays a prominent role throughout “Remember to Smile.”
“I didn’twant to leave out Rudy, not only because he’s a fun-loving pet in our family, but also because most kids have pets in their families,” she said.
McDonald alsowanted to create elements of laughter as she crafted the book. Her daughter, Sloane, gets a kick out of the “Crazy AuntDaizy” reference in the book, while 3-year-old Taylor Milliner giggles when she reads the part about “Artie and his stinky mask.”
“I think it’s a fantastic book and it really appeals to kids of all ages,” said McDonald’s Delray Beach
neighbor Rebecca Milliner, who is not onlymomto Taylor but also 3-month-oldMadison. “Taylor is really into superheroes so she loves all the references to them.
McDonald’s primary goal with “Remember to Smile” was transforming something as negative as the virus into something that sends a message to children in a light-hearted way.
“Iwanted to make sure that kids understand that they can continue to play, smile and be happy despite the virus,” saidMcDonald, who makes only one reference to germs but makes a strong statement that “masks keep the germs away from you.”
When not balancing her children’s remote-learning schooling and playdates, McDonaldworks as corporate counsel for a large technology and outsourcing company while still maintaining her own law practice.
“Even thoughwe all look a little different right now with the masks, we can still do other things that can be fun,” McDonald said. “I wanted to (make maskwearing) less threatening and less scary because you’re not seeing people’s full faces.”
Visit remembertosmile .org.