Normalizing face masks
Tennessean mother writes book to help all children adjust to life with coverings
Nashville native Sara Jo Walker went from conception to publication of her children’s book “Let’s Talk About Masks” in eight weeks. On June 15, the book was released to Amazon and Barnes & Noble audiences.
• Published by Emerge Publishing, the paperback children’s book features real-life photographs of doctors, beekeepers, athletes and superheroes to “normalize the concept of masks and take away their scariness” in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Walker said.
• A mom of two, Walker said she had the idea to write the book when thinking about how to broach the subject of masks with her kids Jack, 3, and Ivy, who is 18 months old.
“I was at the grocery store wearing a mask and seeing a lot of masks, and it was scary for me, and I’m 38 years old. I remember thinking, ‘This is going to be scary for our kids.’ ”
Sara Jo Walker author of “Let’s Talk About Masks”
Currently No. 1 on Amazon’s “New Releases in Children’s Safety” book list as of Wednesday, “Let’s Talk About Masks” is for parents as much as it is for children, Walker said. Though her son and daughter have not expressed fear upon seeing masks yet, Walker has.
“I was at the grocery store wearing a mask and seeing a lot of masks, and it was scary for me, and I’m 38 years old,” Walker said. “I remember thinking, ‘This is going to be scary for our kids.’ ”
When she reached out to Emerge at the beginning of May, the company got back to her within the day. Emerge expedited the publishing process to release the book while the topic is most relevant. Walker said they considered illustrating the book, but ultimately chose to use real photos because her son prefers realistic picture books. She added that she’s already gotten requests from doctor’s offices and local shops to carry the book.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends those ages 2 and older wear masks in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain. But some children may struggle with wearing a mask for a long period of time.
No one preventative measure is perfect, said Dr. William Schaffner, professor of preventative medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University. That’s why health experts recommend doing a number of things.
“If you’re out jogging by yourself, do you have to wear a mask? No, but when you finish jogging and you’re back around people, you do. It’s true that children and young adults are much less affected by this than older people,” Schaffner said. “But masks and also social distancing are important.”
The purpose of the book, Walker said, is to provide clarity to children and comfort to parents for discussing masks with their kids.
“Whether we like it or not, masks are all around us. It’s hard to see a teacher’s expression in the mask, and that can be scary, but as I say at the end of the book, behind every mask is a friendly smile,”
Walker said. “I want children to be prepared for what they’re going into and parents to have this as a resource when they have those tough conversations with their kids.”