Polk mom writes book to help kids cope with COVID-19

DAVENPORT, Fla. - When Lyndsay Gendreau read the book “C is for Coronavirus” to her son Connor, eventually a light went off in his little head.

“At first it was, ‘OK, there is some kid there,’ but then it clicked. He was like, ‘That’s Connor,’” recalled Grendreu. “That’s me!”

Gendreau wrote the self-published book to ease her 3-year-old son’s fears and confusion over COVID-19.

“For him, it was a real struggle,” Gendreau continued.

Like other kids in his preschool, he had to wear a mask, wipe off his shoes on a special mat before he came into the building, and socially distance throughout the day.

Gendreau said she wanted to help Connor, “adjust to the changes in an effective way without traumatizing him about everything that is going on.”

Along with reading it to Connor periodically, she plans to read the book to her fourth-grade students when she returns to the classroom.

Dr. Marc Hutkek, CEO of the Early Learning Coalition of Polk County, says preschoolers need support in the middle of a pandemic.

He says they had an especially strong reaction when their world started to change because of the coronavirus.

“When it all happened, it was scary,” he told FOX 13.

Gendreau hopes her book helps other kids as much as it did her own.

“He is a lot better now wearing his mask than he was a month ago. Now we’re able to go to Publix. We’re able to go to the ice cream store, and he’ll wear it. He won’t pull it off.”

“C is for Coronavirus” is being sold on the Amazon and Barnes and Noble websites.