A Calgary author is looking to help children during the COVID-19 pandemic with the release of a new book.
Carolyn Neary said she wrote the book Cat is Scared for the children of front-line workers who continue to battle the virus.
“This is a book that is dedicated to our heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Neary said in an interview with 770 CHQR.
“I was thinking that I would love to be able to do something, just to thank all of these front-line workers, and I heard in an interview a bunch of front-line workers saying, ‘If you want to do something for us, do something for our children,’ and I thought, ‘I can do that.'”
Neary said the book tells the story of cat who gets stuck in a tree and must confront her emotions to make it back to the ground safely.
LISTEN: New children’s book aims to support children amid the pandemic
She said the story offers gentle support to children and hopes it can help them work through their own emotions during the pandemic.
“Our young children, they don’t always know how to articulate their feelings, and this is just a sweet and gentle way for them to be able to continue talking about how they might feel during this time with the pandemic,” Neary said.
Neary added that she hopes the story can help front-line workers too.
“For those who don’t have children, we hope to get a book into their hands too, because the story is just a gentle way of talking about handling emotions,” Neary said.
Neary is also hoping to help children in another way, with a portion of the proceeds going towards the Ronald McDonald House Charities Alberta.
Cat is Scared can be ordered online, prices vary depending on the number of books purchased.