Milton is a curious forest rabbit who loves to go on adventures around the world. He lives in a cave in the enchanted forest with his two best friends, Amanda and Conrad — a butterfly and a hedgehog. Milton loves his cosy cave and knows that he has to stay at home most of the time. He tells us, "You see, there is a contagious virus that is making a lot of people around the world very sick. Conrad told Amanda and me that the virus is called Coronavirus. Corona means crown which comes from an old language called Latin." Milton, Amanda, Conrad are all characters from an illustrated children's book titled Milton and the Invisible Coronavirus developed by a Danish publisher and global pump manufacturer Grundfos to help shed light on what the pandemic is all about, especially for children aged 5-8 years.
The story follows the rabbit Milton, and his two friends, Amanda and Conrad, as they navigate the various challenges in their daily lives as a result of the pandemic – from social distancing to ensuring personal hygiene. This book aims to reduce the fear and uncertainty that the children may be experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic that is difficult to understand. In Denmark, the book is already being used in primary schools to alleviate concerns and explain the COVID-19 situation to young children, offering a way for teachers and students to discuss some of the questions the pandemic has raised. The e-book is also available for Indian readers and Grundfos in India has taken the responsibility to share this book with more than 200 schools in Chennai and with many NGOs working in the educational field. "The company has also shared the book with employees across the country, who enthusiastically have been sharing this digital book with their contacts. We hope that through all these efforts, the book will reach hundreds of thousands of children in India. They have also promoted this book through its social media platforms," Jesper Strømfeldt, CEO and co-founder of Milton Around the World told Edex.
Speaking about what the character Milton was created keeping in mind, Jesper said, "When we created our character Milton our aim was to create a 'safe' universe full of curiosity and learning. In the book Milton and the invisible Coronavirus, our colourful illustrations are visualising different complex topics – from social distancing to ensuring personal hygiene. They explain in a fact-based and safe way what COVID-19 is, how and why we should look out for each other. We believe that our curious rabbit Milton and his two best friends, the sweet butterfly Amanda and the wise hedgehog Conrad can encourage the children to follow them, as they navigate the various challenges in their daily lives as a result of the pandemic."
The purpose of the book is to explain in an educational and non-intimidating way to children what COVID-19 is, and why we should be careful about hygiene and contact with others. "We believe that if our children must act, they must first understand and to understand they need communication suited to their level. There is limited material available to explain complex topics like COVID-19 to our children. Considering the sparse information about COVID-19, we decided to use Milton’s universe as a starting point to create comfort around the situation, which is currently paralysing the entire world," added the publisher explaining how important it is for the younger generation to understand the effects of the virus.
