"Remember to Smile" - a bookwrap

 

Celebrating the era of the "mask!" 

Unwrapping 

Remember to Smile

by Shannon McDonald

* Ages:  2-6

* Grade Level:  PS-1

* Paperback:  26 pages

* Publisher:  Shannon Q. McDonald

* Pub. Date:  August 12, 2020

* Language:  English

Unwrapping Some Illustrations for You

The Book

This book was written for such a time as this... COVID 19 is here!  It explains to kids the importance of wearing a mask!  For some kids the masks cause confusion and sometimes they feel scary as people in their immediate world have covered up their faces.  

The book highlights in a very fun way the adventurous side of masking up.  It unveils the many different styles of masks available and the places they can and should be worn.  It opens up the perfect segue to discuss and assure small kids that masks are both friendly and very interesting.  

The fabulous watercolour illustrations are soft and tender animating the rhyming text.  "Remember to Smile" is a 300 word picture book starring an adorable wiener dog that will encourage children to be more comfortable wearing a mask.  The message is reassuring and encourages kids to choose a mask that is unique just like they are.  The book not only is instructive and calming for the present, but will be a wonderful reminder long after this dreaded virus has left... reiterating  2020 as being the year of the mask.  I highly recommend it. 

Storywraps Rating - 5 HUGS! 

Meet the Author/Illustrator

Shannon McDonald has a captive audience as she reads aloud her new book "Remember to Smile" to, from left, Lia A., Taylor Milliner, Rudy the dachshund, Emma Meaney and Sloane McDonald. (Rebecca Milliner / Courtesy)

For Delray Beach’s Shannon Q. McDonald, one emotional aspect of the COVID-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 your world suddenly changes around you,” said McDonald, whose new children’s book “Remember to Smile” about the importance of wearing a mask has already received glowing reviews.

Just weeks 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 was making appearances on local television stations.

One of the biggest challenges for McDonald and her husband Chris at the outset of the pandemic was explaining to their children why they suddenly had to wear a mask everywhere outside of their home.

“I wanted 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 for me seeing the initial fear and concern in the eyes of my son and daughter at having to wear a mask was hard to deal with because this isn’t the way their lives should be,” McDonald said. “They should be having fun and be happy and this was a very scary thing.”

Her paperback glossy picture book consists of nearly 25 pages of colorful characters and artwork designed to address mask-wearing in a way that is positive for children.

Her book describes and illustrates, from a child’s point of view, the different styles of masks, characters who wear them, when they can be worn and interesting ways to use them through rhythmic text that McDonald said makes reading the book exciting.

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