HAINES CITY, Fla. — Lyndsay Gendreau never expected to write a book. She isn’t even much of a reader, she says. But, the teacher knew she had to do something to teach her son, Connor, about the changes in the world brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“For a three-year-old to experience that change it’s astronomical for them,” she said. “It was a complete [180] for him. All of the sudden he has to wear a mask. He has to keep his distance. Mom and dad can’t walk him to his classroom.”
Gendreau wrote a book called "C Is For Coronavirus" in just over a month. She got the idea while lying in bed one night. She got up and jotted down ideas. The next morning, she researched how to make a book a reality.
“Once I found kind of the rough idea of it, I flew with it,” she said.
It covers topics like mask wearing, social distancing, and all the other changes that have been thrust into everyday situations since COVID-19 became a worldwide problem in early 2020. Gendreau, who is in her first full school year as a fourth-grade teacher, knew this book would help others.
“I’ve had so much great feedback from it and it makes me feel awesome,” the teacher said. “Even my fourth graders, they love it. They got a kick out of it especially when they heard that it was a teacher who wrote it.”
Gendreau works at Sand Hill Elementary in Polk County. She’s been reading this book for her students. They have all taken to the book and want to hear it read in class. Gendreau reached out to independent graphic artists on the website Fiverr and published the book herself through Amazon.
“[Connor] might not remember what it was like when he was three years old but just like how we have books for 9/11 we can have a book for the coronavirus,” explained Gendreau.
“C Is For Coronavirus” is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
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