You Know Who and the Coronavirus - From a 1st Grader Who Loves Harry Potter
Note: We are reaching out to storytellers, parents, and children all over the world to collect stories that bring a little healing and levity to the coronavirus outbreak.
Visit the Coronavirus Storytelling Home Page
To be clear - these stories, articles, and resources are intended to help parents guide young children and ease anxiety in the household after the serious work of preparation has been done. They are not intended to make light of the illness. While this and other stories can be shared directly with children, we believe you will find the greatest comfort in crafting stories of your own with the help of your child.
This story comes from Amelie Hall-Giampietri, a 1st-grader and a big fan of Harry Potter. As any 6-year-old would do, she wrote the story using the names from JK Rowling’s books. This is a great example of the power of story in our children’s lives.
We want to share Amelie’s story, but we also respect the copyrights of JK Rowling. For that reason, we have changed the names.
Children who take storytelling into their own hands give themselves just a little bit of power over the messages being broadcast into our homes. In sharing this story, we hope to encourage children and parents everywhere to develop your own storytelling skills - not because it will have an affect on the virus, but because it helps us make sense of difficult events and bring peace into our lives.
Using a familiar theme like Amelie has done can be a good way to start!
You Know Who and the Coronavirus
by Amelie Hall-Giampietri
Chapter 1
Rex Weisel, Hessian Gray and Harold Potsdam were delighted because Professor Slate had the coronavirus and had to leave Pignuckles School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But Harold was starting to miss Slate. After all, he did save him from Professor Squirrel in his first Wichit game.
Chapter 2
“Rex, are you missing Slate?” whispered Harold.
“Yes I am, but how are we going to get him back?” said Rex.
“I have an idea. We can put a spell on Slate so he can’t give the coronavirus to anyone.”
Chapter 3
So they went and got Slate and brought him back to Pignuckles. They had FUN with Slate!
THE END
A self-portrait from Amelie.
Announcing The Coronavirus Storytelling Challenge
Schools are closing their doors. Parents are feeling anxious. Social distancing and empty shelves have us gasping for normalcy. We need skills for handling the disease, but we also need tools for managing the anxiety that treads in its footsteps.
That’s why we created The Coronoavirus Storytelling Challenge. As the nation struggles to catch up with the disease, let’s help parents and children connect and calm at home.
PS - We want stories from parents and kids too!
Stories from kids and parents empower others to share at home. That’s the goal! Pass it on.
The Storytelling Loop is a newsletter bringing you tips, science, and real-life examples of how storytelling builds the connection between parent and child. It is a joint project of Silke Rose West and Joseph Sarosy, authors of How to Tell Stories to Children. Originally published in August of 2019, a new edition is due out from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2021. You can find more from Joseph Sarosy at Fatherly. Are you involved in storytelling? Join Us.