Best Pandemic Books for Preschoolers - Reading adventures for kids ages 3 to 5

This pandemic has been very stressful for grown ups and for little kids too but these best pandemic books for preschoolers can be a big help in starting an important discussion. If it’s difficult for an adult to understand how hard it is, imagine how upside down the whole world feels to a little kid. Now friends can’t come over, some of us can’t go to school, and all of us are supposed to wear masks. How do you make sense of it all? Mom says a good book can help. Here are three of our pandemic favorites:

In this new and unfamiliar world, it’s helpful for kids, like me, to have someone or something they can relate to. Cue Spot, the bright yellow circle with stick legs that’s well-known among the pint-zed crowd. In A Little SPOT Stays Home: A Story About Viruses And Safe Distancing, author and illustrator Diane Alber, Spot faces social distancing, COVID-19, and wearing a mask. And well, I figured, if Spot can wear a mask, I can too. PS – Check out the free printable for A Little Spot Wears a Mask from the author’s website.

Masked Ninja: A Children’s Book About Kindness and Preventing the Spread of Racism and Viruses, caught my attention right away! I was happy to open the book and see many ninjas wearing masks!

Sometimes at the playground I like to run around and pretend I’m a ninja or a superhero. So, a book about ninjas, of all people, wearing masks made the whole thing seem super cool. Mom liked that the author, Mary Nhin, showed me China on the map (because I love maps) and taught me to cover my mouth when I cough and wash my hands for at least 20 seconds.

When mom read the story Paula and the Pandemic, written by Dorothea Laurence, I knew right away what things must be life for Paula. She’s used to having her friends come to play but one day her mom says her friends can’t come anymore. This makes Paula feel very sad. Her mom tries to make it better, and help Paula by giving her a sunflower seed. Paula plants the seed and waits for it to grow. When mom gave me this book, she also gave me a see-through garden to grow some vegetables on our terrace, so I feel like I could be Paula!