Glasgow Mum pens covid childrens book to raise cash for foodbanks

Hyndland mum, Lorna Morrow has self published a kids book named “The Midges Keep Their Distance” which tells children the story of the pandemic through a swarm of midges.

Lorna said:”It made sense to write about midges in this context since they are such social creatures that swarm in packs - it is hard for us to do social distancing, but it would be hard for midges too.”

Illustrations by Heather Walley

Having never written poetry before, Lorna decided to give it a bash to curb the boredom that being in lockdown brought and scribbled parts of it during any free time she had. She said:”It didn’t take me too long to write the book. I was just grabbing ten minutes to write before going to bed.”

Lorna’s five-year-old son also gave her the inspiration after he asked lots of questions about the unfolding situation. Lorna added: “My son was asking lots of questions at the time just about the situation. Possibly it could serve as a springboard for discussion between parents and children to help them to get to grips with the frequently-changing regulations and restrictions”

Illustrations by Heather Walley

Due to the time it took to find an illustrator and web designer, the book now tells the full story of the last year from lockdown to a vaccine being discovered.

Lorna hopes the book will help children who may have lots of questions about the pandemic. She said:”For both younger and older children, hopefully it could help them to process the emotions of the situation they have been through – missing friends and family that we weren’t able to see, hoping for different days. It could help them to process it all, to understand what they are being asked to do and why.”

Illustrations by Heather Walley

While the book is available as a free download, Lorna is also appealing to those who enjoyed it to donate some money to The Trussell Trust if they can afford to do so. So far she has raised £172 for the foodbank charity. She said:”Food poverty has been issue since before all this, but foodbanks are even more important now, during the pandemic.”

Illustrations by Heather Walley

While Lorna has no solid plans to write another book, she has penned another story in which her son will feature as a character.

She is also hoping to work with local schools and nurseries to use the book as a teaching aid.

Readers who are interested in downloading a copy of the book can visit www.themidges.co.uk where they can also contribute to Lorna’s Trussell Trust fundraiser.

Illustrations by Heather Walley

The book also has a facebook page called “The Midges Keep Their Distance” which can be visited at www.facebook.comTheMidgesKeepTheirDistance/