CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WINK)—A Southwest Florida mother created interactive children’s books to help families cope during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mary Asaro came to WINK’s Listens event in Cape Coral to share her story with WINK News anchor Russ McCaskey. During the pandemic, programs were shut down, and schools went to virtual learning, prompting Asaro to take action.
“It was about five years ago, you know, like kids weren’t really understanding why they were home,” Asaro said.
She saw the impact firsthand with her own child. Watching her child on the computer made her realize children needed a way to express their feelings and talk about things.
Asaro decided to do something about it. She created interactive books with follow-up questions and activities to help children express their feelings.
“I wanted to write something that was going to be impactful, because all the books that I’ve looked at have been just busy stuff like coloring or an activity. I wanted something that was going to be interactive,” Asaro said.
Her first book, “Shelley and Friends,” features an anxious turtle and a mean crab. The second book, “Otto’s Adventure,” is about meeting a character who isn’t very nice.
The books come with 3D characters that accompany the stories. Asaro self-publishes her books and has already sold a couple of hundred copies, but she is pushing to get the word out.
“I just, you know, I think the way that our society is right now, it’s as if we all have these computers that are coming in front of us. I just also think there needs to be an outlet where they can, you know, have conversations and talk, because they’re gonna need that,” Asaro said.
Asaro will be at the Macaroni Kid “School’s Out” event at Bell Tower on Thursday, May 28.