Mom Reimagines Classic Children's Book Covers As Coronavirus Scenes
This mom’s super creative coronavirus-themed children’s book covers reflect the strange time we’re living in
Manhattan mom Stefanie Trilling was looking for an activity to pass the time and lighten the mood for herself and her kids as the coronavirus pandemic swirled outside their windows. Trilling turned to art, and not just any art — she started revamping the covers of classic children’s books to reflect our current times.
And a genius Instagram account was born.
I mean, genius.
Everything has changed with how our daily lives look, so it only makes sense that the stories we read to our kids catch up to reality a little.
Trilling tells Scary Mommy that her NYC home is “just blocks from four major hospitals.” Being so close to the frontline made the situation very immediate for her family. “I sought a way to distract myself and my children from the constant sirens outside our window,” she says. “One day, I was painting with my kids to occupy our minds, and I started copying the first thing I saw — a book we had read earlier in the day. To make coronavirus less scary, I cartoonified the virus within my painting.”
“My children loved it and it opened the channels for easier communication about our fears,” she tells us. “Now, it’s serving as a medium for demonstrating how social distancing can bring people together and unite us around empathy.”
Over the last several weeks, the thought has popped into my head more than once that any TV shows, movies, or books I was immersing myself in no longer reflected the world I live in. As I binge-watched Schitt’s Creek I found myself weirdly envious of the characters being able to touch each other or hang out in a crowded diner without worry of becoming sick. The fact is, our prior pop culture offerings are temporarily obsolete, and content like Trilling’s is genius as it acknowledges our new world — while giving a nod to the familiarity of our old one.
Trilling is appropriately calling her project Children’s Books for Pandemics, and she doesn’t plan to stop here. Make sure to follow her socials for a chance to buy prints of the covers down the road — with proceeds going to a good cause. “Within the next few days, I plan to launch an initiative that will allow me to sell prints, with proceeds going to organizations that benefit those affected in different ways by COVID-19, especially children in underserved communities,” she tells us.
