The China Cultural Centre in Malta, in collaboration with the philanthropic website of Life Tree Books, is publishing nine colourfully-illustrated children’s books, freely accessible to the public. The aim of this project is to help children to have a better understanding of COVID-19 and how to protect themselves against contracting the virus.

A Special Spring Festival, written and illustrated by Gao Jing

According to UNESCO, almost three-quarters of the world’s schoolchildren were impacted due to the closure of educational institutions in the attempt to contain the spread of COVID-19. Barred from schools and not able to meet friends as freely as before, many young children around the world have a lot of questions about this change in their lives.

To date, 200 volunteers have translated this set of books into 13 languages, including French, Russian and Italian. It continues to be a great source of answers and consolation to children of different nationalities.

The China Cultural Centre in Malta, commonly abbreviated to the CCC, is issuing an open call to Maltese speakers who would be interested in volunteering to translate the books from English to Maltese. Their skills would benefit a good cause and contribute to the fight against the virus by providing children with science-based knowledge through picture books.

Waiting for Dad to Come Home, written by Chen Ying and illustrated by Qidian.

The CCC also encourages schools, libraries or anyone who wishes to share these books with children to do so. The CCC and Life Tree Books hope that these books will cultivate children’s interest in reading and also serve as a bridge of international understanding and friendship.

To be a part of this project, kindly send an email to maltaccc@gmail.com. For information on Life Tree Books visit www.lifetreebooks.org.cn 

The Illustration COVID-19 Prevention Manual, written by Wang Haozhi and illustrated by Liu Shiyang.