Finding Hope on Mars: Helping Children to Cope During Crises and the COVID19 Pandemic

The book ‘Finding Hope on Mars’ can be used by parents, educators, and child advocates to help children to understand that some of life’s greatest lessons are learned by developing self-awareness and working through problems. This book is designed to serve as a tool to help parents with discussions about the pandemic and the world’s state of affairs. We use bibliotherapeutic principles in our stories to inspire discussions, spark problem-solving ideas, and integrate examples of how finding hope can help children to cope. This story was written during the first months of the COVID19 pandemic of 2019 - 2020. Dr. Hart-Johnson met with the children, Adora, Harmony, Joe-Joe, and Eli, using Zoom to create a story that would help other children understand how better to understand the pandemic. Each time the children met with Dr. Hart-Johnson, they advanced the story. Permission was granted from the children’s parents to participate in this project. This book has FAQs for parents and discussion pointers to help parents generate ideas on having sensitive discussions with children about the pandemic and world affairs that may be distressing to children.