Introducing Sophie Morris and Taryn Kosviner

Introducing…

Sophie Morris and Taryn Kosviner

Child psychotherapist Sophie Morris and New York illustrator Taryn Kosviner, have created a therapeutic picture book, containing beautiful cut paper illustrations to help children aged 3 to 6 understand and process the coronavirus pandemic. All UK proceeds of the book go to organisations that help families affected by the pandemic (50% in the USA).

Sophie, why did you decide to write this book, and how will it help young children process the pandemic?

It was a combination of my training as a child psychotherapist and being somewhat of an expert at life in quarantine due to my M.E.

The pandemic is most confusing for young children who don’t yet have the language comprehension or emotional resilience to understand or process the full extent of it. Within the safety of the metaphor of Corona, I hope it will help people to talk to young children about feelings which they may not have been able to verbalise by identifying some of those overwhelming feelings in the book, and help guide them through a process of re-visiting and reintegrating disconnected experiences.

Drawing on my training, and in particular the neuroscience of attachment, I chose themes of connection, kindness and feeling for others for this story. We are still in the midst of a period of mass community trauma and trauma always falls hardest on still developing children.  Positive, empathic relationships are vital in helping children recover, and hopefully thrive.

Taryn, this is your first children's book - what appealed to you about this project, and how did you find the experience compared to filmmaking?

I thought the idea of a storybook written a child psychotherapist was just brilliant. My son was 3 when lockdown began so I was acutely aware of how difficult it was to help him navigate all the sudden changes. I found that even trying to explain that everything would be okay could send a potentially scary message. Sophie had so much great advice for my family so I thought it was just wonderful that she was able to write something to help so many others.

It was really comforting to have a something productive to focus on during lockdown - something to distract me from the awful news cycle, which was also a fun, creative project that my 3 year old could participate in.

My initial approach was quite similar to thinking about a movie. We would discuss like character point of view and pacing. Once we had determined the content of each frame, I’d make simple line drawings which we placed into a storyboard-like panel to make sure we weren’t places similar angles side by side, and that scales were changing. So in a way it was similar to thinking about camera placement and lenses. 

What made you tell the story through the eyes of Corona?

Sophie: This was the first idea that came to me when my sister in law asked for my advice on speaking to her three year old about the coronavirus, without terrifying him. Young children are incredibly sensitive to the feelings of the adults around them. They would have picked up on the feelings of anxiety and fear, especially around talk of Corona but not understood the cause. Making Corona an empathic and relatable character helps to neutralise that fear.

Sophie, what was your writing process and how did you balance writing with your ME?

Pacing was key! I could only write for half an hour to an hour a day, only 3 or 4 days a week. In the spaces in between, I would jot notes on my phone for when I had energy to go back to it. It was a revelation when I realised I could tell huge parts of the story simply with the illustrations and cut out large parts of text.

Taryn, can you tell us a bit about the process of illustrating this book?

I started experimenting with cut paper illustration at the beginning of the lockdown. It was a great way to stay creative and it was something I could do with my three-year-old son.

Sophie approached me during the summer to tell me about the project and to ask if I could be involved. We began with discussions about which moments needed illustrations and what those illustrations should include, as well as when it was important to see the world through Corona’s eyes as opposed to a third-person POV. Then I would layout a storyboard so we could visualize the way it would flow. This step helped us identify which images or lines of text were superfluous. Then we began assembling images from random shapes and textures.

My son stayed involved throughout, helping me paint the cut papers and critiquing the images that tell the story of Corona’s travels. It was easy to become distracted by the process and the design of it all, but I tried to stay focused on capturing the different emotions that Corona and other characters were experiencing so that a small child handling the book themself could recognize the character’s emotional arc.

Sophie, how was the experience of having the book illustrated?

I feel completely blown away by Taryn’s illustrations - so original, and completely covey the emotion I intended. I knew Taryn has very high standards and is incredibly talented, but the illustrations turned out better than I could have ever imagined. I remember seeing the pangolin for the first time - she had cut out each individual spike. The depth, textures and colours of the image were incredible.

Taryn, when did you and Sophie first meet, and how was the experience of working together?

Sophie and I first met about 10 years ago on a family vacation. She was traveling with her boyfriend, my brother-in-law. This was immediately obvious: Sophie is the warmest, kindest, most sensitive person I’d ever met, with by far the loudest laugh.

I loved working with Sophie. She had very clear ideas about what she wanted in each image, always keeping us on theme and making sure we maintained the appropriate point of view in order to help the reader process their feelings. 

On a more personal level, it was wonderful to have a reason to speak more regularly, although most of our FaceTime calls were taken over by my son who was especially excited about the extra time with Sophie.

Sophie, how would you advise parents trying to explain the pandemic to their children?

Avoid shying away from expressing feelings out of fear that it will be too much for young children. Often with young children, we think if we don’t say anything then maybe they won’t feel it. It is very tempting to say to a child maybe you are feeling a bit sad or a bit angry. Try dropping the ‘a bit’. It is okay for kids to feel big feelings. They pick up on everything and is confusing to them when they are not mentioned.

Healthy expression is vital for good health and kids need to be taught how to do this both at home and at school. When reading the book, encourage the kids to express ‘ARGGHH’ along with Corona, when he releases his anger.

Finally, Taryn what does your son think of the finished book? Has it has helped you explain the pandemic to him?

He loves it! He asked me to read it over and over again. He was very carefully tracking Corona’s emotional journey, and was so happy and relieved when Corona found his way to his germ friends. I don't think I completely understood what Sophie was doing until I read it to my son. And since he had been around for every step of the process, he was very proud and excited when the proof copy arrived. And when the paperback proof arrived, he couldn’t believe there was more than one of them! 

Corona (the germ) is available on Amazon for £6.99 – All proceeds in the UK and 50% in the USA go to organisations helping families affected by the pandemic.