How Gus Munchie can help your kids through the pandemic

Gus Munchie: My Lockdown Diary | Illustration © 2020 Tim Warnes

“Charlie Cook has to stay in his house.
He reads to the cat and he reads to the mouse.”

— Julia Donaldson

Yesterday I saw the sweetest baby. I was standing at the counter of a favourite haunt, Feed the Soul, and she just crawled in, wearing a white cotton dress.

She gazed up at me; I smiled back. And I wondered: Whatever must she make of me?

“Doesn’t my mask freak her out?” I asked her mummy, who appeared in the doorway.

“She’s not phased at all,” replied the mummy, scooping her up into a warm embrace.

(To prove it, the little baby gave me a tiny, shy smile.)

“She’s got used to them.”

And what of slightly older kids? The new term has begun, and they’re back to school - all of which ‘face unprecedented challenges… Some have opted for socially distanced classes, others for virtual lessons, or a hybrid of both. And, of course, plans may change at any time.’

Within the first four days of children going back, three of my local schools had closed again. (I live in rural Dorset in the south-west of England. Interestingly, these closures weren’t featured on national news, leaving me asking, What else is going on that we’re not hearing about?) 

This may be new - but it is far from normal. 

 

A new day. Same old lockdown.

The doorbell rings. 

Under the circumstances, this is an Exciting Event.

Dad answers it, wearing a paper bag on his head for protection.

 

That’s from Gus Munchie: My Lockdown Diary. I wrote it in the spring during lockdown - my personal, creative response to being thrown headlong (along with everybody else) into the pandemic crisis. 

Gus Munchie is an anthropomorphic hamster, and the story is his account of lockdown, written in the form of a diary. I guess he would be a tween: no longer a little child, but not quite a teenager... and [his] behavior and emotions reflect that.’

Gus’ story - and that of his family - reflects the realities of lockdown and how we have found our own ways to remain optimistic. The resulting tale, with its pathos, drama and humour, is uplifting and entertaining.

 

Gus Munchie: My Lockdown Diary | Illustration © 2020 Tim Warnes

 

Passing the understairs cupboard, I hear a strange rustling coming from inside. Hamsters are notoriously inquisitive, so I take a look.

“What are you up to, Dad?” I ask.

He looks very shifty - as if I’ve just caught him with his trousers down.

Except we don’t wear trousers.

As if I’ve just caught him with a secret stash of sweet and nutty treats. Which I have!

Uh-oh! Dad’s reverting to Wild Behaviour. 

 

Is Gus Munchie’s Lockdown Diary about the coronavirus pandemic? Yes - and No. Yes, because I think it is a useful tool for inspiring conversation and connection. (I shall explain why in greater detail next week).

No - because the pandemic is the catalyst for the story. I use it to provide the inciting incident (Lunchbox’s cough) that destabilises the Munchie’s world. After the initial reality check in Chapter Two, I don’t mention coronavirus a great deal. It’s the hook I hang my story on - what it’s really about is Gus, and his relationship with his dad, Fat Tony.

 Here’s a passage that didn’t make the final cut. (Not because I didn’t like it - but because it didn’t help drive the story forward.) 

Gramps says Dad used to be a long-haired hippy hamster. But now his fur’s all patchy and thin.

“What are you staring at?” says Dad.

“Your fur,” I say. “You’re going bald. You realise if you go completely bald you’ll look like a naked mole rat?”

 

Gus Munchie: My Lockdown Diary | Illustration © 2020 Tim Warnes

 

I did, however, get to riff on naked mole rats (thanks to Gus’s dad):

 

Dad has taken it upon himself to teach us nature studies during lockdown, on account of his passion for all things wildlife-y. (And to avoid training on the Hamstercise wheel.)

The theme he’s chosen is Misfits of the Mammalian Kingdom. Oh, the irony!

 

My own kids are much older now (fourteen and twenty-one). But many of my friends have young children. I understand the concerns they have about how (and how much) they should be discussing coronavirus with their kids. Which is why I thought long and hard about how to tackle the subject of lockdown.

 

[Our children] inhabit the same world we do. They hear and see the news, they use social media. They overhear our conversations. And they talk.

They care [about coronavirus] because they hear our fears and they share them. And they need our help to work it all out.

Stop a Worry Becoming Catastrophic: How to Talk to Your Kids About the Coronavirus

 

Gus Munchie: My Lockdown Diary | Illustration © 2020 Tim Warnes

 

Next week I’ll explain how I based my decisions on what to include in Gus Munchie, and how it can help your family during the coronavirus crisis. In the meantime, you may find this earlier article helpful: Using Gus Munchie to talk to kids about COVID-19.

Because this pandemic is still far from over .

 

Gus Munchie: My Lockdown Diary | Illustration © 2020 Tim Warnes

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 Sources The Gruffalo, Stick Man and the Smartest Giant in Town lend a paw, a stick and a hand to help with the coronavirus effort (Booktrust, 06 April, 2020)GUS MUNCHIE: MY LOCKDOWN DIARY BY TIM WARNES (2020) A Lesson in Hope: Children's Authors Who Are Teachers During Covid-19 (Children’s Bookshelf, September 15, 2020) Defining the Tween Year for Parents (Very Well Family, May 02, 2020) Using Gus Munchie to talk to kids about COVID-19 (Storyteller Tim Warnes, 03 July 2020) Stop a Worry Becoming Catastrophic: How to Talk to Your Kids About the Coronavirus (GetPocket.com, March 02, 2020) Coronavirus: WHO warns Europe over 'very serious' Covid surge (BBC, sEPTEMBER 18,2020)