Christmas in Quarantine
“The most relatable book of the year.”
- Mother of two boys, 10 and 13.
“[Christmas in Quarantine] really touched my heart... [It was so nice to hear a] reminder to focus on all of the good things to be thankful for and find ways to bring joy to yourself and others!’
- A fifth grade teacher
“People will read it with great interest in 100 years time to get some insight into a year that will be going down in history!”
- A grandmother after reading with her granddaughter
Description
Christmas in Quarantine is a delightful picture book that tells the story of young Jaylyn and his life during a time when schools are closed and many fun activities are canceled. When December comes along, it just doesn’t feel like Christmastime, but then Jaylyn goes on a magical journey to the North Pole and Santa reminds him about the true meaning of Christmas.
San Jose mom Sarah Tiglao came up with the idea for the story and frantically worked to write the text, create the illustrations, and publish it in time for Christmas – not an easy job for a single mom with three energetic boys at home during distance learning.
She managed to pull it off, thanks in part to ideas and feedback from the boys. One young son even helped with one of the colorful illustrations.
“One of my sons was feeling pretty sad about all the safety precautions necessary this year and how they would impact our Christmas,” said Sarah. That’s when inspiration hit:
“I knew a lot of kids would be feeling that same way and started writing a story to cheer them up. A few hours later, I had my first draft. I hope the story will help children cope with the closures in a positive way.”
Sarah says she envisioned a book that would be fun and helpful for children now, and that also can be read again in future years to remember the extraordinary time children lived through.
Sarah has already been invited to read the book to two classrooms (through Zoom calls), and the response was enthusiastic, third graders chatting after the call: “WHOO!!! AWESOME!” ... “That was the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”.... “THANK YOU!!!! JUST THANKYOU!!!!”... “I could write a song about it”...
The book is available on Amazon in both Kindle ($2.99, or free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers) and hard copy ($9.95).From the back cover:
2020 has been the weirdest year yet. A disease spreading through the world has changed life for Jaylyn. He’s been ok through it all, but now it is December first, and with so many of the normal holiday activities canceled, it just doesn’t feel like Christmas. Join Jaylyn on his magical journey to the North Pole, where he finds elves taking extra safety precautions as they work harder than ever to make Christmas merry, and Santa reminds him about the true meaning of Christmas.
