Capitol Hill Author Pens Book for Young Readers on Life Under Stay-at-Home – Free on Line
by Larry Janezich
A few weeks before the stay at home orders began, Capitol Hill resident Gimbiya Lim started reading the Ramona Quimby books with her daughter who “ immediately loved them and related directly with Ramona”. However, as the weeks stretched longer and longer, Lim realized that although her daughter still liked the books her immediate connection to the stories had changed – “it went from her exclaiming ‘That is just like me!’ to reflectively remembering ‘We used to do that…’“
Lim says, “So much of children’s’ literature is about going out and being in social spaces – it focuses on the dramas of going to school, on field trips, to the library, and playgrounds. It is about getting together with extended family and play dates with friends. It includes stories of babysitters, neighbors, teachers, and even lemonade stands. All of these are things are suddenly very distant in the lives of children.”
After several days of looking for a book that would relate to what it means to be under a stay at home order and not finding it, Lim decided to write a book for younger readers, timed a few weeks behind current events, set here in DC. It draws on her life and what she hears from other families in the area. She publishes a chapter a week (Monday morning) and it is available for free for families who might want access to a story to which their kids can relate. Here’s the link: https://www.wattpad.com/story/220436765-a-to-z-of-staying-home
Here’s a description from the home page for the book: “A to Z of Staying Home”
“Second Grade is going a little too slowly for Amandla, who would rather be in medical school. When the COVID-19 epidemic breaks out and her city declares everyone needs to STAY AT HOME, everything normal (tardy slips, substitute teachers, and birthday parties) is over. She had been looking forward to the field trip to Cherokee Days and Aunt Ama’s graduation from medical school. Instead, Amandla and her younger sister, Zuri, and their neighbors and everyone else is at home watching the dandelions grow.”
So far, Lim has published five chapters:
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 – A is for Amandla
Chapter 2 – B is for Birthday
Chapter 3 – C is for Coronavirus
Chapter 4 – D is for Deinonychus Antirrhopus
Chapter 5 – E is for Emoji
Lim has an MFA in creative writing from American University; in addition to publications in conjunction with her nonprofit work, her short fiction has appeared in literary magazines.
CAPITOL HILL CORNER 