China’s National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) launched original audiobooks for children recently in a series called The Virus Is Coming.

The audiobooks, recorded by actors from the NCPA, tell the stories of residents living in the animal kingdom as they fight against the epidemic. The series consists of 20 episodes in all, each lasting about 6 minutes, which is suitable for children aged 3 to 8.

The series has been published online on Chinese music platforms like Ximalaya and music.163.com, and been popularized to collaborating organizations and Hope Primary Schools through local governments and institutions.

Yu Tiantian, deputy director of the NCPA dramatic actors, is the author of the production. This is one of a special series of her audio works called Animal Supermarket. Yu wrote four stories a day at first. When she finished, she sent the stories to the children of her relatives and friends. “My first story, named Mr. Hippo Buys A Mask, was memorized by the children and written into a composition. That inspired me a lot to create more stories,” said Yu.

The animals in the stories act differently during the disease, which reflects the situations in reality. The story I Want to Buy A Mom was based on a real event. A child whose mother went to fight against the COVID-19 epidemic was confused about his mother leaving home, and wanted to buy a new mother from the market. And I Only Have Green Onions was based on the story of a poor county in Central China’s Henan Province that donated 50,000 kilograms of green Chinese onions to Wuhan, China.

This series of stories are interspersed with a lot of scientific knowledge about the epidemic. It helps children not only understand the relationship between the epidemic and everyone, but also respect life.